The Left party workers are keenly aware that the election for the 15th Lok Sabha is the severest test for the party ever since it took power in Bengal 32 years ago.

Bengal's picture-perfect villages have been home to the hammer-and-sickle for an astounding three decades, but now that the rural idyll is cracking, the Left Front is being forced to confront the sight of the three-petalled symbol of the Trinamool Congress and the sounds of rebel voices rising against its perceptible clout.

Rana Moitra, a Trinamool Congress polling agent, in Kasba, which falls under the Jadavpur constituency in Kolkata was allegedly beaten up by the Communist Party of India-Marxist cadres during the final phase of polling in West Bengal on Wednesday.

'Rahul is not in a hurry. He believes he has time on his side. He wants to fight the battle in the long term, and believes the only way to do it is to reinvent the organisation.'

With a stunning tally of 21 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has stumped each of its political rivals in the country's most important political state -- the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party. It will given the Congress leadership the strength to keep both the BSP and SP away from the United Progressive Alliance.

The Congress performance in Andhra Pradesh in the Lok Sabha poll may have been impressive, but party leaders are worried about the results of the assembly election, which turned out to be below their expectations. Though the Y S Rajasekhar Reddy-led Congress swept back to power, winning 157 seats in the 294-seat assembly, the party failed to secure an absolute majority.

'Dr Manmohan Singh's contribution is to end the strategic isolationism of India.' K Subrahmanyam, the doyen of India's national security experts, on the prime minister.

In 2007, Mayawati won extensively in OBC strongholds and lost in some SC ones — those who voted for her were actually voting someone else out

'Why would the Bahujan Samaj Party nominate a Gujjar to fight from South Delhi and the BJP respond by nominating another Gujjar from the same seat?'

National Conference leader Dr Farooq Abdullah was not upset about being given the charge of the relatively unknown Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, according to his son, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.Dr Abdullah too denied reports about him being miffed with the low-profile portfolio. "I will make the ministry high-profile with my work and dedication. I am not angry. But my officers may get angry with me as I make them work," Dr Abdullah said.

Sources state that the proposal, which is likely to be voiced by President Pratibha Patil in her address to the joint Houses of Parliament on June 4 as one of the priorities of the government, is said to be the brainchild of Rahul Gandhi.

'Today's national picture, where the power rests with the states and not with the Centre, is like the picture of India before the British took power in India,' says thinker Dr Ashok Mitra.

BJP spokeperson Ravi Shankar Prasad says, 'It is the time for the real Manmohan Singh, the economist Manmohan Singh, to show his mettle in stemming the rot of the manufacturing sector, the industrial sector, the agricultural sector.'

'It has everything to do with the West Bengal government's policies. They were too much in a hurry. They should not have hurried through with the land acquisition,' feels RSP leader T J Chandrachoodan.

'She did not push him nor did she push the party in his direction. If she had declared him a leader, that would have been her biggest mistake. She did not do that,' says political thinker Sanjay Kumar.

Election Commissioner S Y Quarishi on Election 2009 and the challenges many the Election Commission faced.

In a no-holds-barred conversation, Chandan Mitra, editor and managing director of The Pioneer, member of the Rajya Sabha and BJP supporter, tells Savera R Someshwar that the blame for the failure lies squarely at the party's door.

Greek architect Tilemachos Andrianopoulos provides a tour of his design: a triangular home that blurs the line between inside and the olive grove outside. "Even for a completely new structure, there is always something that already exists there," he says. Photo: Rob Alcaraz/The Wall Street Journal

Adobe’s headquarters in San Jose might not be what you expect from the outside–shades of gray granite. Inside, however, Gensler redesigned the space to reflect Adobe’s colorful brand, complete with a floor dedicated to Photoshop. Photo: Adobe

In 2019, many large tech firms announced plans to offer financial products and services. WSJ’s Liz Hoffman explains why Google, Apple, and others are offering products that might someday replace your wallet.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration supports a plan to send checks to Americans, likely within the next two weeks, to mitigate household and business interruptions caused by the spread of the new coronavirus. Photo: Evan Vucci/Associated Press

At the beginning of the year, college seniors were preparing to enter the strongest job market in decades. Now, as more than 25 million people have filed for unemployment, they face a newly competitive search. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Two sections for voters all over the country and one section for Karnataka voters, prepared by the Karnataka Election Watch Committee.

