The Big Fight

It's an elite exam and is in the eye of a massive storm. This week NEET hogged headlines for all the wrong reasons - from allegations of paper leaks to malpractices. It's just one exam and 24 lakhs appeared for it. There are over 60 toppers - a bunch of them from just one centre scoring 720 out of 720 marks, which was unimaginable to date. Hundreds scored 719 and 718 marks, which is impossible in the NEET marking scheme. The National Testing Agency has said that these scores were due to grace marks given to some students at some centres where there were glitches and students lost time. The Supreme Court ordered a retest for the 1,563 students who got the grace marks. However, the larger aspirant community wants the exam scrapped and is demanding a retest for all. The issue has also become political with the Opposition, especially the DMK, upping the ante and demanding that the NEET be scrapped totally. They are also threatening to raise the issue in the upcoming session of the Parliament. The Education Minister met a group of students and their parents and assured them. In an exclusive interview, Dharmendra Pradhan ruled out the scrapping of NEET and insisted that the exam was clean. The larger question is: IS NEET actually clean? Who is playing with the lives of lakhs of aspirants and what is the way forward?

The era of alliance is back in India. With a message that a majority is needed to run the government, but consensus is needed to run the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spelt out his vision for the coalition partners, as he emphasized he will pursue consensus. The new NDA government will be sworn in on Sunday. In this week's Big Fight with Marya Shakil, we look at the return of the coalition era. Watch the full show on NDTV.

As the battle for 2024 enters the slog overs, there are 5 states this Lok Sabha election that could decide if the NDA will really go 400 paar - UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka. In this edition of 'The Big Fight' with Marya Shakil we decode, 'The 2024 deciders - 5 states that hold the key in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls'.

Arvind Kejriwal was released from Delhi's Tihar Jail Friday evening - 50 days after he was jailed on corruption charges linked to the alleged liquor policy scam and hours after the Supreme Court granted bail till June 1. The Aam Aadmi Party's leader's release means he can now campaign for the AAP, and the INDIA bloc, in the ongoing election, in which Delhi's seven seats will vote on May 25. He is to surrender by June 2. What will be its implications? Watch Big Fight  

The Gandhis have given up the Amethi seat and fielded a party loyalist from the seat. With this, for the first time in years, a non-Gandhi is contesting from Congress in Amethi. On the Big Fight, we debate, whether bastions have become the Achilles heel for politicians in the evolving political landscape of India.

A recent survey by Lokniti-CSDS delves into the political preferences of first-time voters. It was done in January. The data suggests that BJP has a substantial lead with 70 % support indicating a widespread belief among the first-time voters that the BJP is best suited for national governance. Are first-timers leaning towards PM Modi? Watch Big Fight.

In this week of The Big Fight with Marya Shakil, we discuss the BJP's dash of nationalism in 2024 campaign. The question we ask on the show tonight: "How strong are BJP's forts?" Let's debate.

In this edition of The Big Fight with Marya Shakil, we discuss the Electoral bonds theory. Electoral Bonds were to make the poll process transparent, instead they have been declared unconstitutional and arbitrary. The bonds allowed donors and parties to keep their association hidden from the public - only the State Bank of India could track the donations. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud set the tone for the verdict by stressing that "information about funding of political parties is essential for the effective exercise of the choice of voting". The question we ask, 'Can the relationship between Money and politics be ever transparent?'  

With just weeks to go before the general elections, women voters have taken centre stage again. There is competitive populism among political parties to woo this crucial vote bloc. Tonight, on this special episode of The Big Fight with Marya Shakil we have an all-women panel to decode how women are becoming the game-changers ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

On the show tonight, we decode the BJP Vs INDIA bloc - who is more battle-ready ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. While the BJP is leaving no stones unturned, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paused his Nyay Yatra to speak at the Cambridge University. Let's decode.

Why are farmers protesting? What are their demands? The farmers, primarily from Punjab and Haryana, are seeking a legal guarantee on the minimum support price. The government has held four round of talks but has not made any headway. What is the solution to this problem? Watch The Big Fight. 

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court has declared the Electoral bond Scheme - launched in 2018 with much fanfare - as unconstitutional. They violate the people's right to information and Article 14 of the Constitution guaranteeing equality. They also infringe upon the principle of free and fair elections as stipulated in the Constitution, the court argued. The Electoral Bond Scheme was launched in 2018 after a series of amendments to financial rules in 2016 and 2017. The petitioners argued that their effect was to enable political parties to not disclose contributions received through electoral bonds, allow companies to make unlimited funding, and not disclose the details of contributions made in any form. This has now been overturned. On The Big Fight, we ask, "Will the Supreme Court ruling clean up political funding in the country?"

India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States, this is how Article 1 of the Indian Constitution describes the country, underscoring the unity of India. That's how democracy was envisaged by the makers of our Constitution but over the last few months a strong north vs south narrative is playing out.  Three southern states - Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu - have reached Delhi to knock on the doors of the central government alleging discrimination in the federal funds allocated to states. The question we ask tonight on 'The Big Fight': What is the reality behind the fund allocation war?

The grand old party has taken a huge gamble ahead of 2024. It has decided that it will not attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. But the Congress isn't really united in its messaging of calling it an RSS-BJP event. In a country where faith is at the core of its population-defining identities, is this move a political harakiri or is the party speaking for 11 crore voters who voted for it in 2019?

The BJP and the Opposition have entered the New Year with clear focus on their areas of concern for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP juggernaut moved South and the Congress announced the second leg of Rahul Gandhi's yatra starting from Manipur. In the last few days some political developments indicate realignment or revisiting of past. On Big Fight, we decode the implications of these political developments on 2024. Who will rock the southern remix?

As we count down to the New Year with heightened anticipation of what the year holds for us, The Big Fight brings you 5 ideas that could shape the 2024. Watch here.

One hundred and forty-six Opposition MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha after protests in both Houses over the December 13 Parliament security breach. The mass suspension of MPs nearly emptied the Opposition benches. However, the government continued with its legislative business. The House had complete and total dominance of the treasury benches. What added to the acrimony was the row over a video of Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee mimicking Rajya Sabha chairman and VP Jagdeep Dhankhar that went viral. The last full session of the 17th Lok Sabha set the tone for the 2024 polls. Gloves are off and the narrative is set. Watch The Big Fight as we take a look at the implications of the winter session.

Glaring loopholes in parliament security and intelligence apparatus has come to the fore after an intrusion into the Parliament on Wednesday. December 13 also marked the 22nd anniversary of 2001 parliament attack. Two young men, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber, shouting anti-establishment slogans and opened smoke canisters. Will accountability be fixed at the top for this massive security breach? Watch The Big Fight.   

One factor that has clearly emerged from the election results in the three states is that caste has not played a predictable role. But caste in its traditional way has been reimagined. As stage gets set for Mandal 2.0, we take a look at the aspiration vs representation debate.

The voting in the battle for five states ended after Telangana voted on 119 seats on Thursday. Which way is the wind blowing? Will the BJP-led NDA dominate? Or will the Congress emerge as a serious challenger? And how will it influence the Opposition bloc India? Experts discuss.