As the election campaign for the 16th Lok Sabha drew to a close on Saturday, May 10, Varanasi looked like a city undergoing an exodus. According to the Election Commission guidelines, those engaged in campaign activities -- if they were not voters in the constituency, irrespective of their party or candidate affiliation -- would have to leave the city after canvassing ended. A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com takes stock as the whirlwind campaign in Varanasi ended.
Though some operators offer the facility of tag lanes, such tags can only be used at designated points.
Stones were pelted and two vehicles were burnt by miscreants who were allegedly trying to rig the process. Shahnawaz Akhtar reports.
'We are a party that represents the idea of India. That's why we have endured for so long. That's why we will continue to endure because we have the ability to endure, adapt, re-adapt... The BJP is very good at creating hype. And then believing their own hype. This happened in 2004 also. And they will know the answer on the 16th of May.' In arguably India's wealthiest constituency, where a miserably poor worker lives in wretched conditions hardly a few steps away from a billionaire, Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel speaks to Congress candidate Milind Deora atop his jeep. Questions and answers are yelled, in hoarse voices, to and fro above the din of loudspeakers, drums, firecrackers and the smoke and fragrance of kebabs and Kheema Rotis.
'We are a party that represents the idea of India. That's why we have endured for so long. That's why we will continue to endure because we have the ability to endure, adapt, re-adapt... The BJP is very good at creating hype. And then believing their own hype. This happened in 2004 also. And they will know the answer on the 16th of May.' In arguably India's wealthiest constituency, where a miserably poor worker lives in miserable conditions hardly a few steps away from a billionaire, Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel speaks to Congress candidate Milind Deora atop his jeep. Questions and answers are yelled, in hoarse voices, to and fro above the din of loudspeakers, drums, firecrackers and the smoke and fragrance of kebabs and Kheema Rotis.
Despite the bleak landscape, there is something quite alluring about Bhuj says Anita Rao Kashi.
BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi is likely to give a miss to campaigning in Vadodara constituency from where he is contesting Lok Sabha election.
The BJP may have declined him Barmer, but Independent candidate Jaswant Singh doesn't intend to go down without a fight for the seat. His road show on Sunday, in Jaisalmer, showed his resolve, and appeal, reports Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
It can give a peek into your personality.
'Political parties have appropriated our military victories -- the Kargil war is the BJP's and the Bangladesh war is the Congress's -- what is going on?' As Uttarakhand -- where faujis number nearly 40% of the state's population -- prepares to vote, Rediff.com's Archana Masih discovers what upsets retired soldiers in Uttarakhand the most is a forgotten protest in the heart of Delhi.
Forty-five cows, 20 calves and a double barrel gun with 50 cartridges are among the possessions of former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls as a Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate from Saran constituency.
Two Central Reserve Police Force jawans were killed and three others injured when Maoists triggered an explosive, when they were on way to a polling station in Jamui parliamentary constituency of Bihar early morning, the police said.
Former Union Communication Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham leader Dayanidhi Maran, who stepped down from his post in the wake of allegations of a scam in 2011, is leaving no stone unturned to retain the Chennai Central parliamentary seat which he won twice consecutively.
Arvind Kejriwal's road show in Britannia chowk area of Chandni Chowk constituency, nine days ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, drew enthusiastic crowd which had gathered to catch a glimpse of the Aam Aadmi Party chief.
Mumbaikars jumped out of vehicles to take a closer look at the 'aam aadmi' hero. They WhatsApped images of him, requested selfies. Arvind Kejriwal swept Mumbai off its feet on Wednesday, and how! Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports on the metropolis's response to the man of the masses.
Chandratal is utterly mesmerizing, says Rediff reader Mridula Dwivedi. Here she shares these amazing pictures of her Himalayan adventure.
Get Ahead reader Mridula Dwivedi, an academician from Gurgaon who blogs at Travel Tales from India, took a trek to the Annapurna Mountain ranges and sent us these amazing pictures.
Drones are of course, remotely controlled and modern ships are also chip-driven.
And yet, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rohit Shetty share so much in common!
A youth slapped Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was riding an open jeep, in full public view in Panipat this evening and was taken into custody immediately.
On this patrol on foot Get Ahead reader Prasad NP saw more than what he had seen in 20 years of going to national parks in a Jeep
Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhat all turned up at the 13th edition of the gala car fair.
'General J S Aurora, the commander of the Indian forces in the East, asked General Sagat Singh to withdraw his troops who were on the move to Dacca -- but he refused.' 'He said, "Jaggi, over my dead body".' 'Therefore, I say the creator of Bangladesh was General Sagat Singh.'
Rediff.com brings for you a collection of some of the best photos shot around the world this week
Tevar emerges an overdone, underwhelming film with zero charm, warns Raja Sen.
Hamari Adhuri Kahani is a film where three fine actors all play idiots, says Raja Sen.
The new crossover and fully imported models of the Jeep brand will increase Fiat's product line-up that has shrunk to just two at present
Seven policemen were killed after their jeep was blown up in a land mine blast by Maoists in Bihar's Aurangabad district on Tuesday evening.
The arrest of alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba sympathiser Dr Imran Ahmed alias Immu Bhai on Friday has breathed new life into the investigation into the plot to assassinate Hindu leaders in Bangalore.
Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore reports from Bhopal and Manikhedi Kot, Etkhedi Kot and Kejra Dev, about the October 30-31 escape and encounter in which 8 prisoners were killed, a case that has many questions and few answers.
Close on the heels of providing nearly 770 vehicles, India said it would loan two military helicopters to Nepal for use by personnel engaged in security duties for the upcoming Constituent Assembly polls.
Though the erstwhile scion of Gwalior and present Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Yashodhara Raje Scindia only has Rs 15,400 cash in her hand, she owns a dinner set worth over Rs 1.54 crore, according to the affidavit she filed along with the nominations papers in Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.
Wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers have started flocking to Assam's two principal habitats of one-horned rhinoceros, Kaziranga National Park and Pabitora Wildlife sanctuary, which have been declared open for tourists for the winter till April-end.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com visited many polling booths in Varanasi on polling day. This is what he discovered.
Tens of thousands gathered at St Peters Square at the Vatican on Tuesday for the installation Mass of Pope Francis who officially began his ministry as the 266th pope.
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The company presently manufactures eight-seater -- GA8 utility aircraft, in its Australia-based companies Aerostaff and GrippsAero which it acquired in 2010 to get into the aviation sector.
Audi India launched the second generation 2016 Audi R8 at the show.
Are the lions tourists see in Gir forest really wild and free? Prasanna D Zore doesn't feel so.
Seventy-six is not an age to be plowing a lonely furrow in the heartless electoral fields of India, especially in Rajasthan, given the heat in summer, but Jaswant Singh, the expelled Bharatiya Janata Party veteran, is not exactly alone, says Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Both Abdul Hamid and the enemy tank place each other in their sights and shoot. Both shells hit their targets. There is a loud blast, fire and smoke.' 'Hamid doesn't get time to jump off. A deafening blast follows and then there is complete silence.' 'Abdul Hamid is dead. He has destroyed a total of seven enemy tanks, many more than what an armoured formation could take on.'
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