Columnist M S Shanker, Orange News 9

Mamata’s Power Without Majority? Impossible

Call it defiance, call it denial—but do not call it democracy. Mamata Banerjee’s reported refusal to resign after a decisive electoral defeat is not merely राजनीतिक theatre; it is a direct affront to the constitutional architecture of India. When the people speak with clarity, constitutional morality demands compliance—not conspiracy theories. The 2026 West Bengal verdict…

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OrangeNews9

Vijay’s Big Test: Converting Mandate to Power

MS Shanker The idea that Joseph Vijay can simply ride charisma into stable governance needs a reality check. Electoral momentum is one thing; managing a fractured mandate in Tamil Nadu’s deeply entrenched political ecosystem is quite another. Actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay has undeniably altered the state’s political landscape. For a political debutant to emerge as the…

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Columnist M S Shanker, Orange News 9

Modi’s Relentless Political Consolidation

If there is one defining feature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decade-long dominance, it is not merely electoral success—it is the systematic dismantling of India’s once-formidable regional power centres. What we are witnessing is not routine political churn, but a deep structural shift in the country’s power matrix, engineered through strategy, messaging, and relentless ground-level…

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Columnist P-Nagarjuna-Rao image

When the numbers refused to cooperate with Rajdeep Sardesai

Television news loves a good set-piece. Election days, in particular, are treated less as exercises in democratic accounting and more as theatrical productions. Studios are redesigned, wardrobes coordinated, and correspondents deployed like battalions. On this occasion, the spectacle was complete. Regional attire, cultural motifs, a sprawling digital dashboard – everything carefully assembled to convey immersion…

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