• 

  Opinion | Jaitley will surely recover and return to active politics

  May 30, 2019 12:02 IST

  On Wednesday night, when senior BJP leaders and government functionaries were busy preparing the list of ministers, Prime Minister Modi went to meet Jaitley at the latter's residence. 

• 

  Opinion | Why is Mamata Banerjee scared of BJP in West Bengal?

  May 29, 2019 12:12 IST

  The entry of 2 TMC MLAs and 56 councillors in BJP signifies that all is not well inside the ruling party in Bengal. BJP has already expanded its base in rural areas, and the TMC is now mostly confined to urban and semi-urban areas.

• 

  Opinion | Victory has given Modi the power to talk to world leaders from a position of strength

  May 28, 2019 11:51 IST

  Modi had finalized his foreign visit plans even when he was busy during the election campaign in April and May. This shows the level of confidence Modi had about his impending landslide victory, even before the results were out. 

• 

  Opinion | Opposition failed to gauge Modi tsunami

  May 25, 2019 10:36 IST

  Added to this were the first time voters, who normally keep their connect with the outside world mostly through internet. A tech savvy PM like Modi knew the effect of PUBG and Avengers on these teenage voters, and he mentioned this too in his speeches. 

• 

  OPINION | Aaj Ki Baat May 23 episode: A big salute to the Indian voter and Narendra Modi

  May 24, 2019 16:25 IST

  India on Thursday gave a resounding mandate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party for another second term in power, cutting across deep fault lines of caste, religion, family loyalties and class drawn over several decades. The BJP won 303 LS seats and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 352 seats in the Lok Sabha.

• 

  Opinion | Questioning the EVM amounts to insult of democracy

  May 22, 2019 15:08 IST

  Questioning the integrity and impartiality of the Election Commission, without even a shred of solid evidence, and that too, even before the votes are counted, amounts to insulting democracy.

• 

  OPINION | Aaj Ki Baat May 20 episode: Why the exit poll projections in favour of Modi sound convincing

  May 21, 2019 14:28 IST

  Coming to the exit polls: I do not think they are reasons to doubt the veracity of exit poll projections. If all the exit polls predict a majority for Modi, there can be no reason to doubt the projections. Figures may vary, but even if NDA gets 250+ seats, it will be Modi who will be forming the government.

• 

  Opinion | Rahul cannot blame media for giving more space to Modi

  May 18, 2019 9:56 IST

  Both Modi and BJP President Amit Shah have claimed that the party would get a comfortable majority. How far this claim is true, I shall reveal on Sunday evening when the exit poll results will be telecast on India TV. 

• 

  Opinion | How Modi has put Mamata on the defensive in Bengal

  May 17, 2019 10:53 IST

  I have never seen Mamata Banerjee so aggressive in the last ten years.  Before she came to power, she used to chant slogans like "CPM Hatao, Bengal Bachao". Now her slogan is "Modi Hatao, Bengal Bachao".

• 

  Opinion | Rajat Sharma on why is Mamata furious over EC's curb on campaigning in West Bengal

  May 16, 2019 16:24 IST

  Clearly, Mamata Banerjee is furious because (1) she will miss two of her close aides in the last lap of campaigning, and (2) she will not be able to hold a mega rally in Kolkata, which she had planned on Friday, the last day of campaign. Mamata had planned to create a Bengali versus Outsiders issue, but her campaign will now be cut short.

• 

  Opinion | Sam Pitroda's remark on 1984 anti-Sikh riots may harm Congress in Punjab

  May 14, 2019 14:52 IST

  Politically, this objectionable remark by Pitroda, who has already apologized, is going to cost the Congress heavily in Punjab. 

• 

  Opinion | Some Congress leaders have this knack of scoring self-goals during elections

  May 11, 2019 22:54 IST

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing election rallies on Friday sarcastically pulled up the Congress for Pitroda's "hua toh hua" remark, and said this revealed the mindset of the Congress leaders towards the anti-Sikh pogrom that took place soon after the assassination of the then PM Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.

• 

  Opinion | Why Modi read out list of abuses hurled at him in the last 17 years?

  May 09, 2019 14:47 IST

  There is no doubt that Narendra Modi has himself become  the main issue in this general election. If you remove Modi's name, at least 90 per cent of the speeches of Congress leaders would go waste.

