2014 elections

“I will break the Delhi cabal of status quoists”

PR Ramesh

Just before setting out from his Gandhinagar residence for a whirlwind tour of eastern UP, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate spoke to our Managing Editor. Excerpts

The intimate daughter

Chinki Sinha

Priyanka on the stump exudes the charisma of her grandmother. A portrait

The surrender

Ullekh NP

Missing leader. Muddled message. And a Congress that has conceded defeat without even the semblance of a fight

The Comfort of Masks

Aatish Taseer

The masks are a celebration of sameness from which many people feel shut out. They convey both the euphoria of this election and its air of mutual distrust

Home is where the vote is…

Sunanda K Datta-Ray

…Or, is it that home is where the heart is but the heart is more than a cashbox?

The Wrestler Is Withering Away

Ullekh NP

Mulayam Singh Yadav was once called the Little Napoleon of Uttar Pradesh. Is he headed for his political Waterloo? Ullekh NP in the SP supremo’s home terrain finds intimations of a fadeout

Didi is singing alone this time

Sohini Chattopadhyay

As Mamata Banerjee rides a wave of triumphalism, Sohini Chattopadhyay in West Bengal says all is not as funny as the Trinamool leader’s limericks

In Praise of the Risk Taker

Shekhar Gupta

What does the rise of Modi and Kejriwal, and the stalling of Rahul, say about Indian politics?

The Wishful Advisor

Shakti Sinha

In his controversial book, Sanjaya Baru wishes for a Manmohan Singh who does not exist, and in the process unmasks the one who does

The Veteran Debutant

Indrajit Hazra

Arun Jaitley plays the Punjabi to perfection in his maiden parliamentary battle from Amritsar. Indrajit Hazra gets a ride in the BJP leader’s campaign Toyota