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Doubts persist about the return of Narendra Modi to the saddle after the Lok Sabha elections in several quarters though his ardent followers are convinced of his return with larger numbers. It is only speculation based on indicators that are read differently and are invariably coloured by their personal likes, dislikes, preferences for and against. But it is beyond dispute that several leaders are nursing ambitions to fill in the slot and some of them are even convinced of their ability.

After decades of long slugfest to tide over the labour shortages, Japan – a country known for its antipathy to foreign workers – opened the nation to the foreign workers with mega reforms in immigration. On 7th December, 2018, Japanese parliament made a bold reform by passing an immigration law to attract 345,000 foreign workers over a period of five years.

General elections 2019 got going April 11, with polling in 91 Lok Sabha constituencies. A potential 900 million voters will cast votes over a span of five weeks. There are those who say these elections are a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his performance. Main opposition party, the Congress, sees it as chance to return to power for the UPA led by the Congress. The Nehru-Gandhi family’s stakes in the elections are very high. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is contesting from two constituencies, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in Kerala.

As the historic elections for the 17th Lok Sabha constitution began on April 11, the focus has shifted on the functioning of the Election Commission in the next six weeks till the counting of the votes on May 23. The contending parties will make claims and counterclaims during this period and for ensuring fair and impartial polling, it is the EC who is the supreme authority during this crucial period. The sad part is that the present EC members have failed in discharging their responsibility as per the Constitution. Therein lies the danger to the Indian democracy.

It’s called, in political parlance, “a cattle call.” The phrase refers to what happens when presidential hopefuls parade their positions, one by one, before a group, large or small. And that’s what nine Democrats– John Hickenlooper, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Tim Ryan, Terry McAuliffe, Michael Bennet, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, and Eric Swalwell, in that order – did before 3,000 construction workers at the April 10 session of North America’s Building Trades Unions’ legislative conference in D.C.

BHOPAL: After the series of raids by the Income Tax officials on persons said to be close to top Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Kamal Nath, the state government has launched a counter offensive against some former ministers and officials who were occupying key positions during the BJP rule.

The very idea of formation of a third front after the election is a matter of concern as it reflects on shortcoming of two national parties in promoting national integrity and coherence. It only exposes inability of the Congress to reach back its geographic coverage and its social reach. At the same time it also exposes inability of the second national party BJP to extend its reach in several states. Both the parties have been at the throat of each other since first election in 1952 but the Jan Sangh could not enhance its reach yond 7 percent in illiterate electorate with higher dependence on divine mercies.

With the first phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 scheduled on April 11, the ethnically diverse electorate in Assam remains more sharply polarised than ever before .Once more , the issue of peoples’ empowerment based on religious/linguistic identities of the voters concerned ,will prove decisive in making their political choices ,in India’s Northeast.

Muthuvel Karunanidhi and MG Ramachandran were arch-rivals but not bitter-enemies. They did not indulge in slander against each other. When MGR passed away, Karunanidhi recalled his days with the actor-turned politician, his acting career and political work. Even at the worst of times, neither of the leaders had a bad word for the other, ideological and other differences, notwithstanding.

The Supreme Court verdict on Wednesday morning dismissing the Centre’s preliminary objections to consider documents “stolen” from the defence ministry and published in the media as evidence in the Rafale deal review petition, on the eve of the starting of the Lok Sabha elections on April 11, is a landmark development in the ongoing political battle in the country between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the opposition led by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the corruption issue.