-The Indian Express Across these regions, where mitigation measures to tackle a grave water and fodder scarcity had barely begun during the election campaign, BJP leaders had run a campaign almost entirely on issues of national security, the Pulwama attack and the Balakot airstrike. Mumbai/ Pune: Shrugging off the impact of a crippling drought, anger at slow drought relief measures and years of poor price realisations for most major farm produce,...

-The Hindu Party may have missed target section The Congress had seemed to be in a relatively better position when the election year began, but its efforts to create an anti-incumbency atmosphere in the country were derailed by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government post-Pulwama and Balakot. Having struggled to counter the dominant narrative of Nationalism and Hindutva created by the ruling party, the Congress announced its minimum income guarantee, or NYAY, scheme for...

-The Indian Express Whichever party wins the election, the real long-term challenge is to stem the rot of institutional foundations. The headlines say that the ruling party manifesto emphasises Nationalism (“nation first”), and, on the economic front, it will aspire to make India the third-largest economy in the world by the end of the next decade, to make it reach the list of top 50 countries in the ranking of Ease...

-The Hindu A new survey ahead of elections shows lack of jobs is single biggest worry Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, a public opinion survey in 12 states has found that political parties are the most distrusted political institutions in India. It also found that one in five of those surveyed felt that unemployment is the single biggest issue facing the country today. The survey, Politics and Society between Elections 2019, found...

-The Hindu Civil society groups to launch nationwide drive on March 23 In a bid to reclaim the poll narrative post-Pulwama, major civil society networks have joined hands to launch a nationwide campaign on March 23, the death anniversary of Bhagat Singh, which is commemorated as Shaheed Diwas or Martyrs’ Day. The “Desh Mera, Vote Mera, Mudda Mera” campaign will aim to move the focus away from Nationalism to “real issues” such as...