What do you see here? A stack of papers. Nothing particularly exciting about that. We have all seen stacks of paper. Government offices are full of them. So are lawyers' chambers, railway booking counters and the desks of men who have promised to read something but never quite got around to it. But this particular stack is different. It is a 638-page document. And if you ask me what it is, I would call it something far more useful than a report. It is the Kundli of a constitu

I recently wrote a LinkedIn post on my initial observations from Prashant Kishor's maiden electoral victory as a politician. One of my college professors told me not to be so loose and instead come up with a deep dive on what led to the victory of Prashant Kishor in the Bankipur By-Election 2026. He told me think more as a political consultant and not as a psephologist. Victory image of Prashant Kishor after becoming the newly-elected MLA of Bankipur. So, to comprehend the ma

India's democracy is too diverse to be understood solely through national politics. As a political consultant, I prefer working with regional parties because they represent local aspirations, encourage innovation, strengthen federalism, and offer opportunities for meaningful grassroots impact.

India's political landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. As voters increasingly consolidate around the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA alliance, the space for independent regional parties is rapidly shrinking. From Odisha and Telangana to Delhi and West Bengal, once-dominant regional forces are facing electoral decline, factional splits, or absorption into national coalitions. The result is a more polarized, centralized political order.

Indian democracy has always been a fascinating contradiction. On one hand, it is governed by grand national narratives—of development, nationalism, security, and economic growth. On the other, it is sustained by intensely local realities—of language, identity, culture, caste, livelihood, and geography. This contradiction explains a recurring phenomenon in Indian politics: the remarkable ability of regional parties to challenge, and often defeat, far larger national parties. C