By Sumera Shahnaz | INNLIVE
Engaging in formal politics is basically about engaging in making a claim for power or for access to it. This power can, of course, be used in ways that are enabling to the groups that the elected politician represents. Given this, we could ask how far reservation of seats in legislative councils for women would enable them to gain the power to negotiate the issues and concerns that impact their lives and affirm the rights demanded by the women’s movement.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
SPECIAL REPORT Perhaps, it far is more difficult to predict the poll outcome in the yet-to-be established state of Telengana, which goes to polls on April 30th, than in the Seemandhra region. In the residual state of Andhra Pradesh, it is a straight fight, a week later, between the TDP-BJP combine and the YSR Congress, with the other contenders, like the Jai Samaikandhra party of former chief minister, N. Kiran kumar Reddy, and his parent-party, the Congress, being also-rans.
By Ramesh Reddy | INNLIVE
POLLING REPORT About 71.3 percent polling was recorded till the end of voting time today for 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 state assembly seats in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. Barring minor incidents, balloting was on peacefully amid tight security at 30,574 polling booths across 10 districts of Telangana including Hyderabad.
While nine districts recorded heavy polling, the turnout was low in Hyderabad. Chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal said 51 percent votes were polled in the city. Highest turnout of 65 percent was recorded in Medak district.
By Mahesh Mahtolia | Delhi
SPECIAL FEATURE The run up to these elections have been momentous, with big news coming every day. One of the biggest bombs was dropped when it was announced that Varanasi was to be the parliamentary constituency from which BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was going to contest from. It produced massive news breaks and led to dizzying political ramifications.
The Gujarat strongman was to fight from two constituencies, one being Varanasi meant many things. First of all, it signaled the confidence and daring of the BJP which was now stepping into the political battlefield of UP, where 80 seats were at stake. In a make or break election, this was the strongest signal which could be sent to its challengers.
By Ramesh Reddy | INNLIVE
POLLING REPORTS Polling begins on a slow note in Hyderabad. Only 38 percent polling recorded 11.30 am. No untoward incident reported from any party of the city. Pollings delayed at many centers because of defective EVMs. Many people are complaining about missing names in voters list.
Brisk polling was reported in parts of Telangana in the initial hours of election today as an air of expectancy enveloped the region that is soon going to be 29th state of the country.
By Kajol Singh | INNLIVE
HUMAN INTEREST Shop owner K Padmarajan doesn't feel like a loser. In fact, he sees much to celebrate in the 158 times he has stood for public office and failed. Starting out in 1988, he had a point to prove -- to those who laughed at the ambitions of a man who repaired tyres for a living and to the cynics who scorned Indian democracy with all its flaws and inefficiencies.
"Back then, I owned a cycle puncture repair shop and a thought struck me that I, an ordinary man with an ordinary income and no special status in society, could contest the elections," he told INNLIVE.
By Shagufta Khanam | Islamabad
SHOCKING The Pakistani government cut off the electricity supply to several major official buildings for non-payment of bills, including Parliament, the prime minister’s offices and the president’s official residence.
Pakistan is blighted by rolling power cuts, caused in part by people not paying their bills, with government offices among the worst offenders.
Ordinary people struggle without electricity for 12 to 18 hours a day in the blistering heat of summer, but up to now little action has been taken against recalcitrant bureaucrats working in air-conditioned offices.
By Saleh Sulaiman | Dubai
EXCLUSIVE An Al Qaeda member on trial in a US military court over the bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen in 2000 allegedly plotted other attacks on western targets in Dubai, Saudi and Qatar, a court document shows.
Abd Al Rahim Al Nashiri, a Saudi national of Yemeni descent, is accused of masterminding the attack on the USS Cole and is alleged to have led cells in Qatar, Saudi, the UAE and Yemen as Al Qaeda’s operations chief in the Arabian Peninsula.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
ANALYSIS There has always been a pattern in the elections in Andhra Pradesh ever since the advent of the Telugu Desam Party in 1983. An iconic leader or an emotive issue has always driven the voting pattern in the state.
