The writer is Contributing Editor, The Indian Express
January 27,2023 18:30:17 PM
Neerja Chowdhury writes: Bharat Jodo Yatra makes Rahul Gandhi unchallenged leader in party. This shrinks space for dissent that had recently opened up in the party.
Sat, Jan 28, 2023January 20,2023 21:01:56 PM
Rajasthan is more a commentary on the Congress’s high command than on Ashok Gehlot or Sachin Pilot, two capable leaders who might have been unbeatable together
Sat, Jan 21, 2023January 13,2023 19:33:45 PM
While the V-P seeks a crucial change in the balance of power, the museum is a good reminder of why the system has worked over the years, over different governments and PMs and why it's key to the future.
Sat, Jan 14, 2023January 06,2023 18:01:59 PM
The bottomline is clear: it’s not possible for any party to address a changing, aspirational India without better governance -- and without a deepening of democracy.
Sun, Jan 08, 2023December 30,2022 18:00:29 PM
For, 2023 isn’t 1988. Then opinion was rapidly turning against Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh had emerged as a clear challenger and there was ground-level pressure to take on the Congress.
Sat, Dec 31, 2022December 23,2022 18:00:58 PM
What we are likely to see in 2023 is PM Narendra Modi portrayed as the Vishwa Guru. With India the president of the G-20, foreign policy is likely to drive BJP’s narrative next year.
Sat, Dec 24, 2022December 16,2022 18:00:58 PM
More than one Muslim resident said: “If AAP doesn’t deliver in our area now, we will look at the BJP next time. We will deal directly with the company, why should we go through the agent?”
Sat, Dec 17, 2022December 09,2022 18:00:49 PM
The key question: why did the change-seekers -- they ended up being around 45% -- not look at the Congress as the alternative, in a state traditionally bipolar?
Mon, Dec 12, 2022December 02,2022 18:00:00 PM
A fast learner from Modi, the guarantee cards Kejriwal is using for free bijlee and other benefits look like visiting cards with Kejriwal’s photograph -- a clever marketing technique to engage with people
Sat, Dec 03, 2022November 25,2022 17:49:05 PM
It goes without saying that the acid test of Rahul’s yatra will lie in winning elections. But, curiously, he has tried to delink the yatra from electoral gains, not to appear power hungry —but this makes little sense. A political party is nothing if it cannot win elections and deliver on its promises.
Sun, Nov 27, 2022October 28,2022 16:54:04 PM
Neerja Chowdhury writes: Asking for pictures of Lakshmi and Ganesh on currency notes is part of AAP's strategy to upstage the BJP
Sat, Oct 29, 2022October 16,2022 04:10:52 AM
When frenzied kar sevaks tried to break into the Babri Masjid on October 30, Mulayam ordered a police firing to repulse them — something P V Narasimha Rao could not to do on December 6, 1992, leading to the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
Sun, Oct 16, 2022September 28,2022 04:00:14 AM
Is the Congress now entering a time when it will not be dominated by the Gandhi family? Is the period of the family's domination of the party – as Narasimha Rao had predicted in 1998 – coming to a close?
Thu, Sep 29, 2022August 28,2022 17:41:24 PM
Neerja Chowdhury writes: Azad’s going, then, is not the exit of yet another individual leader from Congress. It is symbolic of wider and worrying processes at work to move India towards one-party rule — and the Grand Old Party, representing the only counter force nationally, is unwilling to take the steps it should.
Tue, Aug 30, 2022July 17,2022 19:15:55 PM
Neerja Chowdhury writes: As new Parliament session begins, and votes are cast for new president, signs of Opposition diminution, BJP aggression
Thu, Jul 28, 2022June 17,2022 18:10:19 PM
As suspense continues over who will be in Rashtrapati Bhavan next, a more fundamental question: What kind of president does the republic need today?
Sat, Jun 18, 2022October 22,2021 03:15:20 AM
Neeraja Chowdhury writes: Her promise of giving 40 per cent of Congress tickets in UP polls to women is bound to have ripple effects across the political spectrum.
Sat, Oct 23, 2021July 09,2021 03:30:16 AM
Neerja Chowdhury writes: It aims to protect Brand Modi, distance the government from Covid criticism and reach out to OBCs ahead of UP poll.
Fri, Jul 09, 2021April 25,2021 03:20:37 AM
Recently, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the ruling party in Jharkhand, chose to go public about the electoral bond donation of Rs 1 crore it received from aluminium manufacturing company Hindalco.
Sun, Apr 25, 2021December 20,2020 03:50:42 AM
While icons keep a nation’s spirit alive, it is iconic structures such as Parliament that help give the nation its identity and connect the present to the past, giving it a direction to move more confidently towards the future.
Sun, Dec 20, 2020October 12,2020 02:29:00 AM
Paswan’s death is another reminder that the wheel is now coming around a full circle, both on “Mandal” and coalition politics, the two themes of the last 25 years, of which he was an advocate.
Mon, Oct 12, 2020September 01,2020 04:09:59 AM
India will remember Pranabda for his contribution as a minister heading virtually every important ministry. He will also be remembered as a leader who believed in holding conversations across the political divide.
Tue, Sep 01, 2020April 20,2020 16:56:32 PM
It is government which has to act and deliver, but system of governance can become more broadbased and national in character.
Mon, Apr 20, 2020December 05,2019 03:57:52 AM
Sharad Pawar is cast in the old Congress mould. He knows that politics in India is not just about parties but is also contingent on personal relationships across parties. He has a network all over the country which is well-disposed to him.
Thu, Dec 05, 2019October 26,2019 04:05:24 AM
It would be inaccurate to conclude that the outcome in Maharashtra and Haryana point to a weakening of Narendra Modi. Yet, it does raise the question: Has Modi peaked?
Sat, Oct 26, 2019