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The West Bengal electorate has handed a third major defeat in a row to the Left Front led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM). In the just-completed rural panchayat elections, the Front only won one of 17 zilla parishads (ZPs), the same as the much smaller Congress.

When Manmohan Singh rose to deliver his Independence Day speech, a fleeting thought could have crossed his mind that this might be his last bow before the nation. It probably also occurred to him that the scene could have been very different if he had followed his own instincts on economic reforms during the last 10 years and not surrendered to the contrary views within his own party.

Deteriorating fiscal health, validity of anti-incumbency and development factors, industries’ emigration and freedom of media are some of the most pressing issues to shake up the northern state of Punjab.

LUCKNOW: The US and other prominent foreign countries have shown a keen interest in making a huge investment in Uttar Pradesh. During her recent meeting with chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, US ambassador Nancy Powell said that number of US companies were interested in making investment in India within IT sector and other core areas.

UPA-II seems to have arrived at wits-end on the economic front - Mr Chidambaram first unleashing FDI reforms in droves over a year to kick-start growth recovery, and finding no takers abroad, makes a swing to controls—not exactly back to 1991, we are assured, but for overcoming external vulnerabilities.

BHOPAL: The electoral battle in Madhya Pradesh has picked up pace after BJP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh launched his 'Janashirvad Yatra' following the Congress' 'Parivartan Yatra' and decided to hold 'Shankhnad' rallies all over the state.

Congress party’s election slogan is bhookh- mukt Bharat (hunger-free India); the BJP’s battle cry is Congress-mukt Bharat (Congress-free India). It is like Indira Gandhi’s slogan of early seventies: Garibi hatao. The opposition slogan at that time was: Indira hatao. Mrs Gandhi shrewdly twisted the opposition slogan to her advantage — mai kahatein hun, garabi hatao, woh kahatein hain, Indira hatao (I say remove poverty and they say remove Indira Gandhi).

New Delhi: India is successfuly engaged with different political parties in the Maldives ahead of the general elections in that country.

New Delhi: India has expressed about the safety of life and assets of Indian nationals in Egypt following the violence which resulted in death of over 600 people.

The Union Finance Ministry’s belated clarification on August 3 for a sensational banner piece in the otherwise staid but venerable The Hindu that ‘India has to repay $172 billion debt by March 2014’ recalls the classic case of Rip Van Winkle who remained mired in his own reverie for decades and suddenly woke up to find the ground reality!