Prakash Karat on what it will take to get the Indian economy up and running
Excerpts from an interview with Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat, by Karan Thapar for the programme “Devil’s Advocate,” broadcast on CNN-IBN on Sunday night.
As you look at the economy days before you might actually be in […]

From a Professor of English literature to the rough and tumble of politics, Prem Kumar Dhumal has come a long way. The two-time Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, with a reputation of being a liberal, contested his first election in 1984 and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, […]

In the Assembly elections in Uttarakhand two years ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party projected former Union Minister and then Garhwal (Pauri) MP B.C. Khanduri as the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate. The strategy paid off for the BJP, with the party wresting power from the Congress.
Mr. Khanduri is once again going back to the people […]

“The results will be a complete washout for the Akali Dal-BJP alliance”
 If the response of the people during election rallies is any indication, Capt. Amarinder Singh, former Chief Minister and scion of the Patiala royal family, has emerged as the Congress’ main vote catcher. Capt. Amarinder Singh, who heads the party campaign committee in Punjab, […]

No party has remained in the same front for two successive elections
Ever since the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) was ousted from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led front in Tamil Nadu in June last, it has been under the political spotlight. In late March, the PMK joined the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)-led combine in […]

 
SHEILA DIKSHIT 
The only woman Chief Minister of the country elected to the post for three consecutive terms, Sheila Dikshit has emerged as the “poster woman” of the Congress in this Lok Sabha election. She was one of the party’s star campaigners, visiting several States where she put out the message that elections were more about […]

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been shouldering the responsibility of ensuring that the Congress does well in Rajasthan. The party fared poorly in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections in the State, winning only four of the total 25 seats, and is now looking to increase its tally. However, the big question is whether it can […]

At 38, Omar Abdullah has the distinction of being the youngest Chief Minister in the country. His National Conference is heading the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir with the Congress as its main ally. While campaigning for his candidates, the NC chief talks about his dreams of making Jammu and Kashmir a model State. […]

 
BHUPINDER SINGH HOODA
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is the star campaigner of the Congress in Haryana and neighbouring States such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Uttarakhand. Speaking to RAJESH AHUJA, he asserts that the Congress is going to definitely win all the 10 seats in Haryana thanks to ‘pro-incumbency’ factor.
Haryana is going […]

 
A. B. BARDHAN 
He belongs to a generation of national leaders who have been around since the first Lok Sabha election. For the last two decades, A.B. Bardhan, general secretary of the Communist Party of India, has been among the influential Left party leaders in national politics. He talks to K.V. PRASAD.
Having witnessed every general election […]