On Afzal Guru’s Execution
When home minister Sushilkumar Shinde was asked whether the execution of Afzal Guru was “political”, he said it was not a political decision but “done in accordance to the law”. The assumption,...
View ArticleCongress' Chidu Moment
A finance minister readying to present the last regular Budget before the next general elections has to display a split personality. On the one side, he has to act as an imaginative and forward-looking...
View ArticleThe Sonia Years
Last week, Sonia Gandhi completed 15 years as president of the Congress. Her reign is no mean achievement: she is the longest serving chief of the 128-year-old party. Sonia is not about to retire. Nor...
View ArticleCoalition politics in Congress Chakravyuha
Realpolitik can be fascinating to watch, more so when there is talk that the fall of a government is imminent. But don't reach for the calculator yet to gauge the course. Agreed, it is hard not to,...
View ArticleThe Limits of SP-Cong Checkmating Games
Power politics in this coalition era is not aDharma Yudh. It is a dog-eat-dog world where the fittest and the smartest survive and thrive by gobbling up the proclaimed enemies and deftly neutralising...
View ArticleTwin dilemmas for BJP: Narendra Modi poses a problem and opportunity
When you go to bed tonight, you can be sure of waking up to a cacophony on your TV screen that would easily eclipse the IPL fireworks. Expect another blitzkrieg from Gujarat chief minister Narendra...
View ArticleMao, Indira & VS Offer Modi a Model Each
Those who have been waiting for the ‘Narendra Modi Vs Rahul Gandhi’ battle may be bewildered by the internal drama unfolding in the BJP. It began with JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar challenging Rahul’s...
View ArticleAshwani Kumar and the Law of Connections
For someone who has actively courted the limelight, law minister Ashwani Kumar’s current predicament — following his decision to vet a CBI report on the coal block allocation case — offers a delicious...
View ArticleBansal - the self-made politician caught in family tangles
Pawan Kumar Bansal’s mild manners hide a steely resolve to outdo rivals, most notable being Venod SharmaHis smiling demeanor and persuasive ways had all along helped Pawan Kumar Bansal survive the...
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Operation Clean Up: UPA's Do or Die Phase
This May not only marks the beginning of another harsh summer in Delhi but also signals the crisis-torn UPA-II entering the last year of its mandate with elections scheduled for March-April 2014 even...
View ArticleUPA's last supper or more to come?
One would expect anniversary celebrations to synonymous with confidence and excitement. But when UPA - 2 marked its fourth anniversary last week with a customary political jamboree, the air was thick...
View ArticleA Year of Subtle Moves by ‘Political Prez’
President Pranab Mukherjee is missing Parliament sessions the most: An aidePresident Pranab Mukherjee will complete a year in office on Thursday. When he assumed office, there was the question what...
View ArticleKerala crisis: Can Oommen Chandy survive solar scam?
The opposition Left Democratic Front's (LDF's) blockade of the Kerala state secretariat at Thiruvananthapuram has hit the headlines for two primary reasons.First, for its sheer visual impact. The...
View ArticleWhy Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and the BJP have no choice but to partner
During the politically eventful 1996-2004 era, Nara Chandrababu Naidu's visits to Delhi as supremo of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the high-profile CM of Andhra Pradesh who, more importantly, also...
View ArticleRahul’s Guerrilla Moment
With its Ordinance spinning out of control , the Congress used an extraordinary strategyRahul Gandhi’s show at Press Club of India last week, thrashing the Ordinance that the UPA had brought in to...
View ArticleRahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi & their tests
Upcoming elections will test the mettle of both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi The nip in Delhi’s air, heralding the arrival of the winter season, coincides with a palpable rise in the political...
View ArticleWhat, Why & Who of Secular Convention
A secular convention is being organised by Left parties in the national capital today. Here is a take on the compulsions, calculations and dynamics of each political party that will rub shoulders on...
View Article"Modi’s lack of knowledge on Sardar Patel, History matter of big concern"...
Exclusive interview with Union Minister & Nehru's Biographer, Shashi TharoorWhat do you think about Narendra Modi's and BJP's attempts to lay claim to the legacy of Sardar Patel?Modi is trying to...
View ArticleModi should highlight Golwalkar, not Patel
Pursuing legacies is an enduring inspiration, both for those who want to be stimulated by examples of great lives and times as well as for those who want to create their own. But it becomes a case of...
View ArticleDon't count those chickens
The run up to 2014 elections promises to be as colourful and gripping as any box-office blockbusterWe have entered the New Year witnessing much drama in politics. The electoral rout of the Congress in...
View ArticleCongress War Session - In Hour of Crises
Congress’ one-day AICC session in Delhi on Friday comes at a time when the party faces its worst crises. If crippling electoral routs, tainted image of its central government, surging inflation,...
View ArticleRahul Gandhi's Second Coming
Defeat can often prove to be the best magic potion for a bounceback. Rahul Gandhi’s surprisingly powerful and focused political speech at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meet in Delhi on Friday...
View ArticleWho’s afraid of Arvind Kejriwal?
At the end of every political stand-off, there are always hair-splitting arguments about the exact nature of the victory, defeat or truce. That is now playing out after the central government and Aam...
View ArticleCongress' Kiran in the Seemandhra battlefield
If the Congress has its way in Parliament, India will have its 29th state, Telangana, during the winter session. In reality, Telangana statehood is being pushed by the Congress not as an...
View ArticleThe Varanasi Agneepath
Rahul Gandhi or sister Priyanka challenging Narendra Modi can alter electoral equations Election season is not about daily TV bouts among rootless wonders, masquerading as “strategists” and...
View ArticleCongress' mid-war strategic switch-over
As the tempo of the Lok Sabha election campaign is touching the crescendo, a change of gear in the Congress electioneering pitch has become all the more visible. One reason, of course, is that...
View ArticleWhy Old is Gold in Indian politics?
Friday morning's newspaper headlines have declared a positive trend; voter turn-out in the Lok Sabha elections has recorded an upward boost. The enthusiasm of India's large youth population in...
View ArticleRahul Gandhi's Discovery of Congress
To witness the making of history from up close is a privilege. To witness its replay is a bonus. Sonia Gandhi’s address to the Congress Parliamentary Party on May 24 at its gloomiest post-Independence...
View ArticleForget armchair politics Rahul, last chance to save the sinking ship
It will be fascinating to see how Rahul Gandhi will deal with the aftermath of his party's worst electoral defeat. A leader's mettle is tested in defeat as much in victory.If Indira Gandhi was "Durga"...
View ArticleTo get the A K Antony panel report correct, read the Congress politics right
Congress veteran A K Antony, who on 14th August submitted to party president Sonia Gandhi a probe report on the reasons for the Congress’ disastrous electoral performance in the Lok Sabha polls, must...
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