Vandita Mishra

As Shaheen Bagh took centrestage in the high-octane campaign in the Capital, The Indian Express travelled from West Bengal, Ground Zero of the NRC debate, to UP, which saw the most deaths in the crackdown. To find out how Shaheen Bagh plays out, how the protests unite — and divide

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was the guest at the recent Express Adda held in Mumbai. She spoke to The Indian Express on India’s decision to not join the RCEP, boosting investment and ushering in reforms

In this political landscape, the BJP has risen in the last couple of elections, not because it presented an alternative to Haryana’s fluid power politics but because it harnessed it to its own advantage, most visibly through the politics of defections

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?"

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.

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.

If the BJP-led NDA has Narendra Modi, the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan is anchored by Lalu Yadav in the state.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.