A citizens' committee in Karnataka decides that the people can aid the Election Commission's efforts at reducing the presence of criminals in politics.

Jayaprakash Narayan on the famous verdict of May 2004 that saw the BJP-led NDA evicted from power. This feature includes a brief interview.

At least one controversial issue raging in the Karimnagar by-election race in A.P. has taken its toll. Union Minister Oscar Fernandes has assured the region's beedi workers of modifying a controversial New Delhi order that has mandated a skull-denoted warning on beedi packets. Kondal Rao reports.

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court has referred the question of whether voters should have the option to declare their lack of confidence in all the candidates on a ballot to a Constitution bench. Kannan Kasturi reports.

It was once hoped that curbing election expenses would keep the process fairer. Today, the opposite is true, and neither the UPA nor the NDA wants to disturb this comfortable arrangement. Kannan Kasturi reports.

Underneath the gloss of the UPA victory on 16 May lies a sober reality. Around the country, adivasi women are known for their leadership qualities, and yet, they do not get equal opportunities to contest elections, finds Manipadma Jena.

Continuing the focus on how Members of Parliament from key urban constituencies have fared in the 15th Lok Sabha, Lavanya Donthamshetty shines the spotlight on the leaders from Chennai.

What should be the yardstick of performance for our leaders in the Lok Sabha? Should they be held accountable for issues of governance in their local constituencies, or their legislative record in parliament? Kishore Mandyam explains his stance.

They make an appearance before every election with a basket of promises and some patchwork to impress the electorate, only to disappear later. Chennai residents tell Lavanya Donthamshetty how tired they are of such politicians, wishing for a leader with vision and the commitment to turn it into reality.

In a first, the Lok Sabha Election this year has at least four candidates from the traditionally under-represented transgender community. Prabhu Mallikarjunan looks at their participation, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

Any election campaign and process needs money, and as long as the exercise of money power is well-regulated, it can never thwart the power of the people, feels P V Rajeev.

Combining provisional voter turnout data and the perceptions of MP performance based on the Daksh-ADR survey, Srinivasan Ramani attempts to make reasonable assessments about what could be behind the high turnouts in this Lok Sabha elections.

How strong was the Modi wave? Did recent state elections impact voter choice in parliamentary elections? Did better performing MPs necessarily augur well for their parties? A statistical analysis by Srinivasan Ramani finds interesting linkages between these and the UPA drubbing.

The Election Commission of India is introducing The National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPA) with a view to eliminating duplication and erroneous deletions in electoral rolls across the country. Chinmayi Shalya reports.

'There is more introspection already going on on these web sites than in New Delhi and state capitals, and there is more loud thinking than in the endless debates on our television channels.'

The 2009 election will mark the rapid decline of India.

Anees Bazmi is now the unlikeliest part of Dr Singh's political life, thanks to his blockbuster.

The verdict of the 2009 general election has once again brought the 'centre' in Indian politics to centre-stage. India has returned to an even keel.

The choice for the last remaining Communist party on this planet is clear. It either reinvents itself, as its brethren around the world have repeatedly done. Or it walks off into the JNU sunset.

Not conducive for independents at all. It is unfortunately so because the political system frowns on these people because they would not fit in into it and if they were allowed in, it would cause huge embarrassment. They are outsiders and would be kept out while a even a rebel can return home and be embraced for he is one of 'them'.

If he shall not do so today, can Dr Manmohan Singh ever push reforms and infrastructure initiatives?

'If a scheme like the NREGA can yield such handsome dividends, imagine the likely impact of an initiative to provide universal healthcare, free primary education, safe drinking water, affordable housing and social security.'

'The chips are down for the BJP today, it doesn't show that the issues have been rejected or defeated. People have supported it because it is perceived as the only party that doesn't feel embarrassed to protect the Hindu ethos.'

Forget the first 100 days spiel about what Dr Manmohan Singh will do to kickstart the economy. That's just media hype and, in any case, the economy's on a recovery-path. As has been seen over just the last few days, despite the Congress getting 206 seats in the Lok Sabha and getting support letters from 100 more Members of Parliament, Dr Singh still hasn't been able to form his government -- just 19 ministers were sworn in with him.

This does not sound like a ministry that is all set to revive the ailing Indian economy in a hundred days flat, as Dr Manmohan Singh vowed, does it?

Congress vs BJP in Delhi

How Delhi voted in 2004