Facing the assembly elections this time, the TRS has a unique combination of both. It has the leader - K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is being projected as its chief ministerial candidate - as well as the emotional issue of Telangana.
The Congress, on the other hand, doesn’t have one leader who can be projected as its chief minister candidate, though the party is trying to claim credit for the creation of Telangana.
By Rajinder Puri | Delhi
OPINION While Mercury across the length and breadth of the country is soaring up, the histrionics of the political parties and their key leaders is also showing a rising graph. It’s a season of pledges, speeches and rhetoric which electorate of this great land experiences every five years. Perhaps this is the only time when the common man has opportunity and due importance to adjudge the candidates in the election fray, if they are well intentioned and speaking truth or simply playing to the gallery.
First it was BJP Bihar MLA Giriraj Singh. Next it was Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia. Latest it was Shiv Sena MLC Ramdas Kadam. All three made virulent hate speeches against Muslims and Pakistan. Kadam made his hate speech while BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was sharing the stage with him. Kadam told the public rally that when Modi becomes Prime Minister he will “destroy Pakistan within six months of assuming power”.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
EDITORIAL In an interesting development, senior Congress leader and political secretary to Sonia Gandhi Ahmed Patel has hinted that Congress might consider lending support to a non-BJP coalition after the Lok Sabha polls.
This amounts to a tacit admission that Congress believes it might not be in a position to lead a grand alliance after the results are out on May 16. It also suggests that Congress is looking at a scenario similar to that in 1996 when it had propped up the United Front government.
Congress’s track record of propping up Third Front governments has been extremely lacklustre.
By Likha Veer | INNLIVE
With a hung Assembly appearing to be a possibility in Telangana, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Congress have begun exploring various avenues of together forming the first government in the new state even before the votes have been cast.
On the ground though, leaders of the two parties are at daggers drawn. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has spared no opportunity to hit out at the Congress and leaders of the grand old party have also been describing KCR as a ‘betrayer’ and ‘backstabber’ in the course of the campaign.
By Ramesh Reddy | INNLIVE
Today is April 30, 2014 a big day for 2.81 crore voters in new Telangana state as they exercise their franchise for electing the first government of the new state that will formally come into existence on June 2.
The voters, including 1.37 crore women, will decide the political fate of 1669 candidates contesting for 119 Assembly seats in the region, as also 265 candidates for 17 LS seats.
Congress andTelangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) are the main contenders for power in what will be the 29th state of Indian Union.
By Angikaar Choudhary | Kolkata
SPECIAL FEATURE The Kolkata bhadralok is a snooty lot. He is also slightly lazy. He resists change and clings on to the past. He loves his fish and his rice. He needs his cup of tea along with his biscuit every evening, ideally prepared by his wife. But on the whole, he considers himself aantel (intellectual). He prefers rumination and discussion on arts and culture and scoffs at other more practical topics, believing himself to be unworthy of such materialistic thinking. But on the whole, even if he doesn’t admit it, he still carries deep inside his heart, a childhood love for Leftist ideology.
By Dr.Rashmi Sanyal | INNLIVE
Low blood sugar levels may lead to heart rhythm disturbances and even life-threatening heart attacks, an alarming study shows.
Low overnight blood sugar levels that often go undetected cause prolonged periods of heart rhythm disturbances in older patients with type 2 diabetes and associated heart problems, revealed the research.
“What we have found is potentially important in explaining a possible mechanism by which low overnight blood sugars lead to prolonged, slow heart rates that could disturb blood flow to the heart, causing life-threatening heart attacks,” said Simon Heller, a professor from University of Sheffield in Britain.
By Aniket Sahni | Delhi
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate and mother of martyred captain Vikram Batra labelled BJP's prime minsiterial candidate Narendra Modi as 'pseudo-patriot'.
