-The Hindu Caste demographics do not have the deterministic effect on electoral outcomes that is often assumed As a new round of State elections approaches in India, political parties are crafting their electoral strategies. A large part of this exercise consists of constituency mapping, or gathering data about caste and community demographics, information about the local balance of power between groups, and the identification of local caste leaders, with the aim of...

-The Hindu Dalit-Muslim alliances are not enough; upper caste Hindus are needed too, to restore secularism Ever since the Sachar Committee Report of 2006 demonstrated that the socio-economic conditions of Muslims have worsened compared to Dalits, some have argued that Muslims have become India’s new Dalits. It is further proposed that the two communities should forge an alliance to fight the Hindu Right to restore secularism because together they constitute a significant...

-The Hindu Response comes after BSP chief Mayawati said the police were keeping criminals as ‘State guests’ Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh police have killed 103 suspected criminals in alleged encounters over a period of more than two years. This was the claim made by the State police in response to taunts by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati that the police in Uttar Pradesh were keeping criminals as “State guests.” Ms. Mayawati on Friday, while...

-The Hindu Business Line Launched in February after the BJP’s defeat in three states in the Hindi heartland, the Prime Minister’s ambitious scheme for farmers may help the party in its fight against the SP-BSP gathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh. Ballia, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Phulpur: Last month, Raj Narayan Rajbhar, a resident of Saimalpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur Lok Sabha constituency, had Rs 2,000 credited to his bank account under the Pradhan...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has the biggest bank balance among all parties, according to official records. The expenditure report submitted by BSP to the Election Commission on February 25 states that it has Rs 669 crore deposited in eight accounts in branches of public sector banks in the national capital region. The party, which scored a blank in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has also...