Opinion

Opinion | Dalit Vote In Uttar Pradesh: From BSP Monopoly To A Three-Way Fight

As the 2027 election approaches, Dalits, who make up about one in five voters, could decide who governs India's most populous state. Uttar Pradesh's politics has long run on caste arithmetic, and no bloc has been more consequential or more contested in recent years than the Dalits. Scheduled Castes (SCs) account for about 21% of the state's populat...

Opinion | MLC Polls: NDA Edges Ahead, Congress Slips, But The Real Story Is Behind The Numbers

The results of the Legislative Council elections for 28 seats across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka have set off a fresh war of words between the BJP and the Congress. The Prime Minister used the outcome to take a swipe at the Congress, mocking its "SIR/Vote Chori" campaign and pointing out that the party struggled even in a ballot...

Opinion | In Data: Decoding The Modi Phenomenon In 25 Years Of Public Service

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned 76 recently, completes 25 years in public service on Wednesday (October 7). The celebrations sprawled across the country, and the BJP organised a month full of events - a scale befitting a leader whose personal brand has, for over two decades, been treated as inseparable from his party's electoral fortunes. ...

Opinion | National Or Regional Parties - Who Really Stands To Gain From Simultaneous Polls?

The idea of holding Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections together - popularly called "One Nation, One Election" (ONOE) - is back at the centre of India's political agenda. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, has been holding consultations across states, with its chairman PP Chaudhary cl...

Opinion | The OBC Fault Line That Could Shake Up Uttar Pradesh - And BJP

For years, the BJP was propelled by support from the OBCs. Now, cracks have begun to appear in that base

Opinion | 6 Years After A Dramatic Break-Up, Are BJP-Akali Dal Set To Join Hands Again?

The arithmetic looks tempting, but the chemistry decidedly uncertain.

Opinion | Why Akhilesh Yadav Is Suddenly Betting On Brahmins In Uttar Pradesh

Akhilesh is chasing the Brahmin vote in Uttar Pradesh. But breaking the BJP's near-total hold over it won't be easy

Opinion | Prashant Kishor May Just Be Playing Two Games At Once In Bihar

The Jan Suraaj is neither a 'BJP-lite' option for disaffected upper-caste voters, nor is it an RJD alternative for Muslims. It is, in fact, both things at once, in the same seat, in the same election.

Opinion | With Raghav Chadha, AAP Is Facing A Kind Of Crisis Nobody Expected It To Face

Kejriwal built something genuinely remarkable from a public movement. But movements require oxygen - dissent, debate, and distributed leadership. What AAP has now is a closed room with one man at the centre.

Opinion | In Data: How Minority Seats Could Decide Who Wins Kerala This Time

The outcomes in the 47 seats dominated by Muslims and Christians could ultimately decide the course of the 2026 elections in Kerala. Whoever wins these seats might end up winning the state.

Opinion | How Muslim Voters In Bengal Will Shape The 2026 Assembly Poll Outcome

With 106 of the 112 Muslim-influenced seats already in its column, the Trinamool makes for a formidable challenge for the BJP. But then, there's Humayun Kabir.

Opinion | India's Tax Burden Is Falling On The Wrong Shoulders: The Middle Class

The middle class has been doing the heavy lifting for far too long. It's time for policy to recognise and reward that contribution.

Opinion | Mumbai Polls: How The 'Marathi Manoos' Campaign Ended Up Uniting Others Against It

Mumbai's demographic transformation over the past two decades has been dramatic. The city is now home to millions of migrants from across India, who felt directly threatened by the Thackerays' rhetoric.

Opinion | The Pawars Are Talking Again, And So Are Thackerays. Here's Why

Maharashtra's political landscape is witnessing unprecedented realignments as the state prepares for municipal corporation elections across 29 bodies, a poll that comes four years behind schedule.

Opinion | Scindia's Ghost Is Haunting Congress Again - This Time In Karnataka

As Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stakes his claim to the top post, the party's high command is walking a tightrope, acutely aware that one misstep could lead to a repeat of the catastrophic loss it suffered in Madhya Pradesh in 2020.

Opinion | No, RJD Didn't Face A 'Conspiracy'. Here's The Math Behind Its Rout

Rather than pointing to electoral manipulation, the numbers reveal a party that spread its resources too thin, may have contested more seats than its support base could sustain.

Opinion | What Went Wrong For Prashant Kishor? 'Arrogance', Among Other Things

The 2024 Bihar polls may have been a false start for the Jan Suraaj, but whether it becomes a footnote in Bihar's political history or the foundation for a future force will depend entirely on how its leadership responds to this poll result.

Opinion | Dear Delhi Pollsters, Please Stop Writing Nitish Kumar Off Every Election

The JD(U)'s tally of more than 80 seats reaffirms what analysts often forget: Nitish's electoral machine, and the social coalitions it rests on, do not wither simply because poll pundits in Delhi want a new plotline.

Opinion | Why Bihar Saw Highest Gap In Male-Female Turnout In Phase 1 Voting

According to reports, the female turnout this time was 69.04%, significantly higher than the male turnout of 61.56%. This gap of 7.5 percentage points underlines a unique reality of Bihar.

Opinion | Tejashwi Yadav Could Be Bihar's Future - Or Opposition's Greatest Mistake. Here's Why

The Mahagathbandhan is navigating two political realities. On one hand, modern electoral politics demands clear leadership projection. On the other hand, Bihar's complex social fabric means explicit projections can trigger unintended consequences.