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A spectre is haunting India, the spectre of multiple curses. It isn’t only Sadhvi Pragya Thakur’s malevolent death-wish for her police prosecutor, Hemant Karkare, which is the BJP’s only expression of malignity towards its enemies, there have been countless occasions when vile abuses have been hurled by the party’s followers against its critics.

It may be a bad news in the midst of the ongoing parliamentary election season that the country’s second largest airline by traffic share, Jet Airways, having some 18,000 employees on board, should collapse and get grounded last week. Jet employees, including pilots, working without salaries since January, are now suddenly jobless. Notwithstanding the fact that the situation has caused a big embarrassment for the Modi government at this crucial election period, the administration could do little to make Jet airborne anytime soon as the airline has failed to pay even the aircraft lease dues. Both the airline and the government are under fire from ordinary passengers who advance-booked their tickets with Jet Airways for cheaper travel and now find little hope to recover the money from the airline. Their travel plans have gone for a six. They are knocking at the doors of the civil aviation and finance ministries and the industry regulator.

Outgoing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke last on the Balakot air-strikes when going by protocol she should have been the first. February 26, the wee hours at which the Mirage 2000 strikes took place, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale got the right to announce the IAF accomplishment. No politician foreign minister of any country would have let go an opportunity such as this, but knowing how Prime Minister Narendra Modi functions, especially in his role of ‘Super External Affairs Minister’ of India, which took him to more countries than any other Prime Minister in the history of independent India, it was no surprise Gokhale got to speak over Sushma.

HD Devegowda and Mulayam Singh Yadav. Both are getting on in age. But time and tide don’t stop the brave. And the grateful! Both have political oats enough to stay on course. Add to the duo, young Varun Gandhi and the trio’s admission to the ‘Circle of Gratitude’ is established. All three “owe” to politicians and they are not unwilling to pay back, with gratitude!

Despite short ban imposed on Adityanath and Mayawati, the Model Code of conduct is not working well even though Election Commission has a formidable reputation for impartially running the world’s biggest and most complex elections. But its record is poor when it comes to handling hate and inflammatory campaign speeches. EC is being further tested of the vicious propaganda and falsehood circulating on social media.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the campaign entering the last leg, the political parties have slipped into top gear. The top guns have hit the campaign trail with a vengeance, braving the sweltering heat. It is well and truly a no-holds-barred campaign in which no quarter is asked for and none given.

Assam amounts the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats in the northeastern region. Out of the total 25 Lok Sabha seats of the north-east, Assam alone accounts for 14 seats. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP won 7 seats with Congress and AIUDF winning 3 seats each. The rest one was won by an independent.

It is only but natural that an official appointed by the government feels constrained to act against its interest and its functionaries. Of course, there are exceptions, but that is the rule. Some may be less pliable; some may be more. But pliability is a given.

April 23 will witness the most crucial Lok Sabha Election of 2019, the date on which 115 constituencies across 14 states will vote. NDA, UPA, and anti-Modi alliances have been leaving no stone unturned, because there are very high stakes in this phase. It would be opening the window on the next government formation, not only because the largest number of seats is going to poll but also it would mark the end of election on 303 seats leaving only 240 seats for the next four phases.

As Don Draper of AMC’s hit series Mad Men likes to say, “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”