Blog: BJP Has Won Uttar Pradesh, But Is Short Of Options For Chief Minister
Rahul Shrivastava | Friday March 17, 2017The BJP moved with tyre-burning speed to clinch numbers and power in Goa and Manipur, where the verdict wasn't purely in its favour. One Chief Minister has already won a trust vote, another will get there soon.
Blog: Next UP Chief Minister? Intelligence Bureau Checks Done
Rahul Shrivastava | Sunday March 12, 2017The resounding win in UP is not a full stop in the BJP's political effort in the crucial state but just a comma. If the party has risen to the top from spot 3 by winning over diverse caste groups to lay the foundation for the general election in 2019, the real test starts now.
Blog: Modi-Amit Shah's Caste Experiment In Uttar Pradesh
Rahul Shrivastava | Saturday March 11, 2017I recall on Sunday, March 5, the "Modi-Modi" chant at Varanasi's Pandeypur from a sea of saffron-capped heads wasn't abating. Every minute, in groups, people with BJP flags in their hands would join the swelling gathering. The BJP had prepared for the PM's Road Show Number Two in Varanasi in as many days. Campaigning was to end the next day.
Blog: In This Election In Ayodhya, Ram Temple Issue Not Even In Whispers
Rahul Shrivastava | Monday February 27, 2017On the main arterial road in Ayodhya, Santosh Bhargava lifted a kerosene stove he had repaired and came forward to hand it to a customer. His spine bent after 83 years of a life of struggle in the temple town. I had met him several times from the start of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the late 80s - till the peak 90s. He used to repair harmoniums, which were used in...
Blog: Time For Mullah Mulayam To Retire, Say Long-Time Supporters
Rahul Shrivastava | Saturday January 07, 2017Najib, with his popcorn cart, has increased the frequency with which he visits the primary school 'chabootra' (a round cemented platform) in Mau village each day. The village elders and men would gather only once each day before members of the Samajwadi Party's first family went to war against each other. Now debates erupt like corn in his hot pan more often - dependi...
Blog: 'Betrayal,' Mulayam Yadav Has Said About Son Akhilesh. And Yet...
Rahul Shrivastava | Monday October 24, 2016On Lucknow's Vikramaditya Marg, Mulayam Singh Yadav's house and the new residence of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav share a wall. On Sunday night, hours before a meeting called by Mulayam Singh, this wall represented a divide that father and son may not even be planning to bridge. The pale half-moon was positioned right between the two white bungalows.
Blog: The Incontestable Political Significance Of PM's Lucknow Dussehra
Rahul Shrivastava | Tuesday October 11, 2016The Aishbagh ground in Lucknow will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi today for the annual Ramlila, which depicts the slaying of Ravana (evil) by Ram (good).
Blog: Congress, AAP Strategy On Surgical Strikes Is Backfiring
Rahul Shrivastava | Thursday October 06, 2016Despite the clamour, the government remains committed to not releasing evidence of the strikes. The PM saw the "evidence" right after the action.
Blog: Keep Calm, Rajnath Singh Gestured To Mehbooba. What It Gives Away.
Rahul Shrivastava | Thursday August 25, 2016As the Kashmir region spent its 48th day without any signs of peace, alarm bells are ringing in the central government. Home Minister Rajnath Singh's outreach is a desperate bid by the centre to retrieve even partially the situation in the Valley. Apart from the Home Minister's "doors open for talks", the centre is preparing for the long haul.
Blog: RBI Governor Urjit Patel, Once TV Show Commentator
Rahul Shrivastava | Sunday August 21, 2016Urjit R Patel will be stepping into Raghuram Rajan's big-sized shoes from September 4. But he has been walking through the minefield of Indian economy long enough behind Mr Rajan and won't need a map.
Blog: For Smriti Irani And Other Top Guns, Clear Message From PM Modi
Rahul Shrivastava | Wednesday July 06, 2016If searching for messages from the cabinet reshuffle and expansion exercise yesterday, this is the stand-out: PM Modi has indicated that no one is indispensable.
Blog: In BJP Versus Congress, Some Deep Blows Have Been Struck
Rahul Shrivastava | Wednesday April 06, 2016Politics is predatory, but sometimes all pretence at civility is abandoned and politicians, like gladiators, don't mind letting blood show on their hands. Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh are instances, though not the first and certainly not the last.
Blog: Vijay Mallya, The MP Who Drove A Maserati To Work
Rahul Shrivastava | Saturday March 12, 2016A year ago, the name Vijay Mallya evoked a response very different from what it does today in Parliament House.
Blog: The Rahul Gandhi factor in the GST Tussle
Rahul Shrivastava | Thursday December 03, 2015But insiders on both sides admit that India has had to wait since 2011 for its biggest tax reform not because the bills had flaws in them or for a lack of consensus, but simply because the battle is political not numerical.
Blog: Ashok Singhal, the Engineer Who Built The Ram Temple Movement
Rahul Shrivastava | Wednesday November 18, 2015Ashok Singhal will be remembered as one of the most divisive figures in Indian politics without ever being in active politics.