• 

  Opinion | Mamata is trying to raise the issue of Bengalis versus outsiders

  May 08, 2019 14:15 IST

  Elections may come and go. Leaders may win or lose power. All this is part of democracy, but to use such words for political gains is unacceptable.

• 

  Opinion | Mamata should avoid politics over cyclone issue

  May 07, 2019 14:38 IST

  Mamata Banerjee is a good political fighter, no doubt. She knows how to respond to political attacks, but in times of natural disaster, when the common man is facing crisis, it is not proper to bring political rivalry to a personal level.

• 

  Opinion | A big diplomatic victory for India

  May 02, 2019 8:58 IST

  Much spadework was done by India's External Affairs Ministry, and by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in particular.

• 

  Opinion: Sword of contempt is still hanging over Rahul Gandhi

  May 01, 2019 11:34 IST

  The apex court told his lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi: "What is the meaning of regret within brackets? ...You needed a 22-page affidavit to express complete regret? You make a statement and try to justify? Where have we said what you have attributed to us in public speeches?"

• 

  Opinion | Why is Mamata Banerjee worried over heavy polling in West Bengal?

  April 30, 2019 18:32 IST

  In the last several elections, including assembly and panchayat polls, there were incidents of large scale violence and there were allegations about TMC workers trying to prevent Congress and BJP supporters from voting. There used to be incidents of bomb throwing and stabbing in the recent past.

• 

  Opinion | The reasons why Modi is giving sleepless nights to Mamata, Naveen Patnaik

  April 24, 2019 11:32 IST

  Prime Minister Modi has therefore decided to strike when the iron is hot. On Tuesday, he named Naveen Patnaik and said that he would not tolerate attacks on BJP workers by the ruling party supporters.

• 

  Opinion | Why Rahul Gandhi had to admit before SC that he lied in Rafale case?

  April 23, 2019 12:55 IST

  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has already stated that Anil Ambani's company was one of the nearly 100 companies who got offset contracts from the makers of Rafale aircraft, Dassault Aviation. 

• 

  Opinion | Rajat Sharma on why Mayawati decided to bury the hatchet with Mulayam Singh Yadav

  April 20, 2019 15:17 IST

  ​History was rewritten in the sleepy town of Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, when Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati appeared on the dais with Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and asked voters to elect her former sworn enemy to Parliament.   

• 

  Opinion | Impressive turnout at PM Modi's rallies in Kerala is surprising

  April 19, 2019 14:30 IST

  I think, the huge turnouts at Modi's rallies in Kerala are indicative of a perceptive swing in the mood of common voters, and BJP may benefit from it.

• 

  Opinion | Why BJP leadership fielded Sadhvi Pragya against Digvijay Singh?

  April 18, 2019 15:07 IST

  It is an irony of fate that Digvijay Singh will now have to face the lady, whom he had blamed as a terrorist and anti-national, while for the BJP, the Sadhvi has become a symbol of nationalism and patriotism. 

• 

  Opinion | Rahul is unnecessarily inviting problems by his wrong choice of words

  April 17, 2019 13:43 IST

  This not an isolated case about slip of tongue. On Monday, the Supreme Court, acting on a petition by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, issued notice to Rahul Gandhi for misleading the public by saying that the apex court has found the Prime Minister guilty of corruption in Rafale deal. 

• 

  Opinion | Why is Modi confident about retaining majority in LS polls?

  April 16, 2019 15:16 IST

  Modi, as I have already said earlier, has already felt the voters' pulse by consistently raising the issue of nationalism in his rallies. He hopes that his party will repeat , if not better the 2014 LS poll result. We shall have to wait for the verdict on May 23.

• 

  Opinion | Modi is tapping public anger over Opposition questioning Balakot air strike

  April 13, 2019 11:00 IST

  Modi has felt the pulse of the people, and he is raising this issue in almost all his public meetings. 

• 

  Opinion | Rajat Sharma on why Modi is always best when he is aggressive

  April 12, 2019 16:22 IST

  Modi indicated that his government would retain power and he clearly said that he would ensure that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and Triple Talaq abolition law are passed in Parliament.

• 

  Opinion | Why Devendra Fadnavis said, Modi will put an end to Kashmir issue

  April 11, 2019 13:35 IST

  The Maharashtra Chief Minister, who will be completing five years of rule this October, spoke extensively about his ally Shiv Sena, and made the audience guffaw when he made sarcastic remarks about NCP chief Sharad Pawar. He also spoke about MNS chief Raj Thackeray.