Lonely at Top

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Lonely at Top

The common thing between elections in India and a card game is that both are more or less decided prior to the event. Just as the player who holds the best hand is the unquestioned winner at the card table, the more complex, and many times costlier, joust of elections is fought on the strength of ready alliances.

Varanasi no cakewalk for Modi

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Varanasi no cakewalk for Modi

Mystery as to why BJP Prime ministerial candidate opted for Varanasi

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, March 20 : 

There is something baffling as to why BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi chose Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. By no stretch of imagination, Varanasi is considered safe given the high voltage polarized campaign.

Discovery of South India

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Discovery of South India

Harish Gupta

Jan Sangh, the predecessor of BJP, was born in the wake of a section of the people not accepting the handling of the Partition issue by Gandhi and Nehru. Since 1947 Partition affected the entire nation, it was expected that the naysayers’ voice would be heard evenly across the country.

Ride on Elephant

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Here is a random sample of the Indian general elections and their acknowledged attributes.

1971—On Indira Gandhi’s Garibi Hatao slogan.

1977—Against dictatorship.

1980 –Against Janata Party mis-rule

1989—Against corruption.

1996—Fragmented polity & Hindutva.

2004—Against NDA’s “non-inclusive” growth model, encapsulated in its “India Shining” campaign.