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Politics of development has clearly emerged as a key narrative in the Lok Sabha election 2024 campaigns. Vikasit Bharat @ 2047 is the loudest high decibel bluff of PM Narendra Modi’s political campaign so far that has almost buried the three real concerns of the people – livelihood, healthcare, and education - though people are just not able to afford their cost. Over 81 crore people are dependent on free foodgrain supplied under Food Security Act 2013 and over 97 crore people are not able to afford healthy food. Obviously, the people who can’t even afford food how can they afford high healthcare and education costs that Modi’s regime has brought in the last 10 years? PM Modi does not only want us not to see this side of the coin, but also has been drawing our attention to India’s growing wealth and infrastructure and on his guarantee of a developed India by 2047, forming a key narrative of his election campaign.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s southern search for Lok Sabha seats to make up the targeted ‘370’ took him to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. And just like in the north, the Bharatiya Janata Party hopes to take advantage of "Hindu sentiments" to secure for Prime Minister Narendra Modi a third straight term. Also, just so that people don't forget, the Prime Minister has been introducing himself in the local lingos, a smattering of a few words in each language learned by rote.

LUCKNOW: Ever since Akhilesh Yadav joined Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi at Agra, there is a perfect understanding between Samajwadi Party and Congress for Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. Both the leaders sent positive message to the party leaders and workers through their action during their joint rally at Agra. So much so both the leaders took selfie of each other to show mutual respect which was very well appreciated by those present on the occasion.

India has been aiming to enhance its defense capabilities through the development of a more compact and efficient version of the BrahMos missile. BrahMos Aerospace, a defense corporation with Indo-Russian roots, is set to begin drop and dummy trials of the lighter and more compact Next Generation (NG) BrahMos missile around the middle of 2025, with plans for flight testing to follow by the year's end.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal bode farewell to arms years ago. But perish the thought that ever since he has cast aside his pseudonym of Prachanda, forsaken armed struggle and laying down arms walked away from the hills of his homeland Nepal, he no longer has to watch his steps.

Hamas will win if Israel holds elections. That’s essentially the claim made by Benjamin Netanyahu this weekend as he hit back at U.S. political leaders pressuring him to send his country to the polls.

On the face of it the controversial citizenship amendment act of 2019 may appear to be purely humanitarian. It provides the government with a special provision to expedite the citizenship process for non-Muslim migrants – including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and Parsis — to India from the neighbouring Muslim countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before 2014. However, the time chosen for its implementation just before the national election makes it rather provocative. It would appear to be politically motivated considering the fact that the amended citizenship law had earlier invited nationwide political protests, delaying its implementation for about four and half years. Few are surprised to witness renewed protests from opposition parties against the government notification on March 11 just days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election.

The Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, has announced the 18th Lok Sabha election schedule, starting on April 19. He has identified four major problems that affect India's free and fair elections. These are the 4Ms: Muscle power, Money power, Misinformation, and violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). They are not new.

Initial disclosure of the names of purchaser of electoral bonds has established beyond doubt that PM Narendra Modi’s Electoral Bonds Scheme was just a conspiracy to sell government favours. Modi government had also a strategy to intimidate people to purchase electoral bonds or else face summons, raids, seizures, and arrests under several laws, especially under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Prosecutions were launched against many who later purchased electoral bonds for huge amounts to buy government protection.

When the INDI-Alliance prepared for the Mumbai Shivaji Park public meeting to congratulate Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for completing the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the set time, there were folks who said Rahul’s 2nd Yatra was a “flop” going by the standards set by the first Yatra, which had wound its way from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Srinagar in Kashmir. Rahul Gandhi couldn’t have cared less for the demeaning word, he was too engrossed in making an assessment of where the NDA and the BJP stood even as the world saw him monkeying around with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the culmination of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.