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CHURUMURI POLL: How many seats for Mr Modi?
If elections were just a bunch of opinion polls and television shows and magazine covers and advertisements and 3D shows, it would seem as if Narendra Modi has already won …
‘The notion of secular was not known to Hindus’
Economic & Political Weekly (EPW) tears into the “preamble” of the BJP manifesto saying the party has not given up on its “feel-good” theme. In 2004, it tried to fly …
None of the above instead of best of the worst?
MATHIHALLI MADAN MOHAN writes from Hubli: When Karnataka goes to the polls in a couple of months from now, the voter will stand before Electronic Voting Machines which have BJP, …
CHURUMURI POLL: Can S.M. Krishna swing it?
For more than two years now, news of Maharashtra governor S.M. Krishna‘s return to “active politics” in Karnataka has sustained many a journalistic byline. Hot tips of a coming Union …
After the votes, count the notes. Then add 7%.
PRAKASH SHETTY‘s take on the Pakistan election verdict which plonks Benazir Bhutto‘s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, notorious as “Mr Seven Per Cent”, in a position of strength.
In prosperous Gujarat, everybody can buy media
GIRISH NIKAM writes from New Delhi: Now that the elections are over and done with in Gujarat, one needs to look at the role of the media in that State, …
CHURUMURI POLL: Should US restore Modi visa?
On the night of Narendra Modi‘s thumping win, Veerappa Moily decided to further expose the intellectual bankruptcy of the Congress. Appearing on a CNN-IBN show hosted by Sagarika Ghose, the …
Why young Indians in the West admire Modi
B. Raman, former additional secretary, and director of the Institute of Topical Studies, Madras, in Outlook: In the Hindu diaspora in the West, more young people admire Narendra Modi than …
‘Media responsible for Gujarat’s national impact’
Swapan Dasgupta in The Telegraph, Calcutta: “In Gujarat, the media were neither disinterested observers nor merely biased against Narendra Modi; they were an active participant. From disseminating ridiculous stories about …
You’re a winner if you get one vote more. Still…
PRITAM SENGUPTA writes from New Delhi: Narendra Modi‘s victory has deep-frozen the political discourse. The pseudo-nationalists are acting as if the kingdom is already theirs—for keeps. And the pseudo-secularists are …
MALLIKA SARABHAI: “BJP was also plain lucky”
Narendra Modi’s detractors in Gujarat and elsewhere might be squirming at his victory, but one of his most vocal and visible critics, Mallika Sarabhai, says the fineprint is actually encouraging. …
‘Us vs Them: English media is being pigeon-holed’
The branding of the “English media” as “elitist, pseudo-secular, left-wing, liberal, disconnected, rootless, pro-Muslim, anti-Hindu, pro-Congress, anti-BJP”—as if the English media is one animal; as if all of us receive …
Is the BJP still just a ‘Hindu nationalist party’?
The phrase “Hindu nationalist” has almost always prefaced western media reports of the BJP, and it is no different despite Narendra Modi‘s sensational, conversation-stopping hat-trick. But it is not just …
Analyse this: How shrinks view the Modi win
G.S. Mudur, the science correspondent of The Telegraph, Calcutta, has an interesting piece on the state of Narendra Modi‘s mind after his victory—“an emotional zenith, an elevated sense of self-image, …
Conventional wisdom is upside down, inside out
Pratap Bhanu Mehta in the Indian Express: “Incumbents can’t win, they said. Narendra Modi proved them wrong. Sonia Gandhi has acquired a new aggression, they said. Modi cut her down …
CHURUMURI POLL: Will Narendra Modi be PM?
Now that he has proved his pseudo-secular critics and detractors wrong, the question is: what next for Narendra Modi? In an SMS sent to mediapersons after his victory, the Gujarat …
‘Modi has punctured vanity of corporate media’
Sheela Bhatt, managing editor (national affairs), rediff.com, and one of the few journalists who predicted the Gujarat elections accurately, on the strange symbiosis between the media and Narendra Modi: “In …
Not of what was but of what was to be?
Whether Sonia Gandhi‘s “Maut ka Saudagar” jibe actually turned Narendra Modi into a “Vote ka Saudagar” can be debated till the cows come home and go back in the morning. …
A small step for Gujarat, a giant leap for India?
RAMYA KRISHNAMURTHY writes from Bangalore: Narendra Modi‘s stunning blitzkrieg will have all the usual pundits taking up all their usual well-advertised positions. Those who subscribe to his brand of politics …
One question I’m dying to ask… secularists
Narendra Modi‘s thunderous victory in the Gujarat elections—despite the pogrom of 2002, despite the scrutiny and strictures of the courts, despite the carping of human rights bodies, despite the sting …
What the BJP should do after winning Gujarat
Sudheendra Kulkarni, former media advisor to Atal Behari Vajpayee and trusted aide of L.K. Advani, in the Sunday Express: “A victory in Gujarat should neither make the BJP overconfident nor …
Moment of reckoning is here for Narendrabhai
Yogendra Yadav of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in The Indian Express: “Democracy is taking revenge on Narendra Modi. This election may well be the long …
Advani’s Hindutva vs Narendra Modi’s Hindutva
Vir Sanghvi in The Hindustan Times: “The conventional view of Narendra Modi is that he is a Hindutva hero. It is true that he represents an aggressive brand of Hindu …
‘The real battle in Gujarat is Modi versus BJP’
Coomi Kapoor in The Indian Express: “If Narendra Modi succeeds in pulling through despite the wide spectrum of forces ranged against him, the BJP may not necessarily be the gainer. …
The Economist calls Narendra Modi a “disgrace”
The Economist, one of the world’s most influential weekly magazines—and a champion of the free market, to boot—has weighed in on Narendra Modi and the Gujarat elections in the latest …