CATEGORIES

Game of guarantees

With its hectic campaign in poll-bound states, the BJP is focused on finding a winning mix of populism and pragmatism ahead of the Lok Sabha polls

Common goal

The BJP and the AIMIM look to derail the Congress

Two for the throne

Telangana Congress president Revanth Reddy and legislative party leader Bhatti Vikramarka are leading the race to be the chief minister face

Epochal elections

All plausible outcomes will see history rewritten in Telangana

VOTERS ARE CLEARER IN THEIR MINDS THAN POLITICIANS AND POLITICAL PARTIES

AT FIRST SIGHT, Pragathi Bhavan, the official address of the Telangana chief minister in Hyderabad, radiates allure and authority in equal parts. One has to drive up a slope and pass a security barrier to reach the place. All the action, however, is in the building to the left. This is the office of K.T. Rama Rao, the state information technology minister and K. Chandrashekar Rao’s son, and is the gathering place of media and party workers as the state inches closer to elections.

THE KCR XI

The group of men the chief minister holds close as he looks to lift the Telangana trophy the third time

T.R. GOPALAKRISHNAN [1951-2023] Portrait of an editor

The fountainhead of innovative ideas, an astute leader and a caring boss

GIVE AND DON'T TAKE

Maharashtra wants to give reservation to Marathas, but, to avoid a massive electoral backlash, it wants to leave the OBC quota untouched

Makeover mission

Having restructured and modernised ordnance factories, the government is now taking a close look at the DRDO's utility and track record

Goodbye, the ultimate hotelier

I woke up to the sad news that Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi (popularly known as Biki) had passed away aged 94.

Just as Harari envisioned

Yuval Noah Harari has emerged as one of the 21st century’s most recognised public intellectuals. In the midst of the Israel-Palestine war in Gaza, it is useful to revisit his 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, published in 2018.

Recycling prime ministers

Could we imagine V.P. Singh serving in Deve Gowda’s cabinet or Gowda in I.K. Gujral’s? They belonged to the same party and so there shouldn’t have been a problem had they so willed. Or P.V. Narasimha Rao in Manmohan’s team, or A.B. Vajpayee in Narendra Modi’s?

The cost of fame

The festive season is upon us and the last few weeks have seen some elegant evenings that have involved serious red carpet dressing.

Breeding in shaky times

Nowadays, everybody I meet seems to be bemoaning the fact that Gen Z doesn’t want to procreate. In my yoga group, on the litfest circuit, at cocktail parties, it is the same familiar lament, “Aiyyo, I want to be a grandmother but my useless son/daughter simply wants to adopt a cat/dog/goldfish.”

Colo Koffee

In recent seasons of his show, Karan Johar's brew is no longer as steaming

Flair and flavour

Madhur Jaffrey takes a trip down the food-memory lane as her bestselling classic Indian Cookery turns 40

WALK TO TALK

THE WEEK teams up with Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai, for a walkathon to create awareness on breast cancer

ON THE WINGS OF DREAMS

An Indian boy dreamt about making airplanes. Fifty years later, he is fulfilling it in the US

A divine life in the Carpathians

How Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit, who always had India in her heart, became the synonym for overcoming all odds

A friend to farmers

Social worker from Bastar wins Rohini Nayyar Prize for transforming lives of women farmers

I have very good relations with Vasundhara Raje

It is a homecoming of sorts for Princess Diya Kumari. She entered electoral politics 10 years ago, winning from the Sawai Madhopur assembly seat in 2013.

Bundle plan

The BJP is linking the assembly polls with the general elections next year and is banking on the Centre's schemes which have benefitted people in Rajasthan

People have realised that the BJP only talks, and we actually work

GOVIND SINGH DOTASRA president, Rajasthan Congress

MLAs and Congress president will decide the chief minister

A a few months ago, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi called a meeting to bring about a truce between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.

The BJP has ED; we have seven guarantees

Beti, you come to the chief minister's residence in Jaipur. We will have a chat there over a cup of tea. Don't get disheartened,\" said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot as a teenaged girl in Alwar struggled with a faulty sound system to get her views across to him over videoconferencing.

RIDING THE WELFARE WAVE

Ashok Gehlot is banking on a massive populist push and a publicity blitz to win Rajasthan as an incumbent and create history

Smart man; smarter animals

Some people have a God complex, imagining they are saviours of humankind. Most cruise along with a human complex. We believe our consciousness, imagination, free will and self-awareness make us special, setting us apart from other creatures.

I AM NOT A CONTENDER FOR CM'S POST

As the BJP is pitted against the Congress in a tough battle to retain power in Madhya Pradesh, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is a possible chief minister candidate, has a punishing schedule.

THE MAHARAJ'S MOVES

A BJP win in the Gwalior-Chambal region would further cement Jyotiraditya Scindia's position within the party

Calm, Muizzu! We come in peace

Mohammed Muizzu has put Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a spot with two demands. One, come into my parlour and attend my coronation, the Maldivian president-elect has told Modi. Two, get all Indian troops out of the Maldives asap.