Kamal Kanta Batra, who is in the fray for the first time as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate from the Hamirpur seat, made the statement after Modi used her son Vikram Batra's off-quoted phrase 'Yeh Dil Maange More' in his three rallies in Himachal Pradesh to stir up the sentiments of the people of the hill state.
By Devisri Pandya | INNLIVE
The media has conveniently forgotten it, even as the left-liberals were confused on whether to support overtly the reverend so-and-so, the principal of a Jesuit institution in Mumbai, who had sent an email to his students, warning against “communal forces coming to power.”
Implicit in this email is the underlying message: don’t vote for the BJP and don’t make Mr. Narendra Modi, the PM. The BJP made the right noises, condemning the email. I, for one, welcome the reverend’s statement. Why, because he had the guts to say openly what the clergy—most of them, at any rate—have been doing slyly, away from the glare of publicity.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
ELECTIONS SCENARIO At Durgapur one road leads to Amethi and another to Sultanpur. These are the two constituencies from which two cousins, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and BJP general secretary Varun Gandhi, are contesting. Durgapur lies in Amethi but local residents here would like to be a part of Sultanpur and even have a banner up whose symbolism can't be missed.
The banner has been put up on behalf of 36 gram sabhas and calls for the boycotting of polls in the area on 7 May. The gram sabhas are demanding that the region must be in the Sultanpur district. The road leading to Amethi is filled with potholes and the ride is bumpy. Though the road leading to Sultanpur is no better, the issue for locals is more than just roads.
By Arhaan Faraaz | Hyderabad
The din and dust besides the stench of the verbal diarrhea raised during the three-week long electioneering, considered as one of the most bitter and fiercest fought in a poll battle, settled down with the curtains drawn on the campaign in Telangana today.
Polling will take place for 17 Lok Sabha and 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana, the 29th state in the country to come into being officially on June 2, will take place on April 30. As many as 267 candidates are in the fray trying their luck to enter the Lok Sabha, while 1682 candidates are in the run for the Assembly seats.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
INDEPTH After every US presidential election the campaign team of the losing candidate tries to identify the one moment when they believe it might have all started to unravel for their man. A tipping point of sorts that pushed the entire campaign over the cliff. Rahul Gandhi's people may well one day look back on today as one such definitive moment.
Blaring headlines on the front page of every newspaper advertising the BJP's full-frontal attack on "Damaad Shri." They would be wrong. The fatal moment -- make that, moments -- came last week: Priyanka Gandhi's embarrassingly lachrymose intervention on behalf of her husband Robert Vadra embroiled in allegations of corrupt business practices; and the party's over- the- top reaction to Narendra Modi's tub-thumping Varanasi road show.
By Kajol Singh | INNLIVE
London, Dubai and Singapore are the popular destinations for wealthy Indians when it comes to buying homes abroad. Back in the 1990s, owning a house or even an apartment in south Mumbai meant serious wealth. For the new rich, or ultra high networth individuals (HNIs) of today, to whom no place is too far to go and no price too high to pay, that address is pretty much passe.
“Some of the fanciest districts in the world, such as Kensington, Belgravia or Holland Park in London or prestigious locations such as the Burj in Dubai and Nassim Road in Singapore are among the most popular global locations for Indian ultra HNIs to own luxury residential properties,” Kotak Wealth Management and Crisil Research said in a recent report.
By Likha Veer | INNLIVE
A manifesto is generally defined as ‘a published declaration of the intentions, motives or views of an individual, group, political party or government whosoever issues it’. (Election Commission of India (ECI) 2013) Manifestos are employed by ideological movements to explain in detail ‘the rationale behind, the goals of, and the prognosticated path of, the movement.’
The Oxford dictionary defines manifesto as ‘a public declaration of the policy and aims of a group such as political party’. Election manifestos are of different genre with different set of purposes. ‘The election manifesto normally contains the declared ideology of the political party concerned in general and its policies and programmes for the Country/State and people at large.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
SPECIAL REPORT The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Pravin Togadia has said things that threw the Narendra Modi narrative off, but only for a couple of days. Togadia gave a neighbourhood gathering in Bhavnagar a few tips on how to get rid of a Dawoodi Bohra who bought a property in their area.
