A journalist of over 35 years standing, Ramesh Vinayak is Executive Editor of Hindustan Times at Chandigarh He specialises in covering the north Indian territory of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, besides the Punjabi diaspora.
Articles by Ramesh Vinayak
HT Interview: Infra push, farmer welfare prime focus, says Haryana CM
Nayab Singh Saini will complete a year as Haryana chief minister on March 12.
Published on Mar 06, 2025 06:45 AM IST
Interview| Himachal’s financial crisis overblown: CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
Chief minister Sukhu says his government earned additional revenue of ₹2,200 crore last year
Updated on Oct 22, 2024 02:31 PM IST
HT interview: J&K polls may throw a hung House, says Sajad Lone
A key political player in north Kashmir, Sajad Lone’s Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference is contesting 22 seats in the Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections.
Updated on Sep 13, 2024 07:04 AM IST
Ramesh Vinayak, Handwara
Election interview| ‘Jamaat set for new beginning, people want change in Kashmir’
Kalimullah Lone, the Jamaat-backed candidate from Langate, the home constituency of Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, says the banned Jamaat-e-Islami has moved beyond its strategy of poll boycott and his campaign is centered on peace, progress and prosperity in J&K.
Published on Sep 12, 2024 12:27 PM IST
Election interview: Delhi trying to undermine J&K parties, says Omar Abdullah
Says poll battle in Jammu and Kashmir is for undiluted return of statehood; admits Jamaat-e-Islami could emerge as X-factor.
Updated on Sep 11, 2024 12:38 PM IST
Delhi trying to cleanse political landscape of mainstream parties: Omar Abdullah
Omar Abdullah is leading the campaign of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)’s oldest party National Conference for the first assembly elections in the region since 2014
Published on Sep 10, 2024 09:15 AM IST
HT Interview: No local recruits, Pak pushing foreign terrorists into J&K, says DGP Swain
J&K top cop RR Swain’s prime responsibility is to create a stable security environment for the upcoming assembly elections in the Union Territory in the backdrop of Jammu emerging as a theatre of terrorism
Published on Aug 08, 2024 09:40 PM IST
Ramesh Vinayak, Srinagar
HT Interview: J&K is fully ready to hold assembly elections, says Lt Guv Manoj Sinha
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, 65, who has been at the helm of the UT for the past four years, spoke to Hindustan Times on new ground realities in the once strife-torn region, surge in terror strikes in Jammu and its shadow on assembly polls
Updated on Aug 07, 2024 01:34 PM IST
Terror won’t impact poll plan, J&K admin is fully prepared: Manoj Sinha
Jammu & Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, spoke to Hindustan Times on new ground realities in the region, the surge in terror strikes in Jammu, and the Opposition’s criticism on the alleged crackdown on dissent.
Updated on Aug 07, 2024 09:32 AM IST
Musharraf was a good commando but a bad strategist: General Ved Prakash Malik
General Ved Prakash Malik led the army during the conflict between India and Pakistan in the summer of 1999.
Updated on Jul 21, 2024 07:09 AM IST
Decoding the Punjab Lok Sabha verdict
It may look like a confounding verdict but the key message is loud and clear: Punjab has overwhelmingly voted for a moderate, centrist politics while opening up a democratic window to mainstream the pro-Khalistan fringe.
Updated on Jun 05, 2024 09:16 AM IST
HT Explains: A 5-point FAQ on the Lok Sabha battle in Haryana
The BJP is unlikely to repeat its 2019 Lok Sabha election performance of winning all 10 seats with a vote share of 58% in Haryana
Published on May 18, 2024 06:28 PM IST
HT Explains: A 5-point FAQ on the Lok Sabha battle in Punjab
Farm unions have disrupted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BKP)’s campaign, blocked its candidates from entering villages, and called for their boycott
Published on May 17, 2024 07:40 AM IST
HT Interview: Modi magic will work in Punjab this time, says state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar
With the BJP contesting Punjab’s all 13 Lok Sabha seats for the first time since 1996, Sunil Jakhar, 70, is steering the party’s campaign amidst relentless protests by farm unions against its candidates. The election, the first since he joined the saffron party two years ago, will be a litmus test for him and also for BJP’s gambit to enhance its footprint beyond the traditional urban base. In an interaction with HT on Thursday, Jakhar spoke on a range of issues. Edited excerpts:
Updated on May 17, 2024 08:58 AM IST
Will fight for Kashmir’s lost dignity: Sajjad Lone
Sajjad Lone is the prime challenger to National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah on the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat that goes to the polls on May 20
Updated on May 10, 2024 09:36 AM IST
Omar Abdullah a tourist in Kashmir, I am son of the soil, JKPC’s Sajjad Lone
Lone, 58, is the prime challenger to National Conference (NC) leader-former chief minister Omar Abdullah in the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat that goes to the polls on May 20
Updated on May 09, 2024 07:50 PM IST
BJP fighting proxy poll in Kashmir: Omar
2024 Lok Sabha election in J&K, post Article 370 abrogation, sees normalcy. BJP absence in Kashmir raises questions on impact of the move.
