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LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mayawati ,Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi have mobilized all resources to for an aggressive campaign in remaining 142 seats in last three phases of polling in the state.

BHOPAL: It was the biggest show of strength by the Congress after it lost power in 2003. More than fifty thousand party workers were arrested on February 22 when they tried to march towards the Vidhan Sabha which they declared they wanted to 'gherao'. But the Congress spokesman K.K. Mishra claimed that more than a lakh party workers were expected to join the demonstration but about fifty thousand could not reach Bhopal because they were stopped by the police at the five entry points on some or other excuse. Party workers started reaching Bhopal from early morning. More than a thousand reached the residence of the PCC Chief Arun Yadav, at 5 am. The spokesman claimed that the massive show was the result of the united efforts made by all the important leaders of the party.

Concerned as the BJP is over the stiff challenges which it is facing in the assembly elections, its worries will be multiplied by the party’s setback in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) poll.

Time for the Modi Government to rise above mythical assumptions and go on hard slog to restore growth and stability to the 2-trillion dollar economy. Judging from a brutal, if benignly worded, assessment from IMF on the state of post-demonetisation economy, India needs to get its act together on a wide front- fiscal, structural, inflationary and external – as risks abound.

Post-demonetisation, the verdict on India’s economic performance from reputed global institutions has seldom been unambiguous. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was the first to lower India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the current fiscal to 6.6 per cent in its updated world economic outlook report a couple of months ago. This was at a time when the domestic authorities and other cheer-leading public and private institutions were cocksure of India’s growth clocking 7 per cent in 2016-17.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The abduction and alleged rape of a prominent Malayalam film actress by a criminal gang in Kochi and the police failure to nab the prime accused has pushed the LDF Government, already on the mat in a case relating to the death of a BTech student, further on the defensive.

Manipur goes to polls next month. Elections to the 60 seats of the State Assembly will be held in two phases – March 4 and 8. This Assembly election is going to be totally different from all other elections in the past. It is the Naga issue that is dominating the election scene. The Nagas mounted an economic blockade of the State on the 1st of November last year, to protest against the creation of seven new districts by the Congress-run Manipur Government. They think the creation of the new districts is intended to divide the Nagas living in Manipur and weaken them politically.

This is an election month, with voters from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Goa selecting their representatives in the legislative assembly. Since stakes are high, politicians are trying to woo their voters by promising to give free Wi-Fi, smartphones, pressure cookers and petrol. Politicians can afford these freebies as they are rich.

When Narendra Modi persuaded LK Advani and others in the BJP’s old guard to retire from active politics, he must have felt happy over establishing complete control over the party. But he may not have realized how heavy a burden he will have to carry. Now the assembly elections cannot but have made him aware of this onerous responsibility.

Tamil Nadu is now in political turmoils, a fragile AIADMK Government of E. PalaniswamI scrambling a wafer-thin majority in a confidence vote on Feb.18, after an ugly display of violence against the Speaker, damage of Assembly equipment, and uproar by DMK members, all designed to suit the game plan of Leader of Opposition Mr. M.K. Stalin to stall proceedings.