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LONDON: The Obama administration’s hyperboles and warnings appear to have finally succeeded in scaring away from the common Britons from voting in favour of Brexit. A survey by a daily newspaper carried barely two days back underlines that rank of Remain campaigners have got strengthened with older voters turning backs on Brexit.

Subramanian Swamy is something of a loose cannon and a freelancer who is used by the BJP for odd jobs which cannot be done by a minister, who has to abide by the constitution, or a party member who is sensitive about his reputation.

Few political parties, in normal circumstances, have done so much better in state or national elections for their second term in office as Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal did recently. Nothing could dampen the spirit of the electorates in the state – not even the punishing six-phase election schedule under sweltering heat and large scale transfer of officers from their line duties by the Central Election Commission merely at the behest of opposition complaints – to get their Didi and her party, TMC, romp home with much larger majority in the assembly. If the latest election mandate in favour of TMC is any indication, the party may further garner the support of electorates to emerge as the largest single political group from any state in Lok Sabha after the 2019 parliamentary election. It is only natural that the ruling political satraps in states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi are looking for an early informal accord with Mamata Banerjee in anticipation of their better performance in the next Lok Sabha polls.

The thumping victory of Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal assembly election , despite media bashing and goons’ indulging in violence to disrupt election process, reflected that people of West Bengal would continue to repose confidence in TMC and did not want to bring back the Left-Congress combine in the State. Their primary need is resurgence of West Bengal, spearheaded by development. They defied three decade’s left ideology and concept of complacency with smallness. They would like to taste the alternative to left, who can provide better living , not only for rural people, but also for Bhadralok and intellectuals in Kolkata.

What is the most important achievement of Narendra Modi’s government in two years of its rule? The answer is from sagging public image to a dramatic improvement in public perception. Defeat after defeat after spectacular performance in the Lok Sabha election brought down Prime Minister’s image and people started saying that he has lost his charisma. First the humiliating defeat in Delhi elections, followed by a setback in Bihar poll, where Modi campaigned himself, and Uttarakhand imbroglio, created the impression that the BJP under Modi’s leadership is going down hills. Then came the elections in five state and the BJP performed a miracle; its landslide victory in Assam, ousting the firmly entrenched Congress, restored Modi’s image.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government has got off to a good start, ushering a new era of hope, optimism and people-friendly government.

Crash landing of an ambulance aircraft more than 20 years old in the outskirts of Delhi city on May 24 following engine failure has once again highlighted the issue of air safety and maintenance. While aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an enquiry into the accident, it is time the crucial issue of aircraft maintenance in overall air safety is revisited in earnest.

The forthcoming summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Tashkent in June this year has big significance since for the first time in the last fifteen years, the SCO is being expanded with the proposal to admit India and Pakistan as full members, apart from the existing six member countries-Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. But this big opportunity seems to be not properly utilized as simmering differences among the permanent members are slowing the process of implementation of the developmental programmes and China, as the major country driving SCO, is putting some obstacle into the process of India’s immediate admission. China is still delaying the transfer of obligations draft to India and if this is not solved immediately, the admission of new members may not be possible next month.

The signing of the Indo-Iranian agreement on Chabahar port during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Iran this month is a major success of Indian diplomacy, in the backdrop of the growing rivalry between India and China for control of the oceans and sea-routes and extending their influence on the littoral countries in their neighbourhood.

After the excitement of the five state assembly elections this year, focus is already shifting towards the 2017 Assembly polls. Next year Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa will be going for polls. Stakes are high for all the players including the BJP, Congress, SP, BSP, AAP and Akali Dal. There is bound to be some political realignment before that.