The only way for the NC-Congress alliance to ensure the government of Kashmir remains in Kashmiri hands is to approach every small party and candidate and assure them that, no matter who wins in the most seats in Kashmir, all of them will become a part of the next government.

The prospect of a return to popular rule has breathed new life into Kashmiri politics, but the decision by the Congress and the NC to leave out the PDP and the AIP could lead to the BJP emerging the largest party in J&K.

Political dissent in Kashmir has been crushed with a ruthlessness that the rest of India is only now beginning to experience as Prime Minister Narendra Modi feels his power weakening. Today, Kashmir is under the Centre's rule, untrammelled by anything except the will of Modi.

This election will not only decide the future of Kashmir, but also quite possibly, of India's ethno-federal democracy as well.

If the Congress, which is, and will remain, the senior party in the alliance, continues to let its local minions make decisions that will become, by default, the national policy of the party, then Modi and his BJP will be the only gainers.

Modi's single and consistent response to any political setback throughout these years has been rage. But the fact is that, the excise policy 'case' does not hold up to basic questioning.

Only a united opposition that uses every medium to reach the people and inform them of the danger they are in, will help.

Developing a concerted counter-attack on the BJP government would have been to rise to the defence of opposition leaders who Modi was targeting.

The answer almost certainly lies buried in the ongoing rapid privatisation of port and LNG terminal development that has taken place during Modi’s prime ministership.

By upholding the Article 370 decision, the Supreme Court has opened the way for the government to amend the Constitution without having to bother with getting a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament.

By upholding the Article 370 decision, the Supreme Court has opened the way for the government to amend the Constitution without having to bother with getting a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament.

The rise in BJP's vote share has not come at the cost of Congress' voter base but that of other smaller parties, data shows.

The Modi government’s objective is not to prove anything given that there is not even a shred of evidence of wrongdoing by any member of the Congress party in this case. It is only to make a credulous and confused public believe that the Congress’ leaders are corrupt.

From his first year in office, Prime Minister Modi has targeted every political leader, every political party, and every institution that could become a threat to his ambition. Paradoxically, the party he seems to fear the most is the smallest among the INDIA alliance’s major constituents –  the Aam Aadmi Party.

At the moment, a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine seems impossible. But should a miracle occur, there is one example of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural federation that could be a model: the ethno-federal democracy of India.

Left to himself, Netanyahu would probably have baulked at going so far. But Joe Biden's unflinching support has gone a long way.

By offering to reunite central and state elections, Modi has unwittingly offered INDIA a way out of its seat-sharing dilemma.

The violence in Nuh, Palwal and Gurgaon makes it clear Narendra Modi has fallen back on the one antidote with which he is familiar, which worked unfailingly in Gujarat and in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This is the stirring up hatred of Muslims and other minorities in the Hindu majority.

"Kashmir came to India because we felt our ambitions and hopes would be fulfilled by allying ourselves with the great country which was India, which believed in democracy, in the rule of law... Now look at the treatment Kashmir has received... Let every Indian search his own heart."

The immediate threat lies in Kashmir.