Exit polls predict second term for PM Narendra Modi
All exit polls released at the conclusion of the seven-phase 17th general election predicted a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Most polls indicated minor to considerable setback for Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh where it won 71 of 80 seats in 2014, but they were in agreement that the party would firmly hold on to its strongholds in the north and west and make considerable gains in West Bengal.
Exit polls are not exact polls, most have gone wrong: Venkaiah Naidu
Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu has mocked at the exit polls, saying they were not exact polls. “Exit polls do not mean exact polls. We have to understand that. Since 1999, most of the exit polls have gone wrong,” the Vice-President pointed out. Mr. Naidu addressed an informal meeting of well-wishers on May 19, who felicitated him in Guntur.
Did NYAY help the Congress make a leap?
The Congress had seemed to be in a relatively better position when the election year began, but its efforts to create an anti-incumbency atmosphere in the country were derailed by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government post-Pulwama and Balakot.
Having struggled to counter the dominant narrative of nationalism and Hindutva created by the ruling party, the Congress announced its minimum income guarantee, or NYAY, scheme for the poorest families on March 25 to wrest the momentum back from the BJP just two weeks before the start of the election.
IN FOCUS:VOTER PRIORITIES | The issues that mattered in an issue-less election
With reports of joblessness being at a four-decade high, a deepening agrarian crisis and a recent spike in food prices, it was widely expected that economic issues would end up mattering the most to Indians when they vote in the Lok Sabha election. This expectation was not misplaced given that there is a fairly large body of work in Western democracies that is centred on the effect that the state of the economy has on election outcomes.
‘Centre nixed Dalai Lama-Xi Jinping meeting’
New Delhi’s disapproval of a possible meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in September 2014 scotched plans for talks between the two leaders, the Dalai Lama said in an interview, according to a new book released.
Amnesty lens on abusive tweets against 100 women LS candidates
Launching a crowd-sourced study on the abuse that Indian women politicians face on Twitter, Amnesty India says online trolling aimed at threatening and silencing them must be considered a human rights violation.
“It’s so easy for men to dismiss it as just ‘trolling’, but we are talking about rape threats, death threats, stalking…words which can lead to deep physical and emotional harm.
Business | ‘Insure’ yourself a guaranteed return
If not with everything, at least with your investments, you can have predictability. While many brush aside ‘guaranteed’ products of insurers as ‘low’ return investments, in this article, we see how products in this category are actually attractive.
The non-participating traditional savings plans of insurance companies offer returns of 4.5-6% and are tax-free. Further, the advantage also comes from the fact that you can lock-in this rate for the next 20-30 years.
Editorial | Ten years on: on end of Sri Lanka civil war
Is one decade of peace enough to undo the devastating effects of a civil war that lasted nearly three decades ? As Sri Lanka completes 10 years since the brutal and decisive war against Tamil militants came to an end, it must be acknowledged that the country has not achieved much tangible progress towards ethnic reconciliation, accountability for war-time excesses and constitutional reform that includes a political solution. The fruits of peace are limited to the revival of economic activity, but the pervasive grievances of the Tamil minority remain.
May to make ‘new, bold’ Brexit offer
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she will present a “new, bold offer” to lawmakers with “an improved package of measures” in a final attempt to get the Brexit divorce deal through Parliament before she leaves office.
After failing three times to get Parliament’s approval for her deal, the government will now put the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, legislation which will enact that deal, before Parliament for a vote in early June.
Tennis | Rafael Nadal dominates Novak Djokovic in Italian Open
Rafael Nadal is right back where he wants to be. After losing in the semifinals of three straight clay-court tournaments, Nadal dominated for stretches against his longtime rival, Novak Djokovic, in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win Sunday for a record-extending ninth Italian Open title.
