MS Shanker Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to flag alleged forcible religious conversions in tribal areas has opened up a politically sensitive debate that goes beyond religion. Coming in the wake of the recent local body elections, his suggestion that conversions and possible inducements may have influenced voting patterns raises questions about…
The Congress-led INDIA bloc’s sustained challenge to the Election Commission raises an uncomfortable question: if it has lost faith in the electoral system, will it have the courage to stay away from the next big electoral test, or is the boycott talk merely another political weapon? MS Shanker An intriguing debate is gaining traction in…
MS Shanker Student representation is a legitimate democratic demand. But when campus agitation reportedly crosses into separatist rhetoric, intimidation, and disruption of academic life, the constitutional right to protest cannot become a shield for political provocation. The unfolding protests at Jamia Millia Islamia raise a question that goes well beyond the restoration of a students’…
MS Shanker The battle for Bharat is not merely about regime change; it is also about ideology, national identity, political credibility, and the forces seeking to shape the country’s future. Independent Bharat emerged from the trauma of Partition in 1947, when Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s demand for Pakistan culminated in the division of the country on…
MS Shanker A CNN-News18 survey puts the 2027 battle in perspective, raising questions about the Congress’s independent strength, the SP’s alliance strategy, Yogi Adityanath’s standing and the BJP’s political recovery after its 2024 setback The countdown to the 2027 Assembly elections has begun in several politically crucial states, but few contests will command as much…
MS. Shanker The October 2026 bypoll results across five Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat have reopened an important political question: can the Congress-led Opposition challenge the BJP-led NDA’s narrative of leadership, development and good governance, or does it continue to struggle to convert its criticism of the Modi Government into electoral gains? The…
MS Shanker Bharat is witnessing a disturbing new trend in democratic politics. An Opposition that has repeatedly failed to convince the electorate at the ballot box appears increasingly tempted to take its political battles to the streets, targeting Constitutional institutions and attempting to create an atmosphere of suspicion, confrontation and distrust. This is not merely…
MS Shanker There are occasions when politics should step aside, and the nation should speak with one voice. The extraordinary courage displayed by Captain Smit Machchhar in saving 174 lives in mid-air is surely one such occasion. The question before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is therefore simple: should the country formally consider its highest civilian…
MS Shanker The political battle over the Chief Election Commissioner is about more than one officer. It is increasingly about the credibility of institutions, electoral processes and the political narratives surrounding them. The latest political confrontation over Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar raises a question that deserves to be examined beyond the daily exchange of…
MS Shanker The All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), once largely identified with Hyderabad and the politics of the old city, has spent the past decade trying to transform itself into a party with a wider national footprint. Its electoral presence has extended beyond Telangana, with victories in Maharashtra and representation in other States. Yet one of…
