A flop Bharat Jodo Yatra could unleash more resignations from a party which under its current leadership is dying a slow death, warns Virendra Kapoor.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also decided to convene a 'Chintan Shivir', a brainstorming session from May 13-15 in Udaipur.
Mother and son refuse to go away despite indications blowing in the wind that their leadership is ringing the death knell of the party, observes Ramesh Menon.
Priyanka Gandhi addressed 209 rallies and roadshows, the maximum by any top leader during the UP election campaign, followed closely by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who spoke at 203 poll events.
"Soon it will be done," Sonia said when asked by reporters repeatedly as to when Rahul Gandhi, who is at present the vice president of the party, will be elevated.
'Whatever misunderstanding occurred in the party in the last one month, we need to forgive and forget in the interest of the country, the state, the people and in the interest of democracy,' Gehlot said in a tweet.
The legislators will be staying at a luxury resort there and likely to visit the Somnath temple, sources said.
Fifteen ministers took the oath in Rajasthan on Sunday in a cabinet expansion that included 12 new faces, fulfilling a key demand of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot whose rebellion last year shook the state's Congress government.
Road and rail traffic was partially affected in some regions on Monday during a 'Bharat bandh' called against the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, while protests appeared to taper off in many states, with authorities stepping up security and imposing curbs after days of unrest.
Gehlot also alleged that some other Union ministers, including Dharmendra Pradhan, are involved in the "conspiracy" against his government.
Political temperatures were soaring in several states that could see close contests, with parties trying to keep their flock together and trading accusations of poaching of MLAs.
With the results pouring in for the five states, celebrations and distribution of sweets have also begun. The Congress wasted no time to start bursting firecrackers after early trends showed that the party was surging ahead in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Take a look at the festivities.
'Shekhawat has no moral authority to continue as a Union minister and should resign so that the investigation is not influenced'
The BJP had on Monday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on moral grounds after his government said in a reply to a question in the state A assembly that it taps phones in the interest of public safety and order.
The party in Uttar Pradesh is seeing the visit as the virtual launch of the Congress campaign in the state, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Amid internal rumblings in the Punjab and Chhattisgarh Congress, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said his government will complete its full five-year tenure.
The 15 ministers were sworn in on Sunday for the expanded Gehlot cabinet, fulfilling a key demand of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot whose rebellion last year shook the state's Congress government.
Pilot said he has worked hard for bringing the Congress to power in Rajasthan and hoped the party would fulfil its promises made to the people.
Gandhi said it was his responsibility to tell the truth and it is for the people to listen or not to listen.
In its third list of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on Tuesday fielded 58 candidates, mostly tried and tested ones. While most sitting ministers, including Kapil Sibal (Chandni Chowk), Krishna Tirath (Northwest Delhi), Sachin Pilot (Ajmer) and Srikant Jena (Balasore) were retained, the surprise elements were state Youth Congress President Vishwajeet Kadam replacing tainted Suresh Kalmadi from Pune and cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur (Rajasthan).
Mishra has sought clarification from the state government regarding the proposal of convening the Assembly session, said sources on Monday.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday questioned Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper and summoned her for a second round of questioning in the case on July 25.
In the letter written Sunday, he accused Shekhawat, other BJP leaders and some 'overambitious leaders' of his own party for being involved in the alleged attempt to bring down his Congress government.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, she said, had openly violated the Anti-Defection law and cheated the BSP for a second time by getting its MLAs included in the Congress.
Gehlot said he has the proof that horse trading was being committed to topple his government.
The MLAs supporting Pilot cannot stand the repeated undermining of Pilot, also the state PCC chief, by the Gehlot camp and the letter by the police's special operations group sent to the deputy chief minister was to "humiliate him", sources said.
Two other Rajasthan ministers Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were also sacked from the state cabinet after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party, its second in the last two days. The meeting was billed as a 'second chance' for Pilot, who had turned down appeals from the party's top leadership -- including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi -- to return to the fold.
Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the manifesto was prepared after taking opinions through multiple platforms such as social media.
A day after the Congress brainstormed over its electoral reverses, senior leader M Veerappa Moily on Monday said Sonia Gandhi should take "full control" of the party with a free hand to change non-performing leaders, and asserted that a "mere culture of tweets and social media propaganda" would not take the organisation forward.
Gehlot, however, refused to disclose names of those behind the toppling bids allegedly involving transfer of money for horsetrading. "A complaint has been lodged with the SOG so that investigation about those who are involved in this organised crime of money transfer could be conducted," Gehot said at a press conference.
Rediff Labs analysed the 2013 assembly election results to develop a Sentiment Meter for the 2018 electoral battle.
Members of the G-23, who had shown courage to point out the flaws in the party's functioning, have allowed themselves to be co-opted by the Family to go through the motions of a post-mortem, notes Virendra Kapoor.
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'Priyanka did draw huge crowds and eventually all of those ended up voting for the Samajwadi Party.' 'The voters today are smart enough to vote for the party which they know is going to win or they know this party will come second, but no way will they vote for a party which will come third or fourth.'
If not now, when, asks Virendra Kapoor.
The refusal to allow the team, at least initially, to enter the hotel, prompted senior Congress leaders to charge that the BJP was part of the plan to 'topple' their government in Rajasthan.
The raids come as Rajasthan is witnessing an intense power tussle between chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot.
Since when have elections become rocket science that you need to hire highly-priced specialists?And even if in the age of social media every party needs to present its best face, is Prashant Kishor the only one with such expertise, especially when his record is mixed with more losses than election wins to his credit? asks Virendra Kapoor.
The comments on Twitter came hours after the first political rally on Tuesday of the newly appointed Congress general secretary in which Priyanka told electorates that their votes are a "weapon" which should be used wisely, disregarding useless issues and tall claims made by others.
Sixteen former ministers of the United Progressive Alliance government are staying unauthorised in government bungalows for over a month now and have been served eviction notices, the Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday.
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