Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s recent comments, acknowledging that Shiv Sena workers in Dharashiv have expressed feelings of "betrayal" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within the Mahayuti alliance, mark a pivotal and ironic inflection point in the state’s volatile politics. While Shinde was quick to categorize these sentiments as merely "local" and insisted that contesting independently does not make the allies "foes," the very language he used

Congress solo threat rattles MVA Mumbai : The unilateral decision of the state Congress to contest the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently has apparently rattled the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) main allies and smaller parties, with hectic backstage politicking underway.   Barely a week after AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala’s terse announcement, supported vociferously by Mumbai unit chief Varsha Gaikwad, there are indications of the other par

The Congress’ tie-up with the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi tests whether old social coalitions can be rebuilt from the panchayat upwards. The forthcoming Maharashtra local bodies’ polls for Nagar Parishads and Nagar Panchayats, normally governed by hyper-local quarrels and ward-level patronage, have become unusually momentous. The reason is a political experiment where the Congress party has chosen to ally with the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA), Prakash Ambedkar’s Ambedkarite outf

In the political churn that followed the Emergency (1975–77), one of Maharashtra’s most defining moments came in 1978 when the joint government of the Reddy Congress and the Indira Congress collapsed. A young Sharad Pawar, then just 38, walked out with 40 MLAs and brought down the government. He soon returned to power via the ‘Pulod’ alliance, only to move back into the Congress fold in 1986 — and then break away again in 1999 to float the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ove

Nitish Kumar’s tenth ascent to power marks not just personal endurance but the remaking of Bihar’s political economy. Patna:  Chief Minister Nitish Kumar embodies the peculiar mix of durability and opportunism that defines much of Indian state politics. Admirers cast him as a ‘modern Chanakya’ while critics deride him as a relentless shape-shifter. Both readings miss the more telling point which is that Kumar has become the architect of Bihar’s long, hesitant transition from

Mumbai:  Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is facing a profound political vulnerability, one that is strikingly reminiscent of the internal pressures he experienced before his seismic 2022 revolt. As local body elections grip Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the senior partner in the ruling Mahayuti alliance, is aggressively pursuing an expansion agenda that directly targets Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, creating acute friction and forcing Shinde to seek interve

As household agency turns into electoral agency, women are redefining what Indian politics must answer to. I grew up watching a pattern in my home. Every birthday or festival, my father would bring my mother a saree or a gift something he believed she would like. And without fail, she would wince. Not because she disliked the gift, but because she had never been asked. Her choice had been assumed for her. For years, she let it pass because life was full of bigger battles. Whe

PM Modi, Amit Shah to attend grand ceremony at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan today Patna: In a meticulous display of unanimity, the NDA legislative party on Wednesday endorsed Nitish Kumar to be sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar for a record tenth time - an unprecedented milestone in Indian politics. He will take the oath at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday before a gallery of national heavyweights, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and chief ministers f

India’s electorate is maturing faster than its political class, leaving parties trapped in outdated assumptions about caste, freebies and grievance. Are political parties keeping pace with the citizens they seek to woo? As the dust settles after the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) emphatic win in Bihar, the familiar ritual of parties, pundits and psephologists rummaging through their usual toolkit of explanations has begun. The familiar debates and arguments of pro-incum

The great Yadav household melodrama, replete with scandal and sibling rivalry, is prompting questions as to whether the discord is a genuine rupture or a political smokescreen Patna: India’s politics has long been sustained by families that look more like hereditary courts than democratic organisations. Across the Republic, parties have been shaped by clans that dispense power, manage patronage networks and fight internecine battles with all the fervour of medieval royalty. T

Mumbai: The rift between the ruling alliance partners BJP and Shiv Sena, ahead of the crucial local body elections, was highlighted on Tuesday when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reprimanded Shiv Sena ministers for purportedly boycotting the cabinet meeting over the BJP's induction of former Shiv Sena corporators. However, the issue was swiftly put to rest. Following a mere 10-minute meeting with the CM, the ministers declared that the dispute was over, having secured a non

Harshwardhan Sapkal Mumbai : In a significant strategic shift, the Maharashtra Congress has formally cleared the decks for need-based, local-level alliances with the long-isolated Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) led by Prakash Ambedkar, for ongoing and upcoming civic elections, top leaders of both sides said.   State Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal said the decision balances the party workers’ strong preference to contest civic polls independently with the political reali

Mumbai: The Congress party’s decision to contest the forthcoming BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently is being viewed as an attempt to reclaim its ideological space among the public and restore credibility within its cadre, senior leaders indicated. The announcement - made by AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala alongside state president Harshwardhan Sapkal and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad - did not trigger a backlash from the Maharash

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra is executing a highly adaptable and aggressive strategy, branded as 'Flexible Power Play', to not only register a sweeping victory in the upcoming local body polls – including 246 municipal councils and 42 Nagar Panchayats – but also to emerge as the single largest party across the state. The local body polls, which are taking place almost after 9 years, are being viewed as a critical stepping stone to consolidate the pa

Mumbai: The thumping victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the recent Bihar Assembly elections was more than just a mandate for development; it was a resounding validation of meticulous planning and astute political strategy. At the operational heart of this success was Vinod Tawde, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) National General Secretary and the designated in-charge for Bihar affairs. For Tawde, an organisational veteran who spent decades navigating the v

If you drive through Jharkhand today, past its bustling mineral towns and tribal heartlands, you will see a land reborn. Yet, behind the rhythm of progress lies a history of defiance and dreams, fierce oppositions and hard-earned victories. As Jharkhand celebrates its 25th anniversary, this is not just a milestone. It is proof that India's youngest state is no longer a byword for backwardness but a case study in resilience. It is also a reminder of how regional identities, lo

Mumbai: In a dramatic political twist, the Maharashtra Congress will contest the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections solo, AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala announced here on Saturday. The Maharashtra Congress on Saturday released a list of 40 star campaigners for the upcoming municipal and nagar panchayat elections in the state. “We will contest all 227 seats independently in the BMC polls. This is the desire of all our party leaders and work

Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar lose leverage Mumbai: The crushing landslide victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the recent Bihar Assembly elections has triggered immediate, profound ripples across the political chessboard of Maharashtra, significantly diminishing the bargaining power of its two crucial allies - the Shiv Sena under Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party under DCM Ajit Pawar in the ruling Mahayuti. Political analy

From Amit Shah’s silent calculus to the steady hands of Modi and Nitish, the NDA’s unity became its greatest campaign message. Union Minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan being garlanded by the party's winning MLAs during a press conference in Patna on Saturday. Pic: PTI Bihar’s recent election results tell a story much larger than the numbers on the scoreboard. The NDA’s historic mandate is, in many ways, a reflection of the state’s evolving political consciousne

A surge in female turnout and a fractured opposition deliver the NDA a sweeping mandate and bury Bihar’s old spectre of jungle raj Patna: A powerful combination of record female turnout, a fractured opposition and voter preference for stability propelled the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a sweeping victory in the Bihar Assembly election results on Friday. Years of targeted welfare for women, coupled with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign pull and Nitish Kumar’s