Will Act After Courts Have Their Say: ECI On Election Promises

The Election Commission of India today said it is ready and willing to act on the subject of increased disclosure related to funding of electoral promises. Chief Election Commission of India Rajiv Kumar made the announcement after declaring the dates for the upcoming state assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. Kumar […]

Election Dates for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana & Chhattisgarh to be announced at noon

The Election Commission of India will announce the dates and time-table for elections into the legislative assemblies of five Indian states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram – at 12 noon today. These elections are significant because as they as seen as a semi-final before the national elections that will be held in […]

Brokerage Houses Project Continuity for Modi-Led BJP But With Reduced Majority

As India prepares for its next general elections in mid-2024, the biggest question is whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will secure a third consecutive term at the helm, or whether the new INDIA alliance will ride a way of anti-incumbency sentiments to power. According to recent research reports by prominent brokerage houses Jefferies and IIFL […]

General Election 2024: Jobs, allies key challenges for PM Modi’s re-election bid

As India prepares for its next general elections scheduled to be held in early 2024, all eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and whether he will secure a third consecutive term. Riding high on his continued popularity, Modi remains the frontrunner for 2024. However, he faces some emerging challenges that could complicate his re-election […]

Can India’s Pseudo-Secularism survive the ‘Hijab Challenge’?

Imagine that a taxpayer-funded college bans its students from wearing shorts on campus and a student approaches the court seeking to overturn the ban. If this happens in India, the first question the courts may ask the student is: Why do you want to wear shorts, is it part of your religious belief? If the […]

‘Gender neutral uniform’ leads to howls of protests in Kerala

A decision by a government school in Kerala to introduce trousers and shirt for both girls and boys has led to protests and demonstrations, especially from Muslim religious and cultural organizations. These organizations have alleged that the move amounts to imposing patriarchy and liberal values on women, and accused the school authorities of denying the […]

Padmaja Venugopal on election setback, Silverline project and Congress leadership

Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of legendary Congress leader K Karunakaran who was the chief minister of Kerala for several years is no new name in Kerala politics. She has been very active in KPCC over the past few decades and is known for taking strong stands on issues within and outside the party. In the recently […]

Sabu Jacob’s Kitex Garments starts Telangana unit

Kitex Garments has incorporated a new company in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, with an initial capital of Rs 100 cr, in keeping with the company’s earlier announcement of shifting some of its expansion to the new South Indian state. The Kerala-based company had created controversy in its home state several months ago due to political statements […]

Kerala CPIM warns of Islamist, Christian extremism on campuses

Abandoning its long-held restraint when it comes to commenting on extremists originating from minority communities, the Kerala unit of CPIM has included warnings about ‘attempts to spread extremism’ among students belonging to Muslim and Christian communities in Kerala. The warning, contained in this year’s guidebook for student leaders, was in addition to the traditional instruction […]

No need for census data, will protect reservation: Govt

Government of India on Wednesday said lack of economic and social data about intermediate castes will not impact their inclusion in OBC reservations for government services and higher education. Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, was replying to a question by MP TR Baalu on why the government is not collecting socio-economic data […]

Delhi Police says we only want info from Twitter

Delhi Police today said it only wanted to ask Twitter for any information the company had about the so-called manipulation of a ‘toolkit’ that was allegedly prepared by the main opposition party, Indian National Congress. It also accused Twitter of refusing to hand over “material evidence” about manipulation of the photographs contained in some BJP […]

BJP blames state govt for SC verdict on Maratha Reservation

The Maharashtra state unit of BJP has put the blame for the adverse judgment by the Supreme Court in the Maratha Reservation case squarely at the feet of the state government. Earlier today, a Supreme Court bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra Bhat today stuck […]

How Congress, BJP underestimated Pinarayi Vijayan

Keralites overwhelmingly voted to retain the government of Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala, breaking from a nearly half-a-century-old tradition of swapping the party in power every five years. Several factors have helped ensure a second term for Vijayan, but perhaps the most crucial has been the decisive and efficacious leadership shown by the politician during the […]

LIVE TABLE: TMC SET TO RETAIN WEST BENGAL – EXIT POLL RESULTS

Initial trends from exit polls suggest that the Trinamool Congress will retain West Bengal with around 165-170 seats, while the BJP will be just over the 100 seat mark. The first two results are from P-MARQ and ETG Research. Other results are expected to come out in the next few minutes for state assembly elections […]

Pinarayi Vijayan most popular among Hindus, Chandy leads among minorities

Even as one survey after another predict a win for the incumbent Left Front alliance in Kerala, an opinion poll conducted by the Media One news channel has thrown up some interesting figures on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s support levels among various religious communities. Pinarayi Vijayan, an atheist and a communist, is four times as […]

FOREIGN AID: 2,742 NGOs lose FCRA clearance in 3 years

Government of India has canceled or suspended the eligibility of thousands of non-government organizations to receive foreign aid in recent years, according to data from the ministry of home affairs, Government of India. The biggest cull came in 2019, when it removed 2,171 NGOs from the list of organizations eligible to receive funds from abroad. […]

SC to examine OTT regulations tomorrow

A Supreme Court bench of Ashok Bhushan and Subhash Reddy has asked to see the new regulations brought out by the central government on content apps. In an appeal for anticipatory bail for Amazon Prime creative head Aparna Purohit in a case of outraging Hindu sentiments, the bench asked the government what it plans to […]

Prashant Kishor to quit if BJP wins Bengal, hints at larger plans

Prashant Kishor, the political branding and communications consultant credited with crafting several highly successful election campaigns, said he will leave his profession if the BJP manages to win 100 seats (29.4%) in the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. “I will quit the work I’m doing.. I will cease to exist as a political aide, what […]

Why Kerala’s anti-fake news law is urgently needed

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has withdrawn the controversial Sec 118A of the Kerala Police Act, also known as the anti Fake News law, pending fine-tuning and further consultations. “Whoever makes, expresses, publishes or disseminates through any kind of mode of communication, any matter or subject for threatening, abusing, humiliating or defaming a person or […]