One way was to do what had been done in others parts of Gujarat, which is to declare the area disturbed. The other way was just to muscle in and kick the occupants out. They could be kept out, Togadia said, through fear, and this was done with the help of the Bajrang Dal, the lumpen end of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
By Mahesh Mahtolia | Delhi
In today's scenario, this question is not out place. How relevant is the Left today? Looking outside of India, The Erstwhile Communists are flourishing only in China and Cuba, to count the few last bastions of Leftism. To say it is a dying concept would not be untrue.
The Left was dealt its death blow with the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union, which led to its defeat in the Cold War. That was more than 20 years ago. Since then, Communism carries on in just a few small pockets other than China.
By Sohraab Wajid | INNLIVE
SPECIAL FEATURE Muhammad Ali. Pete Sampras. Andre Agassi. Dhanraj Pillay. Sachin Tendulkar. What is it about sport and its romance with legends? In each and every sport played around the globe, there exists this mythical subtype. A whole genre of its own. The legends of the game – whose feats are replayed endlessly, who are talked about in bated breaths, who are treated reverentially… those who have perhaps come to define the very sport they play.
By Rekha Jaiswal | INNLIVE
INSIGHT PERSPECTIVE Ever since I have come back from Mangalagiri, the temple town located 11 kilometres from the city of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh that is best known for producing wonderful handloom saris, I have a new respect for the talents of the hardworking weavers who bring to life intricate designs and rich colours of the Mangalagiri sari. It is not the prices of the saris that I remember, but the sweat and labour that goes into making them. I can clearly recall the vivid image of Sivaramakrishna sitting at his pit loom making a deep magenta-hued sari. “I have been doing this for 40 years,” he told me with a smile, “I weave one sari in two days and get paid Rs 300 per piece.”
By Ifteqar Mohammed | Delhi
Election watchers in Pakistan realise that much would depend on the extent of the BJP’s mandate and who its allies would be in an expected coalition government.
Pakistanis have been watching the election scene in India with considerable trepidation. The intellectual elite and some sections of the media are aware that détente has progressed better whenever strong leadership has existed in both countries. However, an almost visceral dislike of Narendra Modi seems to blur perspectives, not only on account of the 2002 Gujarat riots but also in expectation of a turn towards ultra-nationalism, accompanied by chest-thumping, anti-Pakistani belligerence and a revival of Hindutva politics.
By Saud Al Ashraf | Jeddah
BREAKING NEWS The Haj Ministry proposed to impose cancellation on holy mini-pilgrimage Umrah due to MERS infection spread across the pilgrim cities Makkah and Madinah.
According to the sources in ministry received cancellations for Umrah reservations in the wake of the coronavirus, said Abdullah Marghalani, undersecretary at the Haj Ministry and general director of the ministry’s Jeddah branch.
“We take directives solely from the Saudi Health Ministry, the only official body responsible for issuing health advice for the pilgrimage,” he said. “We do not take into account rumors circulating on social networking sites.”
By Sridhar Kumar | Singapore
BREAKING NEWS Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan, the underworld gangster who was critically ill and was shifted in the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU) of a Singapore hospital two days ago might have succumbed to the multi-organ failure. Sources reveal rival gangs of Rajan which comprises of D Company, Ravi Pujari, Hemant Pujari and the friction groups who once reported to Rajan, have started spreading the news about the critically ill gangster's death in the hospital.
Though the Intelligence sources, reveal that Rajan suffered from kidney ailments from last 9 years, and was under going dialysis in mid seas when his condition deteriorated two days ago and remains to be very critical.
