Narendra Modi
BJP’s political sixer on 370: Why the ruling party is winning the political argument on revoking Kashmir’s special status
The revoking of Article 370, which gave Kashmir special status, has unravelled what most thought was an untouchable status quo in our politics. It has also shown up a deep disconnect between left-liberal intellectual opinion, which is critical of the move, and the wider wellsprings of national thought cutting across ideologies. It is not just […..]
If everyone gets reservation, then no one gets reservation
In 1989, when V P Singh changed the course of Indian politics with his sudden decision to implement the Mandal Commission’s recommendations, a leading magazine headlined its coverage by calling it the “war of the crumbs”. The anti-reservation riots that followed were solidly rooted in a job market that was shrinking in relation to the […..]
Test for BJP Satraps, not Modi: The PM remains BJP’s galvaniser-in-chief but local issues dominate MP, Chhattisgarh polls
If poll posters ever tell a larger story, the most striking thing about BJP’s campaign in Chhattisgarh is the re-emergence of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the party’s election publicity. BJP billboards across Raipur and the Chhattisgarh central plains are dominated by mega-size cutout images of chief minister Raman Singh in the foreground, emerging from an […..]
North-east polls change 2019 game: Modi’s gains in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya give BJP new momentum
Agartala, Kohima and Shillong are so far away from the heat and dust of Delhi that elections in the north-east have too often in the past been seen by political and intellectual elites in the capital as passing footnotes, at best. The tectonic shift in 2018 has been the lifting of these self-limiting blinkers. The […..]
Latest GDP numbers appear to have slain the demon of DeMon, but economic fundamentals remain a challenge
From Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s made-for-TV ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ jibe to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s retort on the ‘Grand Stupid Thought’ of an 18% cap on GST rates, Modi government’s economic performance has been shaping the prestige poll battle in Gujarat. The stakes are high for both: a resurgent Rahul, campaigning with a newfound overt […..]
Congress gets Patel face saver: But BJP still sits pretty while Congress desperately searches for a new narrative and identity
There are three kinds of Patels in Gujarat, goes an old joke oft-repeated by Ahmed Patel’s detractors in the state. Kadva Patels, Leuva Patels and Ahmed Patel. Laced with the irony and exaggeration that is the hallmark of sharp political innuendo, it was meant both as a dig at his vote catching abilities and, equally, […..]
