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Is the United States of America really serious about a strategic partnership with India? Not all political, diplomatic and economic policy directions from the US side suggest such a possibility. In terms of trade, aid and economic relations, it would appear the US is constantly trying to squeeze India. The US is neither respectful, nor reasonable towards India on those fronts. Overall, the US does not behave like a reliable ally of India. Since 1992, India has been trying to accommodate the US on a number of global and bi-lateral platforms — from civil-nuclear cooperation to the latest import expansion to compress its small trade surplus with the world’s richest nation. A similar honest gesture from the US is, however, missing.

Only a month earlier most political analysts claimed that there was no alternative to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today, most electorate, particularly from the upper caste would say anybody but Narendra Modi only because his moves to fight back the social and religious storms unleashed at the best of the Sangh Parivar to defame him have given an ugly turn to national economy with the largest section of the corporate world putting on disposal parts of their assets on sale to meet demands of their lending banks. Banks have been directed to reduce their non performing assets through immediate recovery.

Is Prime Minister Narendra Modi isolated in his own government? A prominent Dalit intellectual says PM Modi’s writ does not run and that his ministers do not listen to him; that they follow RSS diktats. According to Kancha Illiah, the Brahman-Bania-Rajput cabal call the shots in the Modi government and that ministers like Ravi Shankar Prasad answer to RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP’s determined attempt to expand its political space in the southern states and impose its sinister economic agenda has hit a hurdle with three states and a Union Territory in the South strongly resisting it.

BHOPAL: Aam Aadmi Party in Madhya Pradesh is preparing for the upcoming Assembly elections with a strategy to reach every household. For the past one year, AAP has been strengthening its organizational setup in the state. The party is focusing on Poha Choupal and Kisan Yatra to connect with people while selection process for candidates is on with the active involvement of national leaders.

It seems April 2 will for ever remain as a landmark day in the history of Independent India, particularly with regard to Dalit politics, which is acquiring a hitherto undiscovered dimension. The spontaneous response to the Bharat Bandh call – it wasn’t clear by whom until later when more clarity emerged – has rattled the ruling establishments, political parties and above all the current crop of exploitative Dalit political leaders, who claim to represent the country’s 30 crore Dalits.

If a coalition government becomes inevitable after 2019 Lok Sabha election, who will head it? This was the subject of an animated discussion in Central Hall of Parliament. Given the current political scenario, there is remote possibility of any party getting majority, so thought some former Parliament members. The BJP will try to win sympathy for PM by making it a Narendra Modi versus the rest. The Congress’s recent resolve to adopt a ‘pragmatic’ approach to align with like minded parties to defeat BJP and RSS is noticeable. Rahul Gandhi has been reaching out to some of the state satraps like Sharad Pawar. With Rahul unlikely to be accepted as the head of a coalition government — unless the Congress gets 200 seats, which looks unlikely—would Sonia Gandhi prefer a non-Congress leader?

BHOPAL: Two recent events are expected to re-shape politics in Madhya Pradesh. One relates to the conclusion of Narmada Parikrama by Digvijay Singh. He along with his wife Amrita Rai covered a distance of 3,325 kms in six months. A grand concluding programme was held at the Barman bank of Narmada. It is claimed that more than a lakh people attended the religious function held to mark the conclusion of the parikrama. The chief guest at programme was Shankracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made two important statements on a single day, that too within a couple of hours; he accused the Congress of killing democracy by not allowing parliament to function even for a day and second, he accused the Opposition, especially the Congress of disintegrating the society by fanning communal tension.

India might not be facing a balance of payment crisis now as in 1991, which forced government of the day to go for drastic reforms that opened up the economy. The country has come a long way since then. From $1.7 billion of foreign exchange reserves, enough to meet just two weeks of imports, it was now over $420 billion to meet nearly a year’s imports. India’s balance of payments might now be well balanced but the question: is India out of the woods as far as external sector is concerned and the answer is certainly a big ‘NO’.