Fissures appear to have emerged in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as its two key allies, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, on Thursday clashed over seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal.
JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony in Ranchi, amid the presence of a galaxy of INDIA bloc leaders. This is Soren's fourth stint as chief minister. The JMM-led alliance won a majority in the recent assembly polls, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly.
Reacting to the grand old Congress party's decline to the 'pran-pratishtha' ceremony invitations of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, Digvijaya said that the ruling party had turned the event into a BJP and VHP event.
Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.
Out of the candidates announced so far, 65 are below the age of 50 years and 19 are women, he said.
Several pollsters have predicted that the Congress may have an edge in Karnataka, which is BJP's southern citadel, in a hung assembly with a couple of them even projecting that the grand old party may get a majority on its own.
However, finding the funds to fulfill them will be a herculean task.
'The people of Gujarat understood this a long time ago and has since been rejecting the party and its programmes.'
Dev had been serving as the national spokesperson of the Congress and its women's wing chief.
The Congress party may have its eyes firmly set on the Bharat Jodo Yatra, but it kept its fingers crossed as it waited for Thursday's counting of votes for the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
In the weeks between his phenomenal electoral victory and swearing-in as the 47th president of the United States, the world got a preview of what a second Donald Trump presidency will entail -- both for itself and America.
Chowdhury stung Sibal for "giving sermons from AC rooms" and said disgruntled members may join other parties or float their own outfits.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the party said that while on the one hand the Bharatiya Janata Party has already started preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is in dire straits.
'Doctors feel they have a duty to prolong a heartbeat at all costs.' 'And a son or a daughter feels, I can't let my mum die. I have to save her at all costs.' 'They think saving is just prolonging life. But the person suffers.'
There are concerns within the Congress with respect to the articulation of the party's demand for the caste census, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the grand old party of attempting to divide Hindus through its push for the Other Backward Classes.
NCP's Kandhal Jadeja was the only MLA to win from the party.
The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.
'In some ways it is good, maybe, if that was my last match because I lost my first match in the Davis Cup and I lost my last one. We close the circle'
Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has vowed to reclaim every inch of land taken under the pretext of Waqf, stating that the state government will actively investigate all "occupied" land. He also criticized the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its leaders, alleging that they failed to uphold the principles of socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia. Adityanath praised the Maha Kumbh, highlighting its significance as a symbol of India's spiritual heritage and national unity.
The BJP got the benefit of a split in Muslim votes in some seats of western UP, and its candidates registered wins from Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Baghpat and Aligarh Lok Sabha seats.
Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist from Karnataka, has become the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.
Sources said the Congress, which has 19 legislators in the Bihar assembly, will go by what the Rashtriya Janata Dal decides and its presence will help strengthen the coalition.
Verma said Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath are both not crossing over to the BJP and asserted that the latter will contest the Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held in April-May, from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh as the Congress candidate.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is arriving in New Delhi on Thursday for a four-day visit during which she is likely to meet senior leaders and attend a Niti Aayog meeting on August 7, sources said.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Friday hit out at the Congress for blaming the anti-incumbency of his four-and-half-years tenure for the poor show in assembly polls, saying the party's leadership will never learn.
'If the Congress party wants to take on the BJP it cannot do it in this fuddy-duddy, grand old party, style.'
In an apparent dig at Ajit, Pawar senior said if someone keeps saying he will take everything, people may not say anything but will disapprove of it.
Diwan said he has approached the Guinness Book of World Record for making Gandhi internationally famous.
The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially.
In her article, Sonia Gandhi underlined that the next few months will be a crucial test of India's democracy and that the country is at the crossroads with the Modi government bent on "misusing every power" and elections approaching in several key states.
The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties.
The Maha Kumbh, billed as the world's largest gathering, concluded on Wednesday after 45 days, with lakhs of devotees taking a dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers. Despite a stampede that killed at least 30 people, millions continued to visit the Kumbh, seeking salvation through the ritual bath. The event saw a mix of faith, tradition, and technology, drawing pilgrims and tourists from across the globe.
Extending its winning run in the south, the Congress on Sunday won 64 assembly seats to form government in the Bharat Rashtra Samiti-dominated Telangana, with the southern solace coming in the midst of a saffron sweep of the Hindi heartland where the Bharatiya Janata Party wrested two states from the grand old party and retained one.
Polling will take place in 3,328 polling booths, out of which 1,100 are sensitive and 28 are categorised as critical.
The Congress seems to be heading for the Karnataka polls so far on the strength of its local leadership and focusing on issues concerning the state, making corruption a central theme of its campaigning.
The Congress leader, who resigned as the chief minister Sunday night, emerged victorious in the Patan assembly seat, defeating BJP candidate Vijay Baghel by 19,723 votes in the state assembly elections held last month.
The Congress, which is not very keen on having an alliance with the TMC, called it 'an untrustworthy ally', which is trying to grow at its expense.
Asked whether the Congress will be a part of this confluence, he said, "I said that there will be sangam of people and thoughts. All answers are included in this."
Singh defeated Bharatiya Janata Party's Dara Singh Chauhan in the bypoll to the Ghosi Assembly constituency in Mau district with a margin of 42,759 votes on Friday.
