ON A KNIFE-EDGE

YSRCP CHIEF JAGAN REDDY AND HIS TDP COUNTERPART CHANDRABABU NAIDU ARE LOCKED IN A KEEN CONTEST. THE LATTER'S NDA ALLIANCE ALSO STANDS IN THE WAY OF THE ANDHRA CM'S DREAMS OF A SECOND TERM IN POWER IN TWIN POLLS

BATTLE OF THE GUARANTEES

A RESURGENT CONGRESS UNDER CM SIDDARAMAIAH IS RELYING ON ITS WELFARE GUARANTEES TO NEUTRALISE PM NARENDRA MODI'S CHARISMA AND THE IMPACT OF HIS FLAGSHIP SCHEMES

THE RIFT OF THE GAB

AS SHASHI THAROOR LOOKS TO MAKE IT FOUR IN A ROW FOR THE CONGRESS IN THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, THE BJP'S RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR COULD WELL SPRING A SURPRISE

REWRITING THE KERALA STORY

THE CONGRESS HOLDING ON TO ONE OF ITS LAST BASTIONS, THE LEFT LOOKING FOR RESURRECTION AND THE BJP SEARCHING FOR A BREACH IN THE WALLS. WHICH WAY WILL KERALA TURN?

A SINGHAM IN SAFFRON

FORMER IPS OFFICER ANNAMALAI IS ON A MISSION TO MAKE THE BJP THE PRIME CHALLENGER IN TAMIL NADU. THE BATTLE FOR THE COIMBATORE LOK SABHA SEAT IS SETTING THE TEMPLATE

A FORMIDABLE FRONT

THE DMK-LED ALLIANCE IS LOOKING TO REPEAT ITS 2019 LOK SABHA SWEEP IN TAMIL NADU. THE AIADMK AND BJP FIGHTING THE ELECTION SEPARATELY SHOULD AID ITS CAUSE, BUT THERE COULD BE SURPRISES IN STORE

CAN BJP STORM THE SOUTH?

CRUCIAL TO ITS GRAND AMBITION OF 400-PLUS SEATS, THE PARTY GOES ON A WAR FOOTING IN THE FIVE SOUTHERN STATES. BUT WITH EACH STRONGHOLD POSING A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE, IT IS A TASK EASIER SET THAN DONE

MAKING A PERFECT SCORE BETTER

WITH TWO PREVIOUS CLEAN SWEEPS, THE BJP SITS PRETTY IN UTTARAKHAND. THE CHALLENGE BEFORE IT IS TO WIN BY EVEN BIGGER MARGINS

Can I.N.D.I.A.Topple Modi?

The Odds Seem Heavily Stacked Against Them, But A Concerted Strategy And Narrative Can Help The Opposition Limit The BJP's Outsized Ambitions

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL

The courtroom drama Patna Shuklla is actor Raveena Tandon's way of highlighting burning social issues

WALKS ON THE WILD SIDE

PART TRAVELOGUE AND PART INQUIRY, STEPHEN ALTER'S THE COBRA'S GAZE URGES INDIANS TO CONNECT DEEPER WITH NATURE AMIDST OUR ONGOING WAR AGAINST WILDLIFE

Nature Above All

The effortless grace with which Ganesh Haloi switched from masterly figurative studies dating back to the late 1960s to rendering mindscapes reflecting his communion with nature is vividly expressed in an eyeopening exhibition.

BREAKING THE MOULD

ACTOR GULSHAN DEVAIAH IS LOOKING FORWARD TO LITTLE THOMAS, A SLICE-OF-LIFE FILM THAT TAKES HIM AWAY FROM THE DARK CHARACTERS HE HAS BEEN PLAYING

A STEALTHY LETHAL FORCE

The Cabinet Committee on Security has flagged off the prototype development and testing stage of India's indigenous fifth generation stealth fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Slated to be in production from 2035, it would make the IAF battle-ready for the future

NOTHING FAKE ABOUT IT

Amidst furore over non-payment of NREGA funds to Bengal due to alleged corruption, central data purportedly shows almost all job cards in the state to be genuine

GROUND FLEET

Jagan side-steps EC fiat against his 'army' of ward and village volunteers, gets them to disburse pensions

MOLLYWOOD GOES TO THE POLLS

Film stars are shining bright in Kerala's political firmament. The BJP is relying on one to make its LS wish come true

BJP Vs BJP

The party faces dissent in at least six seats. Reasons range from nomination of outsiders to non-performance

EXODUS HITS CONGRESS

Scores of Congress leaders and workers shift allegiance to the BJP, raising questions about the Grand Old Party's winnability, unity and leadership stability

BATTLE OF PATILS

Will the Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT) fracas over Sangli impact the prospects of the MVA in Maharashtra and the pan-nation interests of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc?

OF RANIS AND ALSO-RANS

A royal family member dons saffron robes to dip her toes in politics, and invites the TMC's censure

A FLUID STATE

THE SAMAJWADI PARTY GIVES OLD ALLIES A SNUB EVEN AS DIFFERENCES EMERGE BETWEEN ITS CHIEF AKHILESH YADAV AND JAILED LEADER AZAM KHAN; THE BJP LEAVES SITTING MPS HIGH AND DRY

"THERE IS ALREADY AN UNDECLARED EMERGENCY"

As convenor of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.), Mallikarjun Kharge has the humongous task of getting the 26-party combine on the same page on seat-sharing arrangements and a common narrative to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. The 81-year-old Congress president also has to galvanise the Grand Old Party to improve on its abysmal tally of 52 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Kharge took time off his hectic schedule to speak exclusively to Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa and Executive Editor Kaushik Deka on a range of key election issues. Excerpts:

GUJARAT - RUPALA GETS TOO RADICAL

Union minister Parshottam Rupala's egalitarian turn has boomeranged on him.

ANDHRA PRADESH - Food for Thought

As a vote-getting device, free rations are a common item on political menus these days.

MADHYA PRADESH - COUPLE OF ISSUES

Alliance-making is tricky enough at the party level. But the upcoming Lok Sabha polls have left no room for informal adjustments even at home for a political family in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh.

MINI MANTRIS

In military terms, the Congress has earned the right to see Karnataka as a position of advantage-a high Deccan spur castle from which it can easily pick out any invading horde.

RAJASTHAN - R.I.P., OR 'OM SHANTI'?

Defectors have a sense of direction: their GPS is mostly set saffron-ward these days. So, when a stray migrant comes walking into the Congress camp, you'd expect it to be bowing in gratitude.

MAHARASHTRA - THE 'LOK TANTRIKS'

Politics is a high-stress profession in these turbulent, uncertain times.

WEST BENGAL - The Revolution Will Be Webcast!

Shall we call it digital dialectics? The Left has long tried to shed the stereotype of being head-in-the-sand Luddites-one that it had earned back in the Eighties, the early days of computerisation, when it pressed the Ctrl X keys more than anything else.