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Japan-China row is escalating year after year. Notwithstanding Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remorseful statement on the 70th Anniversary of World War in August, 2015 , warming of Japan and China relation is a far cry. Tokyo might have given a thumping applause to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement. But the statement of remorse was viewed with skepticism in China. Alongside, Japan’s new security legislation for collective self defence added fuel to the Japan and China row.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms. Jayalalithaa expects to be back in strength when the state goes to polls in May 2016, for a second consecutive term, re-invigorated by the landmark re-election of Mr Nitish Kumar in Bihar. Currently, she retains her mass following, with no troubling signs of anti-incumbency at work, but her principal rival, DMK of Mr Karunanidhi, is desperately trying to dislodge her by cobbling together an electoral alliance, if possible.

Indian politics would undergo an evolutionary transformation with consolidation of the Other Backward Classes. The socialist thinker Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia had predicted almost half a century ago. His prediction is ringing in the unprecedented outcome of the Bihar assembly polls. The consolidation of the OBCs with the Muslims and majority of the Dalits standing with them defeated desperate move by the upper castes to wrest power levers from their hands. Political analysts were preoccupied in condemnation of the state as the cast ridden to feel the shifting sands under the feet. Surprisingly the internal feuds within the ruling side acted as catalyst in consolidation of the intermediate castes into a unified block. The hands down victory of the tripartite coalition proves so.

Financial inclusion of the neglected section is alright. So are Swatch Bharat (Clean India), Clean Ganga, Beti Bachao (save girl child), Beti Padao (educate your daughter), Make-in-India, Zero -Defect, Zero-Effect, Defeat Poverty and so on. It is nice to know the union government has promised massive amount of capital to states like Bihar (Rs. 1.25 lakh crore), Andhra Pradesh (more than 1.25 lakh crore), Telengana (close to Rs. 30,000 crore), West Bengal (over Rs. 16,000 crore) and, more lately, Jammu & Kashmir (Rs. 80,000 crore). Unfortunately, the government’s promises have little to do with performance. Not many states have received any money from the Centre than what are normally due to them. Nothing seems to be moving from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stable except probably some catchy slogans, well-coined project names and acronyms. The latest of them is being ‘JAM’ which is an acronym that stands for Modi’s pet combined financial inclusion project under three schemes – Jan Dhan Yojna, Aadhaar and Mobile connect. Modi, a great wordsmith, has provided another expansion for JAM, which, according to him, stands for ‘Just Achieving Maximum’. Modi might have been in an expansive mood, less than 48 hours before the Bihar election results started coming out.

THIRUVNANTHAPURAM: The scent of change is very much in the air. That is the unmistakable message emanating from the result of the keenly-contested local bodies elections in Kerala.

It was indeed a landslide victory of the Grand Alliance, comprising, Nitish, Lalu and Congress. Nitish’s victory appeared a strong possibility but that the Alliance would totally rout the BJP was least expected. This indicates that the days of coalitions politics and hung house are over; elections over past years have demonstrated that the people vote for a combination or a single party in full measure. Electorate voted Narendra Modi-led-BJP in the Lok Sabha elections wholeheartedly enabling it to get an absolute majority and routing the Congress.

If the Narendra Modi government hadn’t followed the path of “prudent gradualism”, as the well-known economist, Jagdish Bhagwati, described its path of economic reforms, then the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might have been able to sustain the “wave” based on the promise of development in Bihar.

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha created a history when it unanimously passed special supplementary budget meant to give relief to drought hit farmers of the state. It was also for the first time again in the history of Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha when a one day session was held to approve special supplementary budget. Though the debate on the drought was marked with heated exchanges between the opposition and the ruling party, members cutting across party lines, accepted that farmers of the state were in deep distress.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Coming events cast their shadows. So goes the saying. And there are enough signs that the Congress is heading for trouble over the party’s continued support to the beleaguered Finance Minister and Kerala Congress(M) chief, K M Mani who is in the eye of the bar bribery case storm. Incidentally, Mani has suffered two legal setbacks within a week, making his position as the Finance Minister totally untenable.

Months before the scheduled Assembly polls in 2016, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already launched a carefully nuanced pre-poll campaign.