'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
While its performance in Bihar, has boosted fund collections, corporate contributors are still waiting to see its performances in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal before committing funds to the Congress.
The government on Monday ruled out imposition of President's rule in Andhra Pradesh, saying it was 'absolutely foolish' to even think about it.
With no respite in sight, the All India Congress Committee is planning on calling a meeting of all leaders from Andhra Pradesh to discuss the proposal to set up a Rayal-Telangana state.
Amid continuing protests over the creation of a separate Telangana state, Union ministers from the Seema-Andhra region met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi and expressed the "sense of deprivation" prevailing in Andhra and Rayalseema regions.
A defeat in Assam would be bad news for the Congress which is in power in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur.
'The Congress's allies won't be left behind in looking out for their own interests. Some will demand a bigger share of the ministerial or electoral pie, others will simply jump ship,' says T V R Shenoy.
Right to apprenticeship, legal guarantee for MSP, passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, a nation-wide caste census and scrapping of Agnipath scheme are among the promises made by the Congress in its Lok Sabha polls manifesto released on Friday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kirankumar Reddy on Tuesday dismissed as "rumour" reports that he has threatened to quit if the Congress gives its nod for formation of a separate Telangana.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday. He will be given a state funeral with full state honors at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. Singh served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 and was known for his role in India's economic reforms. Leaders from across the political spectrum paid their respects to the departed leader, highlighting his contributions to the nation.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other senior party leaders, including All India Congress Committee general secretary Avinash Pande and spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, also moved to Jaisalmer along with the MLAs in five chartered flights.
Azharuddin, who had been banned from cricket in 2000 for his alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal that had rocked the game internationally, had met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Moily and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Srinivas last month and expressed his desire to join the party
Dr K V P Ramachandra Rao, adviser to the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and the man believed to be behind the open campaign for making Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as Andhra Pradesh's next Chief Minister, on Tuesday said Congress President Sonia Gandhi has promised to look into the leadership issue.
There is a likelihood of some delay regarding an announcement on Telangana with the Congress seeking to buy more time to resolve the vexed issue despite the January 28 deadline set by the Centre to decide the matter.
With billionaire Gautam Adani charged in the United States with alleged bribery and fraud, the Congress on Thursday said it 'vindicates' its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the various 'scams' involving his conglomerate.
Locals have witnessed real estate prices skyrocket from a historic low of Rs 6,000 per square yard (in 2020) during Jagan Mohan Reddy's regime to around Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per square yard after elections.
Congress's K R Ramesh Kumar will be the speaker of Karnataka's Vidhana Soudha (assembly), while the deputy speaker will be appointed from the JD-S.
Voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 88 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala.
K Chandrasekhar Rao deputed the party's working president and his son K T Rama Rao and other senior leaders to hold parleys with the leader of the opposition in Andhra Pradesh, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, on Wednesday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy "three-days mission" to Delhi from Sunday is a politically sensitive one. His stay in Delhi for three days inidcates that he has serious business with the All India Congress Committee.
Andhra Pradesh ministers hailing from Telangana, who have sent in their resignation letters to party chief Sonia Gandhi, will meet her in Delhi on Monday and seek a clear time-frame for the creation of a separate state. They have also sought an appointment from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, according to one of the 13 ministers. "We will meet Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, Defence Minister A K Antony and other senior All India Congress Committee leaders," he said.
All India Congress Committee General Secretary and in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said that the United Progressive Alliance government. is considering the formation of the second States Reorganisation Commission to look into the demand for a separate Telangana state and Vidarbha state.
The Supreme Court on Friday set up a five-member independent SIT to probe the allegations of animal fat used in preparing Tirupati laddus to "assuage the feelings of crores of people" while making clear that the court cannot be used as a "political battleground".
By naming a sworn swayamsevak for vice president, the Modi-Shah duo have sent out a clear and positive message to Nagpur, where the RSS headquarters is located, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
He laid stress on workers' connection with the ground and cited his own example when he was party in-charge for various assembly elections in the past.
Renowned Telangana folk singer and balladeer Gaddar, who was popularly known for his revolutionary songs during the 1980s and later during the Telangana statehood agitation, passed away in Hyderabad on Sunday due to ill-health. He was 77.
A decision on the sensitive and much-delayed Telangana issue may soon come from the Centre, the Congress indicated on Monday.
A decision on the vexed issue of Telangana is expected before Monsoon session of Parliament which is likely to start after August 15.
The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.
'It is mind-boggling that a party can be in rigor mortis even after numerous electoral defeats,' observes Ramesh Menon.
Congress is riven by four different approaches to an issue: the Sonia Gandhi way, the Rahul Gandhi method, Lok Sabha MPs' tactic, and Rajya Sabha MPs' style, reports R Rajagopalan.
'For the first time in this country, perhaps the first time anywhere, we are going to use backwardness index.' 'It is a fundamental shift in the discourse in the country's social justice.'
Legislators from the Andhra-Seema belt say that Kiran Kumar Reddy ready knew about the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh since December. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Three ministers from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions submitted their resignations to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy late on Thursday night even as at least 15 others are understood to have backed out following a stern warning by the high command.
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.
She said despite being aware of adverse political consequences, the Congress went ahead and created Telangana, and paid the price in the elections that followed.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The karyakartas who wanted to contest were disappointed and it took some time to explain to them why we needed an alliance.'
Opposition parties on Thursday slammed the central government for not taking prompt action on Justice B N Srikrishna's recommendations on resolving the Telangana issue.
Given the possibilities that next year's assembly elections could throw up, Stalin told the state assembly that an interim report had to be submitted by January 2026. The outcomes may well find its way into the DMK's poll manifesto, thus seeking to keep the electoral focus still on the BJP-ruled Centre and Prime Minister Modi, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
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