From the fight over DJ noise to questions over a midnight arrest, two controversies have exposed an uncomfortable gap between the BJP’s rhetoric on citizens’ rights and the conduct of its local establishment The BJP in Pune is facing mounting criticism over two separate but politically resonant episodes — the assault on citizen activist Vidyanand Bapat, who had campaigned against loud DJ systems, and the arrest of YouTuber Santosh Pandit, a familiar civic commentator who has

At forty-six, Nitin Nabin—the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party—has taken his initial, decisive steps to assert organisational authority. Stepping out from the long shadows cast by the seasoned political heavyweights of the Centre, the Modi-Shah duo, is a formidable endeavour. Yet, in orchestrating his inaugural slate of office bearers, Nabin has demonstrated subtle tactical adroitness, signalling a deliberate shift. Bringing back feisty Smriti Irani, who had fallen from gr

Written off after her 2024 defeat, Smriti Irani’s return underlines the BJP’s continuing faith in one of its most combative political voices. Smriti Irani’s return to the BJP’s organisational high table is a reminder that in politics, defeat is often an intermission rather than an ending. For a politician whose career has been marked by spectacular rises and humiliating reversals, Irani’s latest comeback is almost on brand. Earlier this week, BJP president Nitin Nabin had nam

Mumbai: In 2014, when Narendra Modi first ascended to the Prime Minister’s office, he entrusted the politically complex and electorally decisive state of Uttar Pradesh to his closest confidant, Amit Shah. Now, in a move that has sent ripples through the corridors of power, the Bharatiya Janata Party has bestowed that exact strategic mantle upon its National General Secretary, Vinod Tawde. With the crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly elections looming just a year away in 2027, Tawd

Mumbai: A recent political skirmish between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife, Amruta and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has inadvertently breathed new life into one of Maharashtra’s longest-running political debates: Is the Chief Minister quietly preparing to shift his base to New Delhi? Following a provocation by Raut regarding a potential move to the national capital, Amruta delivered a sharp retort, asserting that unlike the Sena leader, both she and her husband remain

The proposed name change comes nearly 20 years after the bungalow was built Pune: The recent controversy over renaming the Pune Mayoral bungalow has less to do with a name than with the timing of the proposal. The property built specifically as the Mayor’s official residence nearly two decades ago had until now, been known simply as ‘Mayor’s Bungalow.’ The BJP’s proposal to rename it ‘Ramdoot’ has now turned a seemingly insignificant civic decision into a political argument.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has moved beyond tax reform to become the economic engine of India’s ambition to become a developed nation. AI generated image Nine years ago, the GST replaced a maze of taxes, cesses and state-level barriers with a single national framework. Since then, it has altered how goods move across the country, how businesses enter the formal economy, how governments track economic activity and how the Centre and states share fiscal responsibilities.

Mumbai: In a glaring display of internal friction within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly issued a stern reprimand to Shiv Sena leader and social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat. The dressing-down comes in the wake of Shirsat’s highly controversial visit to the family of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the newly floated Cockroach Janta Party. The meeting has touched a raw nerve within the Bharatiya Janata Party, turning

The shocking violence that occurred during the protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which left 118 policemen injured in Delhi, raises an uncomfortable question: why does the national capital repeatedly become the stage for protest movements that cross the line from dissent into disorder? When a demonstration against educational reforms results in scores of injured policemen, the issue becomes a serious question of public order and accountability. The geography of

Ambernath: Serious allegations of financial irregularities have surfaced in Ambernath's solid waste management system, with BJP corporators accusing Samiksha Waste Management Infra Pvt. Ltd. of artificially inflating garbage collection weights to generate excess payments. The corporators have demanded an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities and sought the immediate blacklisting of the company. They have also alleged that the entire operation has continued

For decades, Swapan Dasgupta made a career of diagnosing India’s political ailments. As a columnist, editor, author and public intellectual, the erudite and scintillating Dasgupta dissected challenged orthodoxies and defended the intellectual traditions of the Indian Right. However, following his new appointment as the new Finance Minister of a West Bengal in economic doldrums, he perhaps faces the most demanding assignment of his career. His supporters however are confident

Raghav Chadha, Tejaswi Surya, Nishikant Dubey, Praful Patel CAN be included New Delhi: A significant reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Council of Ministers is widely expected after June 16. Several prominent and senior faces could make way for a younger, more energetic, and politically active generation of leaders. There is considerable speculation in political circles that influential ministers such as Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhupender Yadav may no longer remain p

Congress takes on the government with a new zeal Mumbai Youth Congress workers organise 'Yuva Akrosh Morcha' in Dadar, Mumbai, on Tuesday to protest against the NEET and CBSE examination scams. Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: For over a decade since it was eased out of power, the Maharashtra Congress faced a series of electoral debacles, a demoralised organisation and receding visibility – the last which mattered most. That perception is apparently changing as the state and ci

As the BJP expands its political dominance, Indian Muslims need to rethink old electoral assumptions in engaging with the BJP. It is fascinating to read Arvind Singh’s ‘India’s Rogue Historians: How They Fought Hindus at Ayodhya & Lost’ (Redux Publications) in the context of the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s recent Bhojshala judgment. Singh, in his 830-page tome, explains how India’s Muslims, persuaded by the cohort of Marxist historians, squandered every opportunity to reconci

It seems that the Congress party has developed a remarkable talent that whenever it is handed a rare political victory, it treats it not as a mandate to govern but as an opportunity for collective nervous collapse. Having been reduced to a shrinking archipelago amid the BJP’s continental expansion, the party finally managed to secure Kerala this time. And yet, instead of focusing on issues, it has immediately begun heckling its own Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan over his surn

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav offers 'prasad' to people on the occasion of Bada Mangal in Lucknow on Tuesday. Pic: PTI New Delhi: In Uttar Pradesh politics, "saffron" has evolved from being merely a color to a potent political symbol encompassing power, culture, security, and social psychology. Once considered the distinctive identity of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), this color has now seeped into the lexicon of opposition politics as well. With the 2027 assembly e

The Congress’ crisis is not merely electoral decline, but the slow exhaustion of imagination, organisation and ideological clarity. For a long time, my understanding of opposition was deeply personal. It began at the dining table. I had just entered college. We had moved to a new house. New friends, new influences, and conversations that stretched late into the evening. At home, the dining table became a miniature parliament. Strong Hindu voices surrounded me in conversations

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s emphatic return to power in Assam marks more than a regional electoral triumph. With Himanta Biswa Sarma sworn in for a second consecutive term after the NDA’s sweeping victory of 102 seats in the 126-member Assembly, the BJP has entrenched itself as the dominant political force across India’s eastern frontier. For the first time in Assam’s history, a non-Congress chief minister has secured two consecutive terms. That is a tectonic shift. For deca

While democracy needs a credible opposition, it is not the BJP’s responsibility to create one. Elections in India since 2014 have increasingly generated an engaging debate- the “lack” of a political opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Barring a few setbacks, especially the 2024 general elections, most electoral contests since 2014 have recorded a steady and spectacular march of the BJP. The post-West Bengal iteration of this debate has an even graver existentiali