-The Telegraph Bihar: The rise of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister has a strong implication on political inclusion of subaltern or deprived castes, as he is vocal about his backward lineage, often highlighting it at public meetings. Highlighting the phenomenon of Narendra Modi in Indian politics, Kanchan Chandra, professor of politics at New York University, said: "An inclusive democracy is desirable in itself since it sends out a signal of empowerment and...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Finance minister Arun Jaitley today ruled out farm loan waivers by the Centre but said states can utilise their own resources in this regard. He clarified that the Centre will not adopt a selective approach by helping one state and not the others. "This issue (loan waiver) has cropped up in several states. The Centre has its policies for agriculture sector under which we provide interest subvention and other...

-Scroll.in In this environment of majoritarianism, we must seriously consider proportional representation, adds SY Quraishi. SY Quraishi, who was Chief Election Commissioner from July 2011 to June 2012, is known to be outspoken about several issues regarding electoral reform both when he was in the Election Commission and after he retired. He has asked for public funding of political parties, putting an expenditure cap on them, financial transparency among parties, and...

-Hindustan Times Wealthier candidates were far more likely to win their constituency than their less wealthy competitors, according to an analysis of election data and candidate affidavits by the Hindustan Times. Across 689 constituencies in the assembly elections in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, the wealthiest candidate won 33.5% of the time, compared to just 24.6% for the second wealthiest candidate and 17% for the third wealthiest. The odds were heavily...

-The Indian Express One of the key issues that any incoming government in Punjab has to immediately grapple with is high state debt estimated at Rs 1.25 lakh crore in the last year’s budget. A clutch of other key reforms such as improving land allotment process and streamlining property registration would also need the attention of the new government. Punjab has steadily accumulated the debt over the years, resulting in its...