By Niloufer Khan | INNLIVE
IN FOCUS The speculations doing rounds about Aditya Chopra and Rani Mukerji’s relationship status has come to an end. As Aditya and Rani exchanged wedding vows last night on April 21 in Italy, they are officially declared as married couple. Now, the question arises, does the title daughter-in-law of Yash Raj family and wife of one of the most powerful man in B-town make Rani the most influential woman celebrity or actress too?
Trade analyst and film critic Komal Nahta thinks so and says, “Considering, that, Yash Raj Films is the biggest studios and in fact empire today in Hindi film industry which makes Aditya Chopra, the most powerful man. By the virtue of being his wife, she can take the credit of being the most powerful actress today in B-town.”
By Dr. Shelly Ahmed (Star Guest Writer)
Diversity and inclusion have been steadily gaining traction in corporate India in recent years. Much of this is centered on gender diversity, and companies are beginning to realize the business imperative of hiring women and creating an equitable work environment. But there is another aspect that human resource managers in India need to wake up to: The importance of effectively managing a multigenerational workforce.
One may argue that organizations across the world have always had to manage a multigenerational workforce. While that is true, India’s demographics are creating some unique challenges. Even as the world is graying, India is getting younger. By 2020, the average Indian will be only 29 years of age compared with 37 in China and the U.S., 45 in Western Europe and 48 in Japan. Currently, more than half of India’s population is less than 25 years of age.
By Ramesh Reddy | INNLIVE
EXCLUSIVE An imperative decision of state bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh has a great impact in the alarming elections in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh making these elections very special. The politics in either state have been revolving around only issue – state bifurcation. Every stakeholder wants to get benefitted through state bifurcation in Telangana; conversely, when it comes to Seemandhra, no party wants to own the blame. This is a case of mere an exception that has ever seen by the voters of Andhra Pradesh.
By Waleed Al Saba | Riyadh
The World Tourism Organization said the deserts is a good environment for tourism activities. And in a country like Saudi Arabia with its vast geographical area, investing in desert tourism sector can be very lucrative.
Despite the efforts the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) to encourage all types of activities, more need to be made so that large desert areas can start making money with opportunities to make them tourism resorts.
“Desert Tourism” can have many features including adventure, discovery, getting to know new animals and plants, in addition to off-roading, sand skiing, camping, etc. All this however requires investment.
By Pramod Kamle | INNLIVE
INVESTIGATION That great gurgling noise you have been hearing over the last few years is the sound of Rs 3,00,000 crore of investor money in realty shares going down the drain.
Where did the money go? After all, even drains empty out into the sea. In the case of real estate, we know roughly where it went – into the pockets of politicians and their cronies - but cannot quite prove it.
The real estate business is simply not kosher and any commonsense understanding of visible signals can tell you that. For example, as the Sensex is hitting new highs, the BSE Realty Index is barely off its all-time lows.
By Pandit Ram Shankar (Guest Writer)
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE Dasaratha, King of Kosala had three wives - Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi . The kingdom was sad because he had no children. Putrakameshti Yaga was performed by Dasaratha for begetting a male progeny. Soon, the birth of his four sons, Rama (Kausalya), Lakshmana (Sumitra) and Bharata and Satrughana (Kaikeyi) was celebrated in Ayodhya , the Capital of Kosala.
The Vasistha Ramayana , which is one version of the Ramayana written by Valmiki, in its Adi parva refers to the ancestry of Dasaratha, his birth and how he became a king in the Solar dynasty.
By Prof. Manoj Kulkarni (Guest Writer)
HUMAN INTEREST As the world celebrates the 450th birth anniversary of the Bard of Avon Willam Shakespeare today, let's look back on how the maestro knew and wrote about India. Shakespeare lived at a time when India was ruled by Akbar the Great, or the Great Mogor as he was referred to by the sea-faring Europeans, whose long reign was marked by opulence, harmony and a resultant peace.