Updated on May 07, 2024 10:03 PM IST
Omar backs quota for needy Muslims
NC leader and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah says he’s not for politics of appeasement but economically disadvantaged Muslims need reservation for their uplift
Published on May 07, 2024 09:50 PM IST
BJP fighting Lok Sabha polls in Kashmir through proxies: Omar Abdullah
Omar Abdullah said he is categorical in his assertion that the BJP is part of the Lok Sabha election process in Kashmir behind the scenes
Published on May 07, 2024 12:47 PM IST
Interview | Punjab will vote on performance, BJP’s polarisation won’t work: Mann
In the interview, Mann railed against PM Narendra Modi and defended his performance in Punjab while exuding confidence on INDIA bloc’s poll prospects.
Updated on Apr 24, 2024 12:19 PM IST
Interview| BJP has people’s trust, will score 10/10 again: Haryana CM Nayab Saini
Saini, who was picked by the BJP to substitute Manohar Lal Khattar on March 12 to tide over nine years of anti-incumbency before the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, spoke to HT on a range of issues from Brand Modi to party candidates facing farmer protests.
Updated on Apr 23, 2024 12:38 PM IST
PollTalk@HT: Congress will stop BJP bandwagon in Punjab, says Partap Bajwa
As the leader of opposition in the Punjab assembly, Congress stalwart Partap Singh Bajwa, 67, is at the forefront of the party’s Lok Sabha poll campaign in Punjab. In an interaction with HT staffers, moderated by Executive Editor Ramesh Vinayak, Bajwa, exuded confidence on Congress prospects, assailed party hoppers and targeted Modi-led BJP and AAP CM Bhagwant Mann with his trademark sharp barbs. Edited excerpts:
Updated on Apr 18, 2024 06:18 AM IST
HT Interview: For SAD, Panth and Punjab matter more than power, says Sukhbir Badal
Pitchforked into a four-way poll fight in Punjab after BJP not agreeing to SAD’s pre-conditions to re-stitch an alliance, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Akali Dal chief, has upped the ante on the Panthic agenda in a bid to reclaim his party’s eroded core support base among Sikhs and farmers. During an interaction at HT office in Mohali, Badal, 62, spoke for the first time on the reasons for breakdown of tie-up talks, BJP’s pole position in national politics, federalism and future of regional parties. Edited excerpts:
Updated on Apr 03, 2024 09:26 AM IST
HT Interview: Focus on rehab, restoring infra in disaster-hit Himachal, says CM
CM Sukhu is pulling out all the stops to convince the Centre to declare the state’s losses as national disaster and also give a special relief package.
Updated on Sep 19, 2023 01:24 AM IST
Ramesh Vinayak, Chandigarh
If Mann defames me outside House, he’ll face criminal case: Punjab governor
Purohit had termed the session ‘ patently illegal”, saying it violated constitutional provisions, a stance contested by the AAP government.
Updated on Aug 06, 2023 04:46 AM IST
Ramesh Vinayak, Chandigarh
Exclusive| AAP govt not listening, there’s no transparency: Punjab governor
In March, the Punjab govt moved the SC accusing governor Banwarilal Purohit of not “reverting” to the cabinet’s decision of summoning the budget session
Updated on Aug 06, 2023 12:05 PM IST
‘Mind your words’ or face criminal complaint: Punjab governor to Bhagwant Mann
Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit has accused chief minister Bhagwant Mann of making derogatory references to him in the last assembly session in June.
Updated on Aug 06, 2023 12:07 PM IST
Parkash Singh Badal: Akali Dal giant who reshaped Punjab’s politics dies aged 95
In the tumultuous terrain of a front-line Sikh majority state, Parkash Singh Badal was the quintessential moderate, a secular man, and a fighter for Punjab.
Updated on Apr 26, 2023 05:16 AM IST
Ramesh Vinayak, Chandigarh
Parkash Singh Badal: Giant who reshaped Punjab’s politics dies aged 95
Parkash Singh Badal, a five-time chief minister of Punjab and the last surviving member of a political generation that saw independence, has died at 95. He was a pragmatic practitioner of communal harmony, a liberal and secular man, and an avowed protagonist of and a fierce fighter for Punjab?s interests.
Updated on Apr 26, 2023 12:21 AM IST
Ramesh Vinayak, Chandigarh
HT interview: Will fight radicalism with good governance, says Punjab CM Mann
In an exclusive sit-down interview with Hindustan Times, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann says there is no surge of radicalisation in state. “The social bonding in Punjab is very strong. Punjabis’ issues now are employment, industry, higher education and health,” says Mann
Updated on Mar 17, 2023 01:46 PM IST
Ramesh Vinayak, Chandigarh