Why the most backward castes are crucial for BJP’s sandwich alliance to succeed in Uttar Pradesh

If these 70 castes do not consolidate behind the BJP as they did in 2014, the ruling party is unlikely to deliver anywhere near the same performance.

Vignesh Karthik KR

 & 

Ajaz Ashraf

· Apr 07, 2019 · 08:00 am

Sitaram Yechury: I don’t feel betrayed by Rahul Gandhi but don’t get what Congress is doing

The CPI(M) leader suggests that the Congress chief’s decision to contest from Wayanad won’t prevent the two parties from coming together after the election.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Apr 05, 2019 · 08:01 am

Interview: The wide appeal of the BJP, Congress ends up benefiting upper-caste dynasties by default

Political scientist Kanchan Chandra says the role dynastic ties play in ticket allocation, leadership positions can block talent. But it also has some benefits.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Mar 25, 2019 · 08:00 am

With Congress increasingly becoming BJP minus hate, it cannot be the first choice for UP’s Muslims

It’s time for the minority community to vote ideologically in India’s largest state.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Mar 07, 2019 · 08:00 am

‘People are a little unhappy but not angry with Modi’: Psephologist Sanjay Kumar on Lok Sabha polls

The BJP can gain from the Pulwama attack only if it takes some action against Pakistan, says the director of Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Feb 25, 2019 · 07:30 am

Interview: ‘Poor upper castes don’t need reservations as their poverty is not due to their caste’

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha explains why his party is demanding that 90% of government jobs should be reserved for backward classes.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Feb 15, 2019 · 07:00 am

What is common to Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, VP Singh, Chandra Shekhar, Deve Gowda, Inder Gujral?

And why is Atal Behari Vajpayee missing in this list?

Ajaz Ashraf

· Feb 13, 2019 · 07:30 am

Lesson from 1979 Janata Party fiasco: Coalitions are sunk by national parties not regional ones

Not quite what Narendra Modi and Amit Shah would want the India to remember.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Feb 12, 2019 · 07:00 am

Gandhi assassination: Was Nathuram Godse’s co-conspirator driven to hate by his father’s cruelty?

Madanlal Pahwa was 21 when he detonated a bomb at Gandhi’s prayer meeting in Delhi on January 20, days before the Mahatma was eventually killed.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Jan 30, 2019 · 08:00 am

‘At times, without mamma, I feel desperate,’ says daughter of jailed lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj

Maaysha, 21, talks about life without her mother, who has been arrested in connection with caste violence in Bhima Koregaon last year.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Jan 26, 2019 · 06:45 am

Why Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav kept the Congress out of their alliance in Uttar Pradesh

And why Shiv Sena is threatening to do the same to the BJP in Maharashtra.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Jan 14, 2019 · 08:00 am

On Sabarimala, nationalism and the rule of law, the Congress is being more hypocritical than the BJP

By enabling the Congress to imitate Hindutva in states while preaching progressive values at the national level, the Gandhis are leading the party into a trap.

Ajaz Ashraf

· Jan 10, 2019 · 07:30 am