Even a united opposition is unlikely to stop the BJP juggernaut in 2019
Adversity lays the foundation for friendships, and the setbacks suffered by political parties have often been the ground for opportunistic alliances. Like the BJP’s strong show in Karnataka forcing the nemeses—the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular)—to come together. Earlier in March, a similar alliance in Uttar Pradesh between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party had jolted the BJP in the Lok Sabha bypolls.
For the opposition, the new arrangement between the Congress and the JD(S) is a bright spot, a trend which many non-BJP parties hope to continue. It is also the biggest challenge that the BJP would face in the Lok Sabha elections next year. In Karnataka, the Congress and the JD(S) together got 56 per cent votes. It was the division of their votes that helped the BJP win 26 seats more than the Congress, despite getting 2 per cent less vote share.
It is hard to overstate how Narendra Modi helped the BJP in Karnataka. The prime minister carpetbombed the state with 21 campaign rallies in ten days. A similar forceful Modi campaign saved the party the blushes in the assembly elections in Gujarat in January.
The BJP’s good show in Karnataka has energised its chances in south India, which accounts for 130 Lok Sabha seats. The saffron party hopes to do better in Tamil Nadu and Kerala with its strategic alliances. And, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, it has been building a reputation as the main opposition party. “They said the BJP is a party of Hindi-speaking states,” said Modi in his thanksgiving speech after the Karnataka results were announced. “Are Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, the northeastern states Hindispeaking? No. The BJP represents India and our proud diversity.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 27, 2018 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 27, 2018 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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Angry, Young America
Campus protests against the Gaza war continue to linger as students demand a realignment of US ties with Israel
We need to engage more with communities
Designer Aratrik Dev Varman of the label Tilla has long been a lover of history. One could comfortably call him part-aesthete, part-archeologist, for his clothes dip into vintage styles of the Kutch, Sindh, Balochistan and Afghanistan, bringing alive antique styles and crafts. Tilla, the store and atelier, are situated on a tree-lined avenue in Ahmedabad.
The great luxury slowdown
A year or so ago, if anyone had told me that Tommy Hilfiger would have stolen the show at New York’s Met Gala, I would have laughed. But it seems the end of giant luxury labels is upon us even before we expected it. The American ready-to-wear designer Tommy Hilfiger seems to have created the maximum media buzz at the 2024 Met Gala, according to several data analytics firms.
RAP BRINGS RAPTURE
How indie artistes, especially hip-hoppers, are driving the phenomenal rise of Malayalam music
Employability issues are a narrative created by the corporate world
Prof Yogesh Singh is the 23rd vice chancellor of the century-old University of Delhi (DU). An engineer with a PhD in computer engineering, Singh has an impressive track record of teaching, innovation and research in the area of software engineering. He has more than 250 publications and his book, Software Testing, published by the Cambridge University Press, is well-received internationally. In an interview with THE WEEK, Singh talks about trends in higher education in India, the challenges faced by big universities, and how to make higher education more interesting. Asked about the perception that Indian graduates are “not employable”, he reacts strongly, and emphasises the difference between training and higher education. Edited excerpts:
SERVING WITH DISTINCTION
Conceived as a university like no other, Jawaharlal Nehru University became India's best. Here is how
Mandela Effect and Liar's Dividend
The complex tapestry of AI's impact on society
The other Sabyasachi
I am Sabyasachi Mukherjee, not to be confused with my namesake, the celebrated fashion couturier, declared the venerated director-general of Mumbai’s pride, George Wittet’s Indo-Saracenic jewel, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum.
THE MANGO HUNTERS
'Naadan Maavukal' started out as a Facebook group, but what it does offline has helped conserve many indigenous varieties of mangoes
BJP LEADERS, TOO, HAVE HAD ENOUGH
Farmers’ protest has taken the centre stage in Haryana, which goes to the polls on May 25. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is confident that the Congress, which has been out of power for 10 years, will regain its hold on the state. “People who voted for the BJP are disappointed today. It is clear that they want change,” he told THE WEEK.
