Left, Right & Centre

If your battle is against the BJP, then why have you come to Kerala to fight us? That's what Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wants to know after the Congress announced that its president, Rahul Gandhi will be contesting these Lok Sabha elections from Wayanad in Kerala in addition to Amethi traditionally the Gandhi stronghold. The Congress says an all India understanding with the Left has nothing to do with its direct fight with the Left in Kerala. Tonight, on Left, Right and Centre, we ask, is Rahul Gandhi hedging his bets by contesting from Wayanad or is this a strategic masterstroke to strengthen the Congress across Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu?

BJP chief Amit Shah filed his nomination from Gandhinagar constituency today, but the event had a much larger significance. It established Amit Shah's stature as number 2 not only in the BJP but also in the NDA. The event also marked the end of the LK Advani generation in the BJP. On Left Right and Centre, we discuss whether it was a forced retirement for BJP leaders over 75 years of age?

He was the underdog, the politician who did the unthinkable by defeating the BJP in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's Gorakhpur in the 2018 Lok Sabha bypolls, and now he may switch over to the BJP in what would definitely be a blow to the Akhilesh Yadav-Mayawati-Ajit Singh coalition in Uttar Pradesh. This, after Akhilesh Yadav did not give Praveen Nishad a ticket from Gorakhpur again. Mr Nishad's astounding win in 2018 became the template for opposition unity and eventually helped two rivals, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, to team up. On Left Right and Centre, we ask will Nishad Party's exit dent the SP-BSP alliance?

Tonight, could Priyanka Gandhi Vadra possibly take on PM Modi in Varanasi? The buzz has grown after Priyanka Gandhi surprised reporters on Thursday and hinted at it. Today, again, she said she would contest the elections if her party wanted her to. So what would a Priyanka Gandhi vs PM Modi contest look like? Would she give Mr Modi a fight?

The battle has begun. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his Lok Sabha campaign with a rally in UP's Meerut, marking the first of a staggering 150 rallies and roadshows he will hold over the next 51 days. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have some 100 rallies planned in about the same amount of time. Tonight, we look at how PM Modi's campaign in 2019 is different from his campaign in 2014. 2014 was all about the Modi wave, five years later, there isn't a wave anymore, but does he still have the edge? Is PM Modi unbeatable or is this race wide open?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a big announcement on India's super space achievement. As we demonstrate our capability to destroy a live satellite in space, we ask was the much-publicized announcement a violation of the model code of conduct as the opposition says? Did it really need the PM to announce it as an address to the nation? Or are the opposition's charges misplaced?

Pro-BJP Facebook pages spent Rs 53 lakh in a week on ads, luring voters with freebies. Is this a violation of the election code? Is the model code of conduct really implemented properly on the ground?

In this poll season, who is paying for the party? There is a crying need for transparency in political funding, but do parties actually want that? The Association for Democratic Reforms has come up with a report that says that more than 50% funds of political parties come from unknown sources. What are these sources? The prominent among them are voluntary donations up to Rs 20,000 and donations made via electoral bonds. In both these cases, the donor information is either kept secret or is not required to be revealed. There is a batch of petitions in the Supreme Court on political funding, which the court today posted for hearing on April 2. One of the petitions by ADR seeks stay on Electoral Bonds Scheme.

Former RBI chief Raghuram Rajan said today that it was "worrying" that there was not enough focus in the country on joblessness, he said in an interview to NDTV on his new book "The Third Pillar". Raghuram Rajan also suggested that the government should introspect on some of its decisions like the controversial notes ban.

Rajat Gupta became the first Indian-born CEO of a multinational corporation when he was chosen Managing Director of McKinsey, the global consulting firm in 1994. He held that prestigious position for nine years. That was before other Indians such as Indira Nooyi or Vikram Pandit of Citicorp made their mark as global corporate leaders.

But all this was before a stunning fall from grace in 2012 when he was sentenced to two years in prison by a New York Court on charges of insider trading. Out of jail since 2016, Gupta now tells his side of the story in this interview to NDTV.