Opinion: What Amit Shah Has Set In Motion For The BJP In Bengal
Ashok Malik | Thursday May 04, 2017BJP president Amit Shah's recent visit to Bengal has energised politics in the state. It holds up the tantalising prospect of a BJP thrust in a polity currently dominated by Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress.
Opinion: Arvind Kejriwal, Consider VP Singh A Warning
Ashok Malik | Wednesday April 26, 2017However one interprets them, the municipal elections in Delhi are a severe setback for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Opinion: 2 Big Headlines In By-Elections For AAP And BJP In Bengal
Ashok Malik | Saturday April 15, 2017Nevertheless, it is apparent the CPI(M)-led Left Front is dying a slow and painful death in Bengal. Those hostile to Trinamool are increasingly shifting their support to the BJP.
Opinion: What Modi Has Mastered That Others Haven't - As Yet
Ashok Malik | Saturday March 11, 2017The BJP's success owes much to the rainbow coalition it built of the upper castes and urban middle classes, the non-Yadav OBCs and sections of Dalits. The BJP has done this before: in the early 1990s, under the leadership of Kalyan Singh;a broad coalition was stitched together then in the context of the emotive Ayodhya movement.
Opinion: Budget Shows Modi's 'War On Cash' Is A Serious One
Ashok Malik | Thursday February 02, 2017The budget persists with a Modi-Jaitley resolve: the willingness to sacrifice short-term popularity, even among those who may be BJP voters, to effect a longer-term transformation.
Opinion: Wrong To See Modi's Speech As Loaded With Handouts
Ashok Malik | Sunday January 01, 2017What does one make of Narendra Modi's address on December 31, 2016, after the demonetisation exercise and at the cusp of the New Year? Many have commented that it was low-key and lacked his characteristic flamboyance. The fact is, however, that in his mind, Modi is careful to distinguish between, for example, sober speeches as Prime Minister and rhetorical flourishes ...
Opinion: What Rahul Gandhi Has Won - And Risked - By Playing Hardball
Ashok Malik | Friday December 16, 2016While it hardly transacted business, the winter session of parliament marked a transition for the Congress and the opposition. As Sonia Gandhi took a backseat, due to health reasons or out of a desire to give her son more room, Rahul Gandhi became the Congress' prime mover and interface with other opposition parties. He attend parliament regularly, participated in pro...
Opinion: Modi Has Just Bet He Can Change India's Social Behaviour
Ashok Malik | Thursday December 01, 2016For Modi, this is not just a political or economic imperative; it is a colossal task of social engineering.
Opinion: What Demonetisation Says About And Does For Modi
Ashok Malik | Saturday November 19, 2016Close to two weeks into the demonetisation exercise, how does one assess it? Frankly, there are several aspects to the episode: the execution, the aspiration, and the medium to long term political impact.
Opinion: In Handling Of Surgical Strikes, Modi Has Ticked All The Boxes
Ashok Malik | Wednesday October 12, 2016If tough, pre-emptive action against terrorism is now the new normal, then surely guarded statements and not speaking just because there's a mic and camera handy should also become a new norm. The Prime Minister has indicated that. Now he must ensure it happens.
Opinion: Crossing The LoC To Prevent Terror Strikes Creates A New Normal
Ashok Malik | Friday September 30, 2016The political willingness to cross the LoC for short distances to pre-empt attacks has now been demonstrated. The genie is out of the bottle; it will not go back. In fact, sooner or later, that genie will seek to travel even further.
Opinion: Sushma Swaraj's Speech Outwitted And Outshone Nawaz Sharif's
Ashok Malik | Tuesday September 27, 2016The meat of the External Affairs Minister's speech was, of course, on terrorism. She was careful to locate the threat to India - including most recently in Uri - within a worldwide battle against Islamist terrorism that has stretched from Bangkok to Mogadishu and New York to Kabul.
Opinion: Balochistan Was Waiting To Be Used As Propaganda. Modi Seized It.
Ashok Malik | Wednesday August 17, 2016There were three proper nouns Modi used and it is important to understand the context of each.
Opinion: Rajnath Singh's Visit Lays Ground For Modi Trip To Pak
Ashok Malik | Friday August 05, 2016Unless there is a major "incident" in the intervening period, Modi is likely to make that trip and his Home Minister has in a sense laid the ground for him.
Opinion: Uttar Pradesh Could Well Turn Into Mayawati vs Amit Shah
Ashok Malik | Thursday July 28, 2016What is the big picture? In 2007 (or even in 2014), it was a case of either the BSP or the BJP taking on the SP, as the party of the lotus and the party of the elephant both targeted key voter groups. In 2017, social alliances are changing. It may well be a BSP versus BJP battle, with the SP pushed down the ladder.
