Ashutosh Mishra

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Bandh organised by Naba Nirman Krushak Sangthan (NNKS), an umbrella body of farmers, was a reminder that everything is not fine with the state’s vast farming community, a major contributor to the...

Bhubaneswar: Odisha figures prominently in the BJP’s scheme of things for the approaching elections. This is obvious from the repeated visits of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and party chief, Amit Shah. Modi had even chosen...

Bhubaneswar: As elections draw closer the fluctuating fortunes of Congress, the main opposition party in the state, are being closely watched. The Grand Old party, which ruled the state for the longest period and was...

Bhubaneswar: The formal induction of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the sister of AICC president, Rahul Gandhi, into the Congress with the responsibility of the crucial eastern UP belt being placed on her shoulders, has caused ripples...

Bhubaneswar: The Kondh tribals of Niyamgiri, a forest-clad hill in Kalahandi that shot into international focus during the anti-bauxite mining movement, are reportedly gearing up for another battle, this time against possible eviction in the...

Bhubaneswar: The recent dolphin survey in the state threw up some startling figures. The number of these human-friendly mammals in Odisha’s known aquatic ecosystems, has fallen alarmingly, coming down from 469 in 2018 to 259...

Bhubaneswar: Setting all speculations at rest former Kendrapara MP, Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda has finally joined the Bhartiya Janata Party. His saffron switch was expected, but yet when it came about, it was a big media...

Bhubaneswar: Recently we saw on our TV screens disturbing visuals of a bunch of hoodlums ransacking a police station in the state capital and attacking the men in khaki. Some of the accused, who are...

Bhubaneswar: On his third visit to the state in the last two months, Congress president Rahul Gandhi did not put a foot wrong in Jeypore, the political and commercial nerve centre of undivided Koraput district,...

Bhubaneswar: Announcement of the poll schedule by the Election Commission has set the political temperature soaring in the state. With the Commission staggering the polls and Odisha set to vote in four phases stretching from...

Bhubaneswar: Manifestoes are an integral part of elections in India. They are supposed to mirror the thinking of the political parties in the fray and their understanding of the collective aspirations of the people they...

Bhubaneswar: For the first time in his political career chief minister, Naveen Patnaik has decided to contest from two seats simultaneously—Hinjili, his traditional seat in Ganjam district, and Bijepur in western Odisha’s Bargarh district. His...

Bhubaneswar: In politics, like most other things in life, it is perception that matters most. And no one knows this better than Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Odisha chief minister, Naveen Patnaik. Both are past...

Bhubaneswar: This is election time, the season of defections. Political loyalties become conveniently fickle at this time and expediency invariably gets precedence over principles. What else can explain former minister, Damodar Rout, a lifelong critic...

Bhubaneswar: Pradesh Mahila Congress chief, Sumitra Jena has vociferously complained about inadequate representation to women in the distribution of party tickets. The first list of the party for the Lok Sabha did not have the...

Bhubaneswar: I cut my journalistic teeth reporting for a highly respected newspaper–perhaps the best and the most powerful in the country ( it still is)—in undivided Bihar. The state was a political hotbed and you...

Bhubaneswar: Some interesting battles are on the cards in these elections which are a crucial test of popularity for the three major parties of the state, more so for the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal...

Bhubaneswar: Sons, daughters and wives, this election seems to be all about family. Major political parties, which do not tire of railing against dynastic politics, appear to be promoting the same. A look at their...

Bhubaneswar: With veteran Bijay  Mohapatra mollified and back in the BJP fold there is intense speculation about the possible return of his comrade-in-arms, former union minister, Dilip Ray to the party. Ray, who was elected...

Bhubaneswar: Candidate selection is invariably an invidious exercise in any political party at the time of elections. But the wave of discontent currently sweeping the three major parties of the state over the issue is...