INDIA
Why the CAA implementation was the ace up BJP’s sleeve ahead of Lok Sabha elections
The BJP’s razor sharp focus on Bengal’s Matua voter is evident. It is confident that Assam CM Himanta can manage the protests in his state. The anti-CAA attacks that will now follow from the Opposition will be lapped up by PM Modi to show that he and the party have delivered on manifesto promises and there is no room for complacency in Lok Sabha campaigning
INDIA
Chasing 370 seats, BJP may onboard more allies, but cede fewer seats
For BJP to add more seats to its 2019 tally, it needs more alliances and needs to contest more of the seats that the prospective allies have their eyes on. Will the likes of Akali Dal, RLD, Telugu Desam and AIADMK cede more seats in their pocket boroughs to BJP for the sake of BJP’s Mission 370 and NDA’s Mission 400?
POLITICS
Protest-vaccinated BJP may withstand farmers’ fury
The BJP has not been caught off guard by the farmers’ protest at Delhi border, as the party leaders pointed out that they are now habituated with pre-poll agitations
TRENDS
Four gains for the BJP from the Bihar coup
BJP’s calculations in wooing back Nitish Kumar have served as a pincer strike on the opposition. It is a Himalayan task for the INDIA bloc to revive from its loss of the only big Hindi heartland state that it was in power
INDIA
Euphoria of the Ram Mandir will continue till the Lok Sabha elections
The unprecedented manner in which the Ram Temple inauguration has been spotlighted has ensured that it will continue to dominate the popular discourse even after January 22. The dissemination of the Ram Mandir message by everyone from PM Modi to Youtubers to affiliates of the Sangh Parivar and BJP is sending strong messages to the grassroots of a cultural nationalism project that is on the ascendancy
BUSINESS
‘Zila Ghaziabad’ aims for a new name and a place of glory like Noida in a fast-changing Uttar Pradesh
A number of reasons – political and economic – are driving the demand to rename Ghaziabad, one of Delhi’s most prominent satellite cities
BUSINESS
Bhajanlal Sharma in Rajasthan joins BJP's new club of CMs in their 50s
The rise of Bhajanlal Sharma, a party apparatchik, with a reputation as a doughty campaigner for the BJP’s pet causes, completes BJP’s social engineering efforts in this poll cycle by elevating an upper caste leader after an OBC and a tribal CM in the two other poll bound states. It also paves the way for Vasundhara Raje’s eclipse. Their age allows the three new CMs to preside for the next decade in their respective states
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan Elections 2023: How the Modi factor helped BJP campaign tide over weak state leadership
To press home the attack against Congress on minority appeasement, law and order failures, corruption, and mindless welfarism without a clear focus, BJP needed PM Modi to lead the attack from the front and present an alternative developmental vision. No other leader in BJP has a similar connect with voters or could have delivered these messages with crystal clarity.
BUSINESS
Bihar caste survey to test BJP’s post-2014 social engineering prowess
BJP is redoubling its efforts to mobilise non-dominant OBCs following the Bihar caste census findings. It also believes that upper castes are getting polarised in its favour due to the opposition’s national caste census demand, and won’t mind a greater share of tickets to EBC groups
BUSINESS
Five reasons why the INDIA alliance will struggle to force ‘one-on-one’ contests with BJP
Much depends on the index of opposition unity that the INDIA alliance can cobble against the ruling BJP. Untested pre-poll alliances, key opposition parties like BSP not being part of the alliance, and the ambitions of constituent parties and their local leaders make one-seat one-candidate easier said than done
INDIA
Railways must not allow demand for the old pension scheme to gather steam
The risk of not countering the growing chorus for the OPS is huge. For 2022-23, the Railways pension fund bill was Rs 60,000 crore
