-Live Mint It's obvious that Indian experience with local governance is not what it should have been, but a change is underway Later this week, the country will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the constitutional amendments that made it mandatory for the creation of panchayats-the village-level bodies that deliver self-governance. Most may not be aware that this could well have been the eve of its 25th anniversary, but for the three-vote defeat...

-The Telegraph Since I belong to the Left, I know I am likely to be prejudiced against Mamata Banerjee. I try to guard against this prejudice. I try not to let my overall political stance colour my judgment of particular events associated with her. For the last several days, therefore, I have tried to ignore the attacks on Communist Party of India (Marxist) offices in West Bengal in the wake of the...

-The Hindu     ‘Crorepati'-politicians wear their wealth like a badge of honour Bangalore: With the new breed of "crorepati"-politicians wearing their wealth like a badge of honour, the old slogans of "Garibi Hatao" (remove poverty) have become passé. The rise in the prominence of moneybags from real estate, the private education sector, and industry in the city's political landscape has not only deflected social issues but it has also changed the benchmark for a...

-The Indian Express As coming-of-age rituals go, the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC) couldn't have planned it better. Acting on intelligence by its cadre, it moved in on a group of Maoists in Chatra district's Lawalong Tola on the intervening night of March 27-28, killing 10. Among the dead was Lalesh Yadav, secretary of the Bihar-Jharkhand-North Chhattisgarh Special Area Committee, and his closest subordinates, thus leaving a vacuum at the heart...

-The Hindu   One candidate asked to withdraw nomination, two others reprimanded Bangalore: The Loksatta Party, which is set to make its debut in the coming Karnataka Assembly Elections promising "clean" politics, has run into trouble with three of its candidates taking public positions that appear to run counter to the party's stated ideological vision and standpoint. Phanisai Bhardwaj, the party's candidate for Bangalore South, has said on his facebook page: "Apolish [abolish] reservation...