'EVERY POLL FACTOR IS IN BJP'S FAVOUR FOR 2024'

Fresh from the poll victories in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, BJP national president J.P. NADDA, in a candid chat with India Today Group Editorial Director RAJ CHENGAPPA and Deputy Editor ANILESH S. MAHAJAN, talks about what went behind these bigger than expected victories in the Hindi heartland, how the BJP's strategy to win these elections was chalked out and how it reaped the benefits of PM Modi's guarantees to the people. He also explains how the BJP plans to carry forward this momentum in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Excerpts

Beyond Article 370

For over 70 years, Article 370 of the Indian Constitution was seen as almost an article of faith by a section of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

MYSTIC MEDLEY

The seventh edition of the Mahindra Kabira Festival is set to enthral music lovers in Varanasi this month

Good Old Rock 'N' Roll

One of the world's greatest contemporary rock bands, The War on Drugs, will perform at Bandland in Bengaluru this month

Here We GO Again

MAMMA MIA!, the popular musical from London's West End and one of the world's longest running, is being performed live in Mumbai currently

THE ARTFUL COMBATANT

CHARISMATIC AND INDUSTRIOUS, A. REVANTH REDDY IS IN A HURRY TO LEARN FROM HIS PREDECESSOR'S MISTAKES AND CONSOLIDATE HIS GAINS FOR THE BATTLE ON THE HORIZON

Dressed to a Tee

Costume and production design played a key role in recreating the 1960s world of The Archies

THE RISE OF A WARHORSE

A SEASONED TRIBAL LEADER, VISHNU DEO SAI PIPS OTHER CONTENDERS TO BECOME CHHATTISGARH CM AS THE BJP TRIES TO BALANCE CASTE EQUATIONS

THE CHARISMA IS BACK

THE HERO KARIZMA RETURNS AS THE KARIZMA XMR. IT COMES WITH MANY FIRSTS AND PROMISES TO BE A STRONG CONTENDER IN THE SEGMENT

COMFORT KING

WE RIDE THE MERCEDES-BENZ GLE 450 TO FIND OUT WHETHER IT'S STILL A CONTENDER FOR THE BEST SUV IN THE SEGMENT CROWN

SHIFTING GEARS

THREE OF THE LATEST BIKES TO HIT THE ROADS

NO TAKERS FOR THE VACCINE

THANKS TO SOCIAL STIGMA AND LACK OF AWARENESS, THOUSANDS OF WOMEN CONTINUE TO DIE OF CERVICAL CANCER IN INDIA, EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE ONLY TYPE THAT'S ALMOST ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE BY A VACCINE

PLAYING THE OBC CARD

MOHAN YADAV, THE BJP LEADERSHIP'S PICK FOR THE TOP POST IN MP, TICKS THE RIGHT BOXES IN THE 2024 GENERAL ELECTION PUSH

BETTING ON FRESH FACES

THE BJP USHERS IN A GENERATIONAL SHIFT IN THREE STATES AS THE CONGRESS DOES IN TELANGANA, TO GROOM THE LEADERSHIP OF THE FUTURE

THE SOULFUL SINGER

With a song on the soundtrack of the controversial blockbuster Animal and top billing on Spotify, the shy Arijit Singh is enjoying the spotlight

A CLASH OF TEMPLE BELLS

From organising Kashistyle Ganga aartis along the Hooghly in Kolkata to building replicas of Vaishno Devi and Puri Jagannath, the Trinamool Congress has in recent years striven to match every step of its main adversary, the BJP, in bursts of demonstrative Hinduism.

PINARAYI GETS ON THE BUS

The Opposition is often found calculating the dent it could make in the ruling BJP’s Lok Sabha tally in one state or the other.

The Great Heist

Some 25 counting machines whirred breathlessly as they went through bundle after bundle of cash.

THE DONKEYS ARE VANISHING

In a state known more for its lions, Gujarat may not automatically evoke the more humdrum image of the donkey, the four legged beast trapped on the opposite side of human valuation.

A NEW FORCE IN AIZAWL

THE ZPM BREAKS THE MNF-CONGRESS STRANGLEHOLD TO SEIZE POWER IN MIZORAM. FRESH FACES AND PROMISE OF CHANGE DID THE TRICK

REDDY, STEADY GO

BRUISED IN THE NORTH, A RESILIENT CONGRESS BOUNCES BACK IN TELANGANA, HANDING THE ONCE INVINCIBLE KCR A SOUND BEATING. BEHIND THE VICTORY WAS A FAULTLESS POLL STRATEGY

BUCKING THE TREND

STRATEGIC MANOEUVRES, A CENTRE-RUN CAMPAIGN AND A SHIFT IN VOTER PREFERENCES AIDED THE BJP’S SWEEPING VICTORY, AND HELPED IT THWART 18 YEARS OF ANTI-INCUMBENCY

A THREAT CALLED DISEASE X

IS THE NEXT KILLER VIRUS ALREADY HERE? THE WHO PREDICTS IT WILL BE 'ZOONOTIC', AND 20 TIMES DEADLIER THAN COVID

ROAR OF THE TIGER

India's hardest-working action star Tiger Shroff seems on track with a slew of releases planned next year

CHRONICLE OF INTERESTING TIMES

The incisively observed Journals of the painter Altaf Mohammedi provide a fascinating glimpse into 1960s London

Culture in the Capital

India's first biennale dedicated to art, architecture and design is on at the Red Fort in New Delhi

UNITING INDIA

JOHN ZUBRZYCKI'S DETHRONED IS A COMPELLING NARRATION OF THE INTEGRATION OF THE PRINCELY STATES INTO THE INDIAN UNION

In Search of Greener Pastures

PERUMAL MURUGAN'S AGRARIAN PERIOD NOVEL, FIRE BIRD, HAS WON THE 2023 JCB PRIZE FOR LITERATURE

ZENS AND SENSIBILITY

Shabnam Minwalla's new novel straddles two different eras in an engrossing tale of romance, rebellion and long-hidden secrets

Q+A BUSY AS A BEE

Besides filming the third season of Bollywood Wives, Neelam Kothari Soni is engaged in multiple projects