'He is seeking to harness the power of Indian Diasporas to national (support for India in global capitals) and political (enhance the Bharatiya Janata Party's support base) ends.'

The economic muscle in the Mangalore region is generally sympathetic to the BJP, says Aditi Phadnis.

Interestingly, so far Deve Gowda's JD-S is not the target of the attack by the BJP. Come mid-May, he hopes he will once again play the role he has played before.

'She really doesn't care if she is called heartless.' 'For her, the job needs to be done. That's all that matters.'

Javadekar, along with Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan, is among the few ministers who have party as well as ministerial responsibilities.

'Sirisena will keep both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe on tenterhooks till the next general election due in 2020,' says Aditi Phadnis.

'But Russia is well aware of Pakistan's nuisance power on its border.'

'With this success (of access to water) the women are convinced that their rights go beyond law books -- and the law is indeed powerful.' 'The women are now not afraid to file a police complaint or file a case in court.'

Bharatvani, when it is complete, will revive languages in India that are on the verge of extinction.

'Kamal Haasan always appeared to be quick to strike, but afraid to wound.' 'What he is offering the people of Tamil Nadu is not clear, but whatever it is, it will be a fresh element in the state's politics,' says Aditi Phadnis.

Chiefs of Army Staff in India have not been tactful about politicians. But they have stayed clear of politics, reports Aditi Phadnis.

Would it serve India's interest to go to war with China over the Maldives, asks Aditi Phadnis.

'To me, this is true patriotism - not deciding who should and should not say 'Bharat Mata ki jai,' in what language, with what inflexion, at what time, etc, but the recognition that the Indians who protected our country and the military traditions that made those men, must be honoured,' says Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

'The situation in the country is very scary.' 'There is an increasing attack on the Constitutional democratic rights of our people.'

The Congress leader, responsible for the party's victory in the recent bypolls, has slogged it out, meeting people, establishing contact and listening, all the time, to people.

'It would be interesting to see how Yogi Adityanath is received in Tamil Nadu, where he is due to end his Ram Rajya Rath Yatra in Rameswaram on March 23.'

When Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Tomar arrived in Shimla, they could not have anticipated the scene that awaited them.

Navya Singh was protecting her sovereign right to play, says Aditi Phadnis.

'As someone who has had the opportunity of cross examining Vinod Rai, extensively over three days as part of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, many of us included I had concluded at that point of time that this report rests on the foundation of sand.'

'Although the Congress party ethos resembles a court with courtiers, Sonia Gandhi's style was to be consensual.'