Vandita Mishra
Vandita is The Indian Express National Opinion Editor
Articles By Vandita Mishra
Akhilesh Yadav interview: ‘I had said even if I have to walk two steps behind (BSP), I will do it. This is a gathbandhan for the future’
Akhilesh Yadav interview: "There is nothing special about the BJP. They have only cheated the country. When the BJP came to power, the country was under a debt of Rs 35 lakh crore. In the last five years, it has gone up to Rs 70 lakh crore. Where did this Rs 35 lakh crore go?"
At sangam of faiths & cultures, divide runs deep: Yeh sheher kiska hai?
Today, the candidates from Allahabad have become relatively non-descript, but the political divisions are far sharper — and that question in the Coffee House has acquired a never-before edge.
Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Arid Chitrakoot fertile for ‘Superman, Saviour’
Chitrakoot, denuded of political norms and institutions that can be found at least in bare form, if not in substance, elsewhere, seems to provide the perfect setting for the politics of the Saviour and the Superhero that lies at the heart of the well-endowed Narendra Modi campaign.
RJD base intact but Modi message pushes Lalu legacy to margins
If the BJP-led NDA has Narendra Modi, the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan is anchored by Lalu Yadav in the state.
In chai ki dukan, charcha lament for past, wish for future
Tea was what you had with “charcha (conversation)”. Now, “charcha is hardly there. We have distanced ourselves from our own problems, we are scattered,” says a retired teacher, a regular from the old days, who sits silently on the bench inside and refuses to give his name.
PM Modi looms over new Bihar faultlines as an old one travels from Bollywood to Darbhanga
The “Son of Mallah”, who claims to speak for the larger community of fishermen, represents 'social justice' as spectacle, with its terribly shortened journeys: In a little over four years, Mukesh Sahani has travelled to electoral politics from a Bollywood film set.
Rajasthan: In election time, where MeToo sits uneasy with Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao
The sense of little changing, despite the change, and of political leaders and their election campaigns bypassing the woman in Rajasthan is irrefutable, most of all, in the home of Bhanwari Devi.
Hurt by Congress silence, Muslims say choice between kuan, khai
In Mohalla Chopdaran, in the heart of the tiny town of Jhunjhunu, a group of young Muslim men talk of an increase in “bhed bhaav (discrimination)” and intolerance.
Rajasthan Assembly elections: Where Congress sets no poll agenda, counts on disenchantment with Vasundhara
If the Congress seems to be the missing middle of the Opposition on bijli-sadak-paani, it is even more elusive and evasive on another set of issues.
Rajasthan elections: Winds blowing against Vasundhara Raje govt — but Modi manages to rise above
On the ground, RSS workers also grumble about “Madam”. They accuse her administration of being non-responsive to their agitations — against the demolition and relocation of temples because of Metro work in Jaipur, or against “love jihad” in districts across the state.
Opposition still licks wounds, BJP has cracks within
The New Lucknow, Part 4: In the eight months of the Yogi government, SP is tongue-tied, the whir of BSP's formidable party machine, which prepares for polls so meticulously, is barely noticeable among the people, on issues of governance.
Aadhaar to NCERT: Madrasas and the new normal
The New Lucknow, Part 3: For long, cover of secularism was used as an excuse for neglecting madrasas, now govt harsh light casts a shadow
How cow crackdown in Uttar Pradesh feeds old fears and fuels new anger
The New Lucknow, Part 2: As Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath hits the road for civic polls, The Indian Express travels across the state to track the change he’s brought.
Yogi Adityanath govt’s carrots are few, it’s the stick that’s seen and heard
The New Lucknow, Part 1: Eight months on, in the mirror of the ongoing campaign for urban local body polls beginning this week, the delivering state is yet to be seen but it’s the disallowing state that’s making itself heard in UP.
The father, the son and the ally
It’s not about corruption, contradictions, or the Centre. Lalu bastion Raghopur’s sense of betrayal regarding Nitish comes from that fleeting promise of development.
Nitish back in NDA: In embrace this time, BJP has the upper hand
By breaking with Lalu, and joining hands with BJP again, Nitish could be trying to break the stasis, regain room for manoeuvre in his government - Modi is the domineering presence in the BJP today but the state BJP continues to lack a leader of Lalu’s stature — while counting on Central assistance to help get things moving in Bihar again.
Why results in Uttar Pradesh signals new politics, and a new voter
UP is seen as — and it sees itself as — India’s heartland. All the main faultlines of India’s politics, along the axes of caste, class and community, are etched here.
Akhilesh Yadav interview – ‘If jaat-dharam wins, we’ll have to ask: why build expressway?’
UP chief minister and SP chief on the CM vs PM clash, alliance with Congress and the power of political messaging. Excerpts from a conversation on the last day of campaigning.
Uttar Pradesh Elections 2017: On noteban, voters swayed more by spin than argument, says Akhilesh Yadav
The BJP would have been “wiped out” in UP had Prime Minister Narendra Modi not campaigned, Akhilesh says.
UP elections 2017: In Varanasi, Congress has straws to clutch but is adrift elsewhere
The Varanasi Congress may appear to be clutching at straws, but by all accounts, it is better placed than its party in most places in UP.