There are various references to India in Shakespearean plays. He uses words like Ind, Inde, India, Indies (East) and Indian to refer to a country fabulously rich.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
ANALYSIS Shazia Ilmi clearly does not get the basic precept of Politics 101 in India. In a heated election cycle, with everyone complaining to the Election Commission at the drop of a Gandhi topi, a politician does not -- make that: should never ever -- play sarcastic semantic games with words like “communal” and “secular”. “Muslims are not communal. They have become too secular. This time they should be communal. They should think for themselves.”
By Kajol Singh | INNLIVE
SPOTLIGHT If the Lok Sabha elections 2014 could be described in one word, it would likely be communal. Blame it on the Muzaffarnagar riots in Uttar Pradesh. Blame it on Modi. Blame it on the sickular libtards. Blame it on the boogie-woogie for all we care. Whatever the reason, the ugly truth is that we are in the midst of an election where polarisation rather than policy has become the name of the game. Our netas on the campaign trail have only served to fuel the proverbial fires - and not by accident either. In the scramble for votes, you gotta do whatcha gotta do.
By Likha Veer | INNLIVE
ANALYSIS Living through the past quarter of a century, in which the Congress was just one among many contenders for power, one thought that anti-Congressism had run its course. But it seems that the old division of political forces into Congress vs its opponents still has some relevance. Of course, dislike of and suspicion about the Congress continued even during the post-Congress phase (from 1989 onwards)—mainly as a strategy to forge non-Congress coalitions.
The high moment of this non-Congressism came in 1989, when the National Front government was propped up by both the BJP and the Left Front. Now, when the Congress is fighting to retain a semblance of a contest in the Lok Sabha polls, anti-Congressism is back in the political discourse. In the run-up to the ongoing election, the BJP’s PM candidate, Narendra Modi, has revived anti-Congressism—and more stridently than others in the recent past.
By Saraswat Sinha | INNLIVE
SPECIAL REPORT Foreigners keen on experiencing a slice of Indian elections are being treated to guided tours of this holy city and many of them have taken this opportunity to create awareness among voters urging them to exercise their franchise.
As political decibels rise, Varanasi is turning into a tourist magnet. "These tours are part of 'Heart of India', designed by a US-based operator which takes them to different parts of the country before ending in Varanasi. And, as the city has riveted the attention of the entire country, I thought it was only fitting to show them the heart of Indian democracy too," Som Nath, who conducts the tour here, told INNLIVE.
By Ravikant Sule | INNLIVE
RIFT POLITICS BJP sources claim missing photos of the senior BJP leader from posters installed at the rally was the outcome of the ongoing cold war between Gadkari and Uddhav Thackeray,
The ongoing feud between Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari once again became public with the latter’s absence from the dais and the posters installed at BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s rally at BKC.
Sources in the BJP claimed that since the Sena took the responsibility of organising the event, Gadkari’s picture was missing from posters and banners installed at the rally.
By Aparajita Tripathi (Guest Writer)
RESEARCH ANALYSIS Come elections and the parties sing a familiar tune. They go into an overdrive of pandering to our sense of insecurity about our communities, languages, regional development, ethnic origins and caste statuses.
Since the Indian mainland supports 1/6th of the world’s population with 1/16th of the world’s land, there are bound to be deficiencies and inequity. Add to it, the sense of persecution and a partial picture of biases, and we have the insecurity story complete and attractive.
By Rajlakhsmi Trivedi | Patna
Though official voting age may be 18 years, children between 12-14 years are also reported to have voted on April 17. The official voting age may be 18 years, but in Jagmalbigha village, under Khusrupur police station of Patna Saheb Lok Sabha constituency, children between 12-14 years are also reported to have voted on April 17. Moreover, while the village recorded a turnout of almost 70 per cent, not many have the indelible ink mark on their fingers.
“This time, even some children voted. Many people avoided the ink mark so that they could vote again in someone else’s name. There was largescale bogus voting while polling officials remained silent,” said Ram Vinay Kumar Singh, a villager.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
EDITORIAL It is received wisdom (or is it assumption?) that the Muslim vote will go against the BJP in most places. This might well happen in some constituencies and states, but there are now good reasons to question the assumption that the Muslim vote will be cast en bloc to stop the Narendra Modi bandwagon in its tracks.
