Their contrasting, yet complementing, campaign styles have turned Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav into Uttar Pradesh’s power couple. A victory in UP would make them a decisive force in national politics as well.
It is morning in Lucknow. There is a slight dip in mercury, but the airport at Amausi is feeling the heat. Guarding every inch of the area are commandos of the Special Protection Group and the National Security Guard. On the tarmac are three Air Force choppers and a white chartered plane.
All are waiting for the arrival of two heavyweight political leaders. It is from here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will fly into election rallies in hinterlands. Their destinations are different, but their aim is one: win the assembly elections in the country’s most populous and electorally significant state.
Akhilesh arrives on the dot at 11. Clad in spotless white kurta-pyjama, black Nehru jacket and black Mobils shoes, he boards the plane, but not before greeting the pilots and the people waiting to board the flight with him. He tells the pilots: “Fly quickly. I am already late by half an hour. In the evening I have to address two meetings in Lucknow. After that, there are interviews lined up.”
The Akhilesh of today is a far cry from the one he had been weeks earlier. Back then, he was embroiled in a bitter family feud that pitted him against Mulayam Singh Yadav, his father and founder president of the Samajwadi Party. The support of the majority of SP legislators and some political manoeuvres, however, helped him seize the reins of the party from Mulayam.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 05, 2017 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 05, 2017 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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A golden girl
One of India's most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
The interest in wine is growing delightfully in India
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India's wine industry. This was the Robinson's fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India's only Master of Wine.
United in the states
Indian-Americans coming together under the Democratic umbrella could get Harris over the line in key battlegrounds
COVER DRIVE
Usage-driven motor insurance policies offer several benefits
GDP as the only measure of progress is illogical
Dasho Karma Ura, one of the world's leading happiness experts, has guided Bhutan's unique gross national happiness (GNH) project. He uses empirical data to show that money cannot buy happiness in all circumstances, rather it is family and health that have the strongest positive effect on happiness. Excerpts from an interview:
India is not a controlling big brother
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay considers India a benevolent elder sibling as the \"big brotherly attitude\" is happily missing from bilateral ties. He thinks the relationship shared by the two countries has become a model of friendship not just for the region, but for the entire world. \"India's attitude is definitely not of a big brother who is controlling and does not allow the little brother to blossom and grow,\" says Tobgay in an exclusive interview with THE WEEK.
Comrade with no foes
Lal Salaam, Comrade Yechury-you were quite a guy!
Pinning down saffron
In her first political bout, Vinesh Phogat rides on the anti-BJP sentiment across Haryana
MAKE IN MANIPUR
Home-made rockets and weapons from across the border are escalating the conflict
SAHEB LOSES STEAM
Coalition dynamics and poor electoral prospects continue to diminish Ajit Pawar's political stock