Besides Hooda, Bhan and Phogat, the Congress has fielded Mewa Singh from Ladwa to take on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
Gandhi said the Congress was looking into the results of Haryana assembly polls.
The Congress on Wednesday demanded a thorough probe into 'discrepancies' found in some Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the counting of votes of the Haryana assembly polls and demanded that such EVMs should be sealed and secured pending the inquiry.
Hours after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party put out its first list of 67 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, sitting MLA Lakshman Dass Napa quit the party while former minister Karan Dev Kamboj stepped down as state unit's OBC Morcha chief after being denied tickets.
Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday, seeking answers to five questions on the Bharatiya Janata Party's politics and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's actions.
The talks between two sides have been stuck over the number of seats to be contested by AAP, with the party demanding 10 seats and the Congress offering 5, party sources said.
'There is some deep rot that has set in the Congress party. This requires an organisational surgery.'
Haryana is witnessing a multi-cornered contest this time, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party facing anti-incumbency and a resurgent Congress.
In the run-up to the Haryana polls, Gandhi while addressing an election rally in Gohana on October 3, showed a box of the famous jalebi-maker Matu Ram 'halwai' and emphasised that his jalebi should be sold across the country.
Jannayak Janta Party, which had emerged as the kingmaker last assembly polls, was decimated this time round, while the Indian National Lok Dal also failed to create much impact, with prominent leaders of both outfits Dushyant Chautala and Abhay Singh Chautala losing their seats.
Was Ram Rahim's release on parole for the 10th time since his conviction in 2017 timed to coincide with the Haryana assembly elections? It does seem so when one considers he has been released mostly when there was an election in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Listing the times that Ram Rahim has been out on parole.
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has once again ruled out an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, dismissing recent reports suggesting a tie-up between the two parties. Kejriwal, in a post on X, stated that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest the election on its own strength, reiterating his earlier stance. The recent buzz over an alliance between the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners was fueled by the cancellation of the Congress's "Nyay Chaupal" event, which was scheduled for Wednesday. Despite recent meetings between Kejriwal and other INDIA leaders, the AAP has maintained that it will fight the Delhi elections independently. The AAP has already released two lists containing the names of 31 candidates for the polls, with the remaining candidates expected to be announced soon. Meanwhile, the BJP is making all-out efforts to dethrone the AAP from the capital.
The results of the assembly elections will be announced on October 8.
'I didn't want my emotions and hard work to be made fun of on social media.'
The None of the Above (NOTA) option once again found few takers, with 0.75 per cent of the electorate pressing the button in Maharashtra and 1.32 per cent in Jharkhand. Votes for the assembly elections in these two states were counted on Saturday.
A day after the Congress' defeat in the Haryana polls, Modi called the Opposition party irresponsible and a factory to "spread hatred".
Sources said the leaders during the meeting discussed the possible reasons for the "unexpected" results in Haryana and decided to set up the team to ascertain the reasons behind such results and also look into complaints of "discrepancies" in EVMs, as alleged by party candidates.
Based on the recommendation of the Election Commission (EC), the Union law ministry on Friday amended Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection.
Besides Hooda, his son Deepender Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjewala are also being seen as chief ministerial aspirants.
Kumar also said exit polls create a huge distraction by raising expectations and it was a matter for self-introspection for the media, particularly electronic media.
A court in Maharashtra's Nashik district has summoned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him for his alleged objectionable remarks against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The Dera chief has sought to stay in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, during the parole period, if granted.
'I think what Rahul Gandhi has done has also been very impressive because there was a point where people were disrespecting things he was saying and things he was doing. And I think he's turned that around by working very hard, in a very interesting way'
"If she wins by using my name, it means I am a great man. At least my name has enough power to help her sail through," he said.
Eight out of 10 ministers under the Nayab Singh Saini government faced defeat in the Haryana assembly polls.
What some of our politicians were up to on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
This will be Rahul Gandhi's first visit ever since he became leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha.
The Congress on Tuesday said it cannot accept the Haryana assembly polls verdict as there were 'serious issues' about the integrity of the counting process and functioning of the EVMs in some districts, and asserted that it would take up the matter with the Election Commission.
'I am saying this in my case only. If I do not cut the weight properly then how will I play? I am there to win a medal and that is what I think.'
'Every Haryana assembly seat has its own unique problems to earn victory for a political party and you as a politician need to know what are those issues and tackle it.'
Once people throw out the Congress, they do not let it come back. They put 'no entry' boards for the Congress, he said. It always thought power was its birthright but it has now been exposed, the prime minister said
The Haryana victory will be a morale booster for the Bharatiya Janata Party and increase its bargaining power in the Mahayuti's seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, according to political analysts.
'The BJP has killed public anger. They have killed people's self-respect.'
The 30-year-old wrestler had quit wrestling following her disqualification from the 50kg gold medal match in the Paris Olympics.
The BJP received 39.94 percent votes, while the Congress managed 39.09 percent in the assembly polls.
'Congress leaders are ready to lose the election and not form the government, but are never ready to share seats with others.'
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on Wednesday served a notice to wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat for whereabouts failure and sought an explanation within 14 days.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Voters in Muslim-dominated Nuh in Haryana have made the Congress victorious in all three assembly seats in the district, with one of the contestants registering the highest victory margin.
Veteran party leader Anil Vij will seek re-election from his Ambala Cantt stronghold.
