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Any prediction of the possible outcome of the ongoing Parliamentary election is becoming increasingly tough in the absence of a visible wave in favour of either the rightist Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or its principal opposition, a 26-party political combine, Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). The latter is represented by chief ministers of as many as seven states and 142 members of the last Parliament. The falling voter turnout in the first three phases of election, this time, has become a further cause of concern for both the NDA and INDIA. An overall five to six percent voter dropout should seriously impact the number game of either the NDA or INDIA. Publicly, both the groups are aspiring to have a final strength of 300 members each although there are only 543 parliamentary constituencies. To form the next government, a political combine would need to win at least 272 seats. A government will look more stable if its number of Lok Sabha MPs surpasses 300.

Delhi's Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has overcome numerous obstacles in the past decade. Yet, his unwavering resilience has been a beacon of inspiration. He and his party are currently facing the biggest crisis in the liquor policy case.

Rahul Gandhi reached the ’ constituency of Raebareli from Lucknow on May 20 and straight off went to a Hanuman Mandir, drawing quick reactions including the opinion that his choice of deity was fraught with risk. Lord Hanuman could have taken offence after Rahul Gandhi pointedly refused to visit the Ayodhya Ram Mandir despite being invited to the ‘Pran Prathistha’ of Lord Ram. The Charuwa Hanuman Mandir is special because praying at the temple fulfils wishes.

“Who gave you free foodgrain? Who gave you home? Who gave you toilets? Who gave you …,” went on saying an RSS-BJP joint election campaign team leaders, when they were just disrupted politely by quite peaceful and innocent people of the interior Jarga village saying, “You talk again about the BJP. Don’t come here to say it again.”

Recent developments in Dalit politics, especially in the ideological laboratory of Uttar Pradesh, are intriguing, to say the least. To begin with, we have Mayawati sacking her nephew Akash Anand, who she announced her successor just a couple of months back, at the behest of the BJP, thereby demonstrating her averseness towards the INDIA bloc. Moreover, Behenji’s non-mentoring of serious youth Dalit leaders, and her pliant attitude towards the BJP, have put a question mark before her future role in the progress and development of Dalit politics in India.

KOLKATA: Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Ganguly who always created controversies during his tenure by using strong language against the Trinamool Congress government and its leaders, continues to do the same as the BJP candidate for Lok Sabha in Tamluk constituency of West Bengal. Ganguly’s resignation and joining the poll fray is one of the much discussed topics in the state in the current elections.

After a epoch making victory in 2020 assembly election in Bihar, in which the CPI(ML) Liberation won 12 out of 16 it contested, the party is quite hopeful of sending its representatives to the Lok Sabha this time. In that election the three main Left parties had won 16 of the 29 assembly constituencies they contested. The CPI and CPI(M) annexed two each of the six and four seats they contested respectively.

Election Commission of India (ECI) had announced “No Violence” stand in West Bengal on March 4, only 12 days before announcement of Lok Sabha general election 2024, on March 16. However, election related violence continued across the country in various shades with varied intensity of seriousness. Now, to control post-poll violence in Andhra Pradesh, ECI has directed the Union Ministry of Home to retain 25 companies of Central forces even after counting of votes on June 4 for 15 days. It all reveals how political intolerance triggered not only pre-poll violence but also continued during the poll, and are very much likely to continue after the counting of votes.

There are reports in the financial press that the International institutional investors are moving their funds out of the Indian technology scrip. The reason: there is the calculation that the Indian ITeS sector is not getting tuned to the new artificial intelligence tools and therefore likely to fall behind the market.

Come June 4, the outcome of poll battle in Bongaon constituency of West Bengal will be a nay or nod to CAA NRC and related issues not only in the state but also in bordering states far away from it. Predominantly inhabited by Matuas, a Hindu dalit sub-sect, many of whom had trekked from erstwhile East Pakistan and thereafter from Bangladesh to a "secular India", citizenship issue and the sense of belonging emanating from it, is a deciding factor in elections.