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The results of the local bodies elections in Karnataka officially declared on September 3 have shown that the Congress is in a formidable position in the semi urban areas of the state as the leading party as against the BJP and with JD(S) alliance for the Lok Sabha poll agreed, the BJP is sure to face defeats in a large number of seats in this important state of the South. In Karnataka, the BJP got 17 of 28 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. As the trends suggest and the indications received from a large number of state based opinion polls, the Congress-JD(S) alliance is poised to get a minimum of 20 seats out of 27 in the coming Lok Sabha poll. The BJP”s central leadership is quite worried and despite considering a number of strategies, the top leaders have found out no viable way to maintain their strength.

Who says the sarkari babu doesn’t have spine? Wait till he retires and watch him show backbone. And it doesn’t matter if an Emergency-like situation prevails, which is worse than Emergency. Ask the 48 retired civil servants who have written an open letter to the Prime Minister to tell him that the sudden arrests of five activists is the “most brazen display of coercive authority by the state yet”.

Labor and its allies in the Democratic Party in United States have built ground operations through which they plan to turn out record numbers of voters this November to take Congress out of the hands of the Republicans.

BJP discard Arun Shourie is painting a black picture for the Opposition: Forget old arguments, grudges, get together, field one candidate against BJP in each constituency or kiss democracy goodbye. Scaring the pants off bhakt-baiters and #UrbanNaxals, who will do full shashtang before any god who delivers them Modi-Shah scalps, the ex-editor without much ado transferred his desperation to others in the building.

The second hearing by the Supreme Court of the case against the so-called “Urban Naxals” will not only determine whether they pose a genuine threat or whether the police charges against them are an attempt by the government to create a smokescreen of terror to buttress its electoral position.

A two rupee fall in its exchange value with US$ — say, from Rs. 69 to Rs. 71 for a $ — may cost the country an additional external payment burden of nearly Rs.1,50,000 crore, in Rupee terms, on account of this year’s total import alone on a c.i.f basis. Going by the current trend, India’s import during 2018-19 is expected to top the $500-billion mark. Rupee may sink further to Rs 71 or more for a USD. Overall, the total Rupee-USD exchange burden may be even higher if one also takes into account the net difference between the inflows and outflows of foreign currencies. Rupee’s exchange value over the next six months will depend on the trade deficit trend, net FDI inflow and US$ outflow from secondary market operations by foreign portfolio investors (FPI), foreign debt servicing cost and profit repatriation by multinational companies (MNCs) among others. The domestic market has to bear the cost of Rupee downturn or US$ upturn.

For the last several years dense smog engulfs large part of north India, including Punjab, Haryana, western UP, parts of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and NCR Delhi. This happens during the months of October and November when summer has ended and winter is about to set in. During the summer season the air tends to go up in the atmosphere. But during October and November because of fall in temperature the particles do not rise, but get suspended and mix with the vapours. Source of these particles are mainly vehicular emissions, industrial effluents and smoke coming out of burning of paddy straw in the fields. Low wind speed during this period and dry weather aggravate the problem.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s portfolio must be redesignated as minister for defence of Modi. This is what he does mostly these days either because he has not fully got over his sabbatical mood or he has nothing much else to do in the finance ministry. He shamelessly defended demonetisation even on a day when the Reserve Bank published its most damning report on the patently ill-conceived move. Even Modi does not refer to demonetisation these days, probably because there is nothing that he can talk positively about it. His most recent major reference to demonetisation was on the first anniversary of the ‘monumental blunder’ last year, when he “bowed to the people of the country for steadfastly supporting the several measures taken by the government to eradicate corruption and black money." Some small mercy to them. He could not have forgotten his promise to the people to “hang” him if he failed. So, he has left the task of defending ‘note bandi’ to Jaitley, whose performance in the finance ministry was any way nothing to set store by.

Things have slipped so far out of New Delhi’s hands in four and a half years, Srinagar has become the frontier. It’s as if the LoC has shrunk and today cuts through Lal Chowk. A change of Governors made no difference. Terror has taken on a new face but the Press continues to call gun-toting Kashmiris ‘militants’ as if it militates against liberal-progressive sensibilities to call the spade a spade.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was first to break the rule of not raking up domestic matters abroad and criticizing opposition parties. His narrative of demonizing Congress, beginning with his 2014 address to Indian diaspora in New York’s Madison square garden, drew the battle lines for a bitter confrontation. Attacks against domestic rivals in foreign countries do not sketch a happy portrait of India abroad. Former External affairs Minister Yashwant Singh, a BJP rebel, is possibly a sane voice who appealed to all leaders “to refrain from discussing our internal issues abroad. The Prime Minister broke the rule first. Others need not follow his example”.