Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
Saini's elevation as Haryana chief minister fits in with a pattern that has gathered pace in the BJP after the Congress and its allies like the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar began making an aggressive bid to woo the largest group of communities and politically most significant, especially in Hindi-speaking states, by pushing for a caste census.
Akhilesh Yadav said those who are looking for "profit" in the situation will leave.
The Congress is hopeful of soon finalising the Lok Sabha poll seat-sharing arrangements with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) allies Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, sources said on Friday, days after the principal opposition party arrived at an understanding with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
Seen by political watchers as the favourite to retain power for a third straight term, the Bharatiya Janata Party has set itself an ambitious target of winning 370 Lok Sabha seats, a goal aimed as much at projecting its strength as at diminishing the opposition in popular imagination.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
Sources said senior leaders of the party have been told to reach out to other leaders of the alliance and talks with some parties have begun.
'It is not his doing, but Rahul Gandhi is forced by circumstances.' 'In taking political decisions, everything has to get his clearance.'
The June 23 meeting of opposition parties, called by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar, will see anti-BJP players chalk out a strategy for the Lok Sabha polls.
Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a 'surprising wave of Opposition unity' with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- united we stand, divided we fall.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who had drawn flak from the Supreme Court for wasting taxpayers' money by building parks and installing her statues, on Saturday warned the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh that any move to make changes in the memorials erected during her regime could create law and order problem.
Shah asserted that the BJP will once again form the government in Uttar Pradesh with a comfortable majority.
Khan, a senior leader of the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and also the Urban Development minister of the state, was detained for about 10 minutes at the Boston airport for "further questioning" after he landed in a scheduled British Airways flight from India.
Severing ties with the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari has sent resignations of his supporters, including his member of Legislative Assembly son-in-law, from all positions in the state government.
The ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday retained the Handia assembly seat by defeating its Bahujan Samaj Party rival by a comprehensive margin of more than 26,000 votes.
The ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh on Monday said all scams reported during tenure of the previous Bahujan Samaj Party government are being probed and if former chief minister Mayawati is found guilty, legal action would be initiated against her.
The ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh on Friday expelled its three leaders in Etah, including a former member of Legislative Assembly, for their involvement in anti-party activities.
With the seat-sharing between them virtually on the rocks, the Congress, possibly having post-poll scene in mind, on Friday told its ally Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh that doors will always remain open from its side.
Agra violence a minor skirmish: Amar Singh
Aam Aadmi Party termed BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as "an autocrat and dictator in his party" and claimed that even senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi have "no say" before him.
If it splits now, who takes what away and leaves what behind? asks Shekhar Gupta.
Taking objection to comments on atrocities against women by some leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked political leaders to refrain from "doing psychological analysis" of rape and respect women.
"We small parties, like the Apna Dal-S, want some respect to be shown to us. We, our leaders and workers feel hurt if due importance is not given to us," Ashish Patel told mediapersons
For the Congress to be taken seriously, it has to convince those around it that it could actually double its Lok Sabha seat share from the existing 52, and vote-share by a third more from the stagnating 20 per cent in 2014 and 2019, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
However, the party remained evasive about the part she could play in the party in future.
70-plus years after Independence, 'Hindu India, metamorphosised as 'Hindutva India', is proving the British right -- and for all the wrong reasons. Mohan Bhagwat should have answers for the why of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Praising Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, party president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the country needs a single dose of a drug, called "Modicine", to treat all its ills.
Narendra Modi on Tuesday tore into Naveen Patnaik government over lack of development in Odisha and mocked the fledgling Third Front, of which Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal is a member, saying its only job is to "save" Congress.
Narendra Modi on Sunday hit back at Sonia Gandhi over her 'zeher ki kheti' barb saying it is the Congress which spews poison and reaps the harvest out of it with its divisive politics.
"It is all your imagination and guess work," a senior leader said when asked about reports of Sasikala taking over from Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.
Ghulam Nabi Azad said this was just a beginning of the alliance process and the nitty-gritty would be decided in the next one or two days.
Referring to her party's pre-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, she said it was based on "mutual respect" and "honest intentions", adding that "the SP-BSP alliance is perfect enough to defeat the BJP, especially in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress's chief ministerial face Sheila Dikshit offered to step aside in favour of a young Akhilesh Yadav.
Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai appealed to the newly appointed party general secretary V K Sasikala to become Tamil Nadu chief minister, saying the leadership in both the party and governance should be with the same person.
The party and its president, it seemed, were also unable to articulate their views effectively enough
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Sunday that his party will secure 100 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha election and that the next government cannot be formed without its support.
The crisis showed no signs of ending but party sources said that the chief minister may be persuaded to relent on the issue of portfolios by returning the key departments.
Moderate to high turnout on Saturday marked the bye-elections held in three Lok Sabha and 33 assembly constituencies spread across 10 states in an exercise seen as yet another key test of the Narendra Modi government's popularity since it assumed power in May.
"Why did Congress oppose creation of Uttarakhand as a state? Those who cannot think well of the people here, how can they govern?" Prime Minister Modi said while addressing an election rally.
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