For months, speculation of a chill between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has animated India’s commentariat. This was particularly pronounced in the aftermath of the 2024 Lok Sabha election where the BJP, despite emerging as the single-largest party, had failed to form the government on its own. This fuelled talk of a ‘cold war’ between the ideological fountainhead and the political executive. It is against this backdrop that RSS general secr

Once a powerhouse, the state now faces debt, deindustrialisation and a steady flight of capital and labour For a state that once stood as one of India’s foremost economic engines, West Bengal, for the better part since Independence, has been caught in a prolonged cycle of stagnation, fiscal stress and outward migration. The promise of political change has come and gone across regimes, from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the All India Trinamool Congress, but the und

Political circle wonders whether the historic 92.88 per cent turnout reflects anti-incumbency or stronger support for the ruling regime Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves during a roadshow amid the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections in Dum Dum, North 24 Parganas district. New Delhi: West Bengal's political landscape appears to be scripting a new narrative this time, one written through numbers, but rich in deeper meaning. In the first phase of the assembly elections, 92.8

Mumbai:  Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday launched a blistering, wide-ranging attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments at the Centre and in the state, targeting what he termed as a ‘toxic political climate’, rising crimes against women, and a ‘hire-and-fire’ culture hurting workers. Addressing the 58th annual general meeting of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, Thackeray delivered a strong political cocktail laced with jibes, concerns over labour rig

The Women’s Reservation Bill, proposing 33 percent quotas in Parliament, ran aground on the shoals of a missing two-thirds majority. Yet, its failure may prove less a setback for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) than a carefully staged gambit, especially ahead of key Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. On the face of it, the government’s push appeared quixotic. Without the requisite numbers, legislative success was improbable. But politics is about shapin

Samrat Choudhary’s ascent marks the BJP’s long-awaited primacy in Bihar but escaping Nitish Kumar’s towering legacy will define his rule. Reaching the summit of power in Bihar has never been easy. Staying there, while commanding acceptance across the state’s intricate social mosaic, is harder still. The recent elevation of Samrat Choudhary as Bihar’s 24th Chief Minister marks the beginning of a new political phase, one in which the Bharatiya Janata Party finally assumes the r

BJP is blending ideology with pragmatism, elevating leaders from rival parties to power New Delhi: The growing tendency of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to elevate leaders from other parties to the position of Chief Minister represents a shift, one that reflects not only a recalibration of the party's strategy but also the evolving character of Indian politics itself. Once known primarily as a cadre-based party anchored firmly in ideological commitment, the BJP has entered

Samrat Choudhary's ascent reflects legacy, caste dynamics, and political shifts Patna:  The rise of Samrat Choudhary in Bihar's political landscape is not merely the story of an individual's success, but a reflection of a long political tradition, evolving social equations, and shifting power dynamics over time. Following his election as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party's legislative wing, his elevation to the chief minister's office appears almost certain, which is m

Choudhary becomes third ‘imported’ BJP leader to get highest post after Himanta Biswa Sarma and Basavraj Bommai Patna:  The phase of political uncertainty and intense maneuvering that gripped Bihar over the past few days has finally come to an end. Following the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Bharatiya Janata Party moved swiftly to bring clarity by electing Samrat Choudhary as the leader of its legislative party. It is now confirmed that Choudhary will be swo

Stands accused of recording and circulating objectionable photographs and videos of over 180 minor girls AI generated image Mumbai: The BJP has demanded that the illegal residence of the accused in the Paratwada case, Ayan Ahmed Tanveer Ahmed be razed even as the police arrested the 19-year-old man on Monday. A massive social media exploitation scandal rocked Paratwada in Amravati district following the arrest of Ayan Ahmed Tanveer Ahmed. He was arrested for allegedly recordi

Kisan Kathore Ambernath : A major controversy has erupted in the Ambernath–Badlapur region of Thane district after jailed gangster Ejaz Lakdawala alleged that BJP Murbad MLA Kisan Kathore was linked to a contract killing plot targeting businessman Vishwanath Panvelkar. In a letter sent from Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail on March 30 to Thane–Badlapur police, Lakdawala claimed he was approached to carry out a murder, triggering a massive political and criminal uproar across the dis

Artists perform during a BJP roadshow for filing of nomination papers in Kolkata on Thursday . | Pic: PTI New Delhi: On the political landscape of West Bengal, the celebration of democracy often descends into blood-stained imagery. Elections, which ought to embody the spirit of civic rights, frequently emerge instead as violent expressions of fear, retribution, and the assertion of dominance. The most distressing aspect of this reality is that ordinary citizens, especially wo

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi greets supporters during a roadshow ahead of the Kerala assembly polls, in Kozhikode district on Tuesday. | Pic: PTI New Delhi:  At a critical electoral juncture in Kerala, the political contest being waged in the name of ideology appears less about public welfare and more like a renewed struggle for the division of power. Kerala's electoral battle exposes contradictions between ideology and alliances, as BJP, Congress, and

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi with party leaders during a public meeting ahead of the Kerala assembly elections in Kallachi, Kerala on Tuesday. | Pic: PTI Kerala: Kerala's assembly elections face surging anti-incumbency against LDF after a decade in power, fueled by corruption, nepotism, unemployment, and youth migration. Rahul and Modi intensify a tight triangular race with UDF slightly ahead.   Kerala's political landscape stands at a decisive crossroad

In Maharashtra’s fractious politics, the BJP is showing that power lies not in noise, but in deft timing. Maharashtra’s politics has rarely lacked for drama. Alliances fray and reform, and crises appear with theatrical regularity. Yet the state’s current political moment is less about spectacle than about subtlety. Two seemingly unrelated episodes – the grim scandal surrounding a self-styled godman in Nashik and a local council election in Satara - offer a revealing glimpse i

Coalitions, like marriages, are tested less by grand crises than by small humiliations. The ruling Mahayuti – a coalition between the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the late Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party - has found itself rattled by precisely such an episode. The proximate cause was the election of the Satara Zilla Parishad president. The controversy hinges on allegations that local police prevented some elected members from voting during the

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party has moved decisively closer to an outright majority in the Rajya Sabha after the latest biennial polls, a shift that political strategists say is the product of careful arithmetic, opportunistic cross voting and a sustained focus on state level strength. With the ruling party now holding 106 of the 245 seats in the Upper House, it stands 17 short of the 123 seat majority mark; yet the pattern of recent results and the calendar of forthcoming

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee holds a child on the occassion of Eid al-Fitr in Kolkata on Saturday. New Delhi: In the West Bengal assembly elections, issues of illegal infiltration and freebies are set to dominate the discourse. The BJP is weaving its strategy around infiltration, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has countered by branding the 'Special Intensive Revision' (SIR) as the first phase of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). In this race, the TMC