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In the beginning of the last decade, the Left front government of West Bengal felt the urge to do ‘industrialisation’ with an additional fervour and gusto. Sure, there was Chief Minister’s annual trip to London, sure there were those occasional government ceremonies with a gathering of a few local industrialists, sure the authority was going on putting up the show of being proactive and sincere about bringing investments, but the semblance was not up to the newly set standard of emerging middle-class. It did not take long for the wizened leadership of party to figure out that in spite of its lacklustre performance and its infamy, the urban middle-class scene of the state is rapidly changing thanks to the globalised economic model adapted by the centre. So in order to meet with the evolving urban populace and their aspiration, the party decided to be, or at least to seem, more dynamic in terms of embracing the new world order.

Just a week before the Modi government competes its 100 days, the by-election results have come as a jolt to the BJP. The saffron party, which witnessed a spectacular victory in the Lok Sabha polls, has faced a setback too soon. No doubt by- elections are fought and won mostly on local factors, but the results have certainly punctured the feel good factor of the BJP and given a ray of hope to the opposition.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The debate on the successor to Kerala CPI(M) secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan has gathered momentum now that it has become clear that Vijayan will step down.

Who is afraid of inflation? Not the country’s 350-million-strong urban middle class and upper income group. The fact that high prices are having little bearing on the urban demand or consumption patterns shows that inflation has little impact on the size and depth of their pockets. In fact, the pocket size seems to be deepening at a faster pace than the inflationary dig-in.

If the Narendra Modi government wanted to dismay and embarrass many of its own supporters even before completing a hundred days in office, it could not have done so more effectively than by announcing two major decisions: cancelling the foreign secretary-level meeting with Pakistan scheduled for August 25, and abolishing the Planning Commission at home.

RBI’s annual report which has just been released has given a modulated optimistic picture about the Indian economy. It has projected growth rate to pick up from sub-5% to above 5.5% and 6%. This optimism has come in the midst of a year which has seen drought conditions in large swathes of the country. That will obviously affect overall growth.

In his Anatomy of Fascism, Robert Paxton identified “mobilizing passions” as a defining feature of the sectarian creed. Anyone who has followed the BJP’s rise will know how it uses this method to gather support. From the demonising of Muslims during the Ramjanmabhoomi agitation to the Gujarat riots of 2002, the tactic of fomenting anti-minority sentiments has been a key element of saffron politics.

The results of ten Assembly Constituencies by- polls are certainly a setback for Bharatiya Janata Party, which was overconfident to repeat its Lok Sabha election performance in the state.. BJP could win only 4 seats out of ten and two of them with narrow margins, while out of the 10 seats, where by poll was held, its candidates had led in 8 Assembly Constituencies during Lok Sabha elections. Not only this, 6 of these seats were held by BJP MLAs since Assembly elections of 2011. BJP could not retain the Assembly seats vacated by its senior leaders like Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Janardan Singh Sigriwal.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Being clever is no crime in politics. In fact, a degree of cleverness is a prerequisite for survival in the political jungle. But when you try to be too clever by half, you run the risk of facing huge embarrassment and public ridicule.

Prime Minister Narendrabhai Damodardass Modi is slated to visit US in September for the UN General Assembly. He will also meet Barak Obama in Washington and co-chair the India-US Summit. Defence cooperation will be one of the area to come up for discussion. The US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel during his recent visit to India has spelt out in broad terms what US seeks from India in matters of defence cooperation.