
Kumar Uttam
Kumar Uttam covers politics and public affairs. He has been a journalist for 15 years.
Articles by Kumar Uttam

BJP lawmakers get an earful from Rajnath Singh. It is PM Modi’s message
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON DEC 03, 2019 05:28 PM IST
Rajnath Singh told the lawmakers that the Prime Minister is “dissatisfied that situation hasn’t changed despite his repeated advice”.

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019| Tribal versus Tribal: BJP sees another chance in Jharkhand
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, Jamshedpur/Ghatshila
UPDATED ON DEC 02, 2019 05:38 AM IST
AJSU has nominated Balmuchu for the tribal -dominated seat of Ghatshila, a mining town of east Singhbhum district, and is hoping for an upset victory.

Sudesh Mahto: Man who wants to be a kingmaker in Jharkhand
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, Ranchi
UPDATED ON DEC 01, 2019 06:55 AM IST
No chief minister until Raghubar Das, who was voted to power in 2014 ,has been able to complete a full five year term. Fractured verdicts ensured that Mahato remained the kingmaker to the successive Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments.

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019| Our message for voters is stability and security: Raghubar Das
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON NOV 27, 2019 06:40 AM IST
Raghubar Das said wen people vote, they will compare the instability of 14 years and the stability of 5 years under the BJP. A stable government has been able to improve the security situation in the state.

An early-morning presidential order sets ball in motion
By Smriti Kak Ramachandran and Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON NOV 24, 2019 02:48 AM IST
All eyes, and television cameras, were trained on the YB Chavan Centre in Nariman Point with analysts expecting the three parties to announce a bid to form government any moment. No one noticed when Ajit Pawar quietly slipped out of the meeting around 9pm to hold talks with Yadav.

Rajya Sabha to today take up bill for protection, welfare of transgenders
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON NOV 20, 2019 10:59 AM IST
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 19 and the lower house of Parliament passed it on August 5.

‘Loan fairs infused ₹1.8 lakh crore in economy’
By Kumar Uttam and Rajeev Jayaswal | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON NOV 17, 2019 04:45 AM IST
In the first phase of the customer outreach initiative (October 1-9, 2019), public sector banks (PSBs) disbursed Rs 81,781 crore, including new term loans of Rs 34,342 crore. It is estimated that credit disbursal in the second phase (October 21-25, 2019) was around Rs 1 lakh crore, a finance ministry official said, asking not to be named.

BJP releases first list of 52 candidates for Jharkhand polls, CM Raghubar Das to contest from Jamshedpur
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUL 21, 2020 01:06 AM IST
The list includes 17 Scheduled Tribe (ST), 21 Other Backward Class (OBC) and five women candidates, the BJP’s general secretary Arun Singh announced.

Moment of fulfilment: LK Advani on Supreme Court’s Ayodhya ruling
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON NOV 10, 2019 01:06 AM IST
LK Advani, a former deputy Prime Minister who turned 92 on Friday, only met a few close aides and former Union minister Uma Bharti, who, too, was part of the temple movement, on the day of the verdict.

Amid deadlock, BJP remains firm on Fadnavis as CM
By Kumar Uttam
PUBLISHED ON NOV 09, 2019 01:40 AM IST

Why going will not be easy for Devendra Fadnavis, were he to return
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON NOV 08, 2019 10:20 AM IST
While the BJP and Sena fought the elections together and secured 105 seats and 56 seats respectively, they have been having trouble in coming to an agreement about portfolios and about a shared Chief Minister deal.

‘Just hold the scalpel...’: What Sushma Swaraj told docs right before surgery
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON NOV 05, 2019 05:40 PM IST
Late former Union minister Sushma Swaraj’s husband Swaraj Kaushal said that AIIMS doctors were not ready for her kidney transplant surgery in India. She however refused to go abroad.

‘Need a separate cadre, time zone for Arunachal’: CM Pema Khandu
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, Itanagar
UPDATED ON NOV 04, 2019 03:11 AM IST
Arunachal CM believes separate cadre for Arunachal will ensure continuity.

Arunachal Pradesh to set up museum for World War II artifacts
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, Tawang
UPDATED ON NOV 04, 2019 03:14 AM IST
During World War II, the United States provided supplies to the Chinese Army by flying over the Himalayas, a route known as ‘The Hump’ because of its difficult terrain.

