All stories by Ramesh Menon
Battle For Survival For Pawars, Uddhav, Shinde
Rediff.com5 days agoVoters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
Will Modi Let Omar Govern In Peace?
Rediff.com15 Oct 2024Will Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who gets his orders from New Delhi, call the shots or allow a democratically elected government to independently govern, questions Ramesh Menon.
Will Sexual Abuse Ever End In Film Industry?
Rediff.com11 Sep 2024Nothing is going to change in a hurry unless attitudes change and punishments are speedy and fair, notes Ramesh Menon.
Beware! China, Pakistan's Bangladesh Games
Rediff.com13 Aug 2024Bangladesh is in turmoil, which is not good news for India, which shares a porous 4000 km border with it. There is a danger of fundamentalism growing there, and India has to move in to reset its ties with the new dispensation before China and Pakistan make capital out of it, alerts Ramesh Menon.
Modi Bluster Missing From Budget
Rediff.com26 Jul 2024With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
If Modi Wants A Full Term...
Rediff.com17 Jun 2024It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Is Election Commission Scared Of Modi?
Rediff.com25 May 2024This election will be remembered for being the first election where the Election Commission failed to take action on gross violations involving the ruling party that repeatedly used religion, communal slurs, lies and undocumented allegations, observes Ramesh Menon.
Is Election Slipping Out Of Modi's Hands?
Rediff.com1 May 2024In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
If Kejriwal's Government Is Dismissed...
Rediff.com9 Apr 2024'Kejriwal could have easily deputed someone to step in as chief minister, but being the authoritative and self-centered personality that he is, he chose not to do it.' 'If the AAP loses Delhi, where it has a huge majority, the only one to blame would be Kejriwal,' asserts Ramesh Menon.
Can Modi Beat Rajiv Gandhi's 404 MPs Record?
Rediff.com6 Feb 2024Modi wants the BJP to gets an additional 10% of the vote share from what it won in 2019. Plans are afoot to get new faces to replace MPs with poor chances of winning. Sources say more than 100 MPs are like to be axed, notes Modi biographer Ramesh Menon.
Shinde's Maratha Reservation Dilemma
Rediff.com23 Dec 2023Any move of the present government to appease the Marathas may boomerang. Eknath Shinde is a worried man with the agitation not having an easy solution, notes Ramesh Menon.
Is The Congress Doomed?
Rediff.com7 Dec 2023The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Can Gehlot Make It Two In A Row?
Rediff.com22 Nov 2023The fact that Gehlot has stayed relevant these five years with his populist schemes is one reason why he may beat incumbency in a state that votes for change every election, observes Ramesh Menon.
Will Renaming India Change Our Lives?
Rediff.com26 Oct 2023Debates on changing the name of India to Bharat continue to spark a crisis of identity without answering moot questions that stare us in the face. Ramesh Menon asks a few of those questions that do not have easy answers.
Modiji, Is India Ready For UCC?
Rediff.com9 Oct 2023Introducing UCC is a challenging task for any government. The complexities are real and difficult to negotiate as it deals with sensitive religious and cultural sentiments. How can it strike an easy balance between individual rights and community interests?, asks Ramesh Menon.
Governor-CM Rifts: Democracy At Risk
Rediff.com6 Jul 2023Governors must be impartial, fair, and above narrow politics to uphold the values and spirit of the Constitution. But in a rapidly changing political culture where the unstated rule is to crush the Opposition, such values have no meaning. At stake are Constitutional values, federalism and governance, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Congress Challenge: Keep Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar Happy
Rediff.com18 May 2023There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
'Yogi baba won't allow criminals to survive'
Rediff.com30 Apr 2023The murder of Atiq and his brother and the police encounter with his son have raised many questions about the propriety of how crime is tackled by the Yogi government. But Yogi knows he has the support of the people who are fed up with crime holding the state to ransom for decades, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Can Modi Swing It For BJP In Karnataka?
Rediff.com14 Apr 2023The BJP leadership knows it can't boast of governance in the state as the Bommai government has little to show. So, the game plan is to project Modi, who will reiterate how important it is for a state to have the same party ruling in power at the Centre, observes Ramesh Menon.
How Will Modi Shape The G20 Opportunity?
Rediff.com2 Mar 2023Will G20 showcase an India that is inclusive, culturally rich, diverse and tolerant, asks Ramesh Menon.