To be sure, voting against Modi, even if it were to happen, does not affect the BJP’s overall prospects, especially if the anti-Modi vote is distributed among two or more parties parties, as it could happen in Uttar Pradesh. But there are now straws in the wind indicating that the Muslim vote may not be monolithic anyway. It may not even be that enthusiastic about voting solidly against Modi.
By Arhaan Faraaz | INNLIVE
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has sought the support of Telangana people for his party in the state and for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the centre to ensure inclusive development in society.
Addressing a mammoth election rally in Mahbubnagar, Rahul made a strong pitch for a prosperous and progressive Telangana with social justice.
“Only Congress will ensure development which will benefit Dalits, farmers, labourers, backwards, women and minorities. It will benefit Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians,” he said.
By Rajinder Puri | Delhi
Never has so much partisan passion been spent on a general election campaign. But readers are advised to read the following facts unemotionally and with detachment and then decide whether it is worth losing too much sleep over election result.
It is common knowledge that the closest confidant of Sonia Gandhi and her most powerful adviser in the party is Ahmed Patel. What are . Patel’s relations with fellow Gujarati Narendra Modi? In the last Rajya Sabha election Modi chose not to put up a candidate against Patel to allow him uncontested entry into parliament. Patel reciprocated to help the Gujarat government by interceding with the Union cabinet in order to lift the duty on import of cotton badly needed by the state government.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
Who is more dangerous for India – Arvind Kejriwal or Narendra Modi? This is a question that India needs to answer. But a recent article titled ‘Arvind Kejriwal: The Most Dangerous Man In Indian Politics’ has ventured to supply a one-sided answer to this question. The title is as catchy as it is misleading if not subversive.
The ensuing ‘analysis’ is sadly not borne out by facts but relies on obfuscation and rhetoric. The tragic outcome is that many pertinent facts have been buried beneath the rubble of unsubstantiated allegations and sinister accusations. On the whole the article is an anti-Kejriwal diatribe disguised as an intellectual treatise.
While conferring on Modi the respectable halo of a “firebrand Hindu nationalist”, the writer goes on to indulge in pure speculation and sweeping generalizations about Kejriwal and other AAP leaders.
By Sadanand Mihir | INNLIVE
SPECIAL REPORT Not rabble-rousing but deliverance through governance is what Kejriwal should be aiming at and for that he must steer clear of populist overtones that his 49-day rule as Delhi chief minister came to symbolise.
For many Indians, their country’s most exciting politician is neither the firebrand Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi nor the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty scion Rahul Gandhi, but Arvind Kejriwal, a mustachioed, bespectacled former tax inspector whom most people had barely heard of just three years ago.
By Sridhar Shah | INNLIVE
BREAKING Hate speeches show no signs of stopping this election season. After Azam Khan, Giriraj Singh, and Amit Shah, now Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Pravin Togadia has also reportedly jumped on the bandwagon by telling people to clear Muslims from areas where a majority of the residents were Hindus. Togadia had joined a VHP and Bajrang Dal street protest outside a house purchased by a Muslim businessman in Bhavnagar, Rajkot where he urged protesters to storm the house.
By Niloufer Khan | INNLIVE
SPECIAL REPORT Fatehpur Sikri, the must-see stopover for tourists driving from Agra to Jaipur via Bharatpur, is in the news, and it has little to do with the proposed new attractions at the famous Mughal-era monument. Even as the campaign cacophony reaches the crescendo here, the voters have a lot to discuss beyond politics.
Bollywood star power is in ample display here, courtesy the irrepressible Amar Singh who is contesting on a Rashtriya Lok Dal ticket from the seat this time. Never the one to shy away from flaunting his connections with the high and the mighty and the glamorous, the former Samajwadi Party leader has roped in a number of former and current Bollywood personalities to spice up his campaign.
-.jpg)