Fadnavis likely to meet Shah in Delhi tomorrow amid Maharashtra stalemate
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON NOV 03, 2019 09:17 PM IST
The BJP won 105 seats while the Sena got 56. A party needs support of 145 MLAs to prove its majority in the house.

Why Shiv Sena may drag feet on govt formation in Maharashtra
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUL 15, 2020 07:03 AM IST
The result for the assembly elections were out on October 24 but the two parties have failed to close the negotiations and continue to flex muscles for the chief minister’s post.

J&K Guv Satya Pal Malik shifted to Goa; Murmu to be first LG of Jammu-Kashmir UT
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 25, 2019 09:00 PM IST
Governor Satya Pal Malik’s transfer out of Jammu and Kashmir was on expected after Parliament split the border state into two union territories: Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh

‘Form Haryana govt but…’: Uma Bharti messages against Gopal Kanda support
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 25, 2019 04:39 PM IST
Uma Bharti said it did not matter if Gopal Kanda, who faces abetment to suicide charges for the death of an air hostess and her mother, had cleared the electoral test.

How kingmaker Dushyant Chautala might lose the crown: 10 Points
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 25, 2019 01:29 PM IST
In the blueprint that is being finalised, the ruling BJP intends to get the support of seven lawmakers to cross the majority mark - five Independent MLAs, Haryana Lokhit Party Gopal Kanda and Indian National Lok Dal’s Abhay Chautala - rather than rely on Jannayak Janta Party’s Dushyant Chautala who was aspiring to be Haryana’s kingmaker.

Poised for another term, CM Devendra Fadnavis set to make history
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 25, 2019 06:32 AM IST
Fadnavis came from Nagpur and had strong backing from the leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP.

Manohar Lal Khattar delivers, but his lustre dims
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 25, 2019 06:01 AM IST
The result could bring Khattar’s election strategy, which included dropping some ministers and bringing in some outsiders, under scrutiny.

PM Modi lauds Khattar, Fadnavis for work
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 25, 2019 01:37 AM IST
Modi told BJP workers that both the BJP governments have beaten the trend of anti-incumbency and the next governments, “under the leadership” of Manohar Lal Khattar and Devendra Fadnavis, will take Haryana and Maharashtra to new heights of development.

In PM Modi’s victory speech, many messages to political pundits and Sena
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUL 14, 2020 09:09 AM IST
In a tweet put out minutes earlier, PM Modi had made it clear that his party considered the poll outcome a “blessing” and an opportunity to serve Haryana again.

Assembly election result: In thank you note, PM Modi and Amit Shah reveal BJP’s next move in Haryana
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUL 14, 2020 08:54 AM IST
The hung assembly thrown up in Haryana elections had sparked off hectic political outreach.

BJP, JD(U) may not tie up for Jharkhand assembly elections
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 23, 2019 10:24 AM IST
The two parties are part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, and run a coalition government in Bihar.

Thank you PM, says Abhijit Banerjee; calls meeting Modi ‘unique experience’
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUL 13, 2020 09:03 PM IST
After meeting Prime Minister Modi, Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee said the PM spoke about “his way of thinking about India, which was quite unique”.

‘Explored all options for peace before 370 move’: Rajnath Singh
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 20, 2019 12:39 AM IST
None of the measures worked, Rajnath Singh said. The current NDA government’s decision to scrap Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two Union territories has changed all that, he added.

‘Already a great deal of normalcy in Kashmir Valley,’ says Rajnath Singh
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 20, 2019 06:54 AM IST
“There is a big improvement. Pakistan keeps trying to destabilise India. But there is improvement in situation. Some friends are still trying to create confusion,” said Rajnath Singh.

BJP seeks to expand base in ally Shiv Sena’s stronghold
By Kumar Uttam | Hindustan Times, Ratnagiri
UPDATED ON OCT 19, 2019 04:31 PM IST
Earlier this month, the two allies finalised a seat sharing agreement, after several rounds of negotiation. Accordingly, the Sena will contest on 124 of the 288 assembly seats and the BJP on 154. The two parties had failed to clinch a pre-poll deal in 2014.

For BJP, turncoats key to breaching Sharad Pawar’s citadel
By Kumar Uttam | Satara
UPDATED ON OCT 18, 2019 01:05 AM IST
West Maharashtra, which accounts for 70 out of 288 seats, is crucial because it is here that the Opposition stands a chance to resist the rise of BJP and Sena