The assembly session comes days after the top leadership of the Congress announced the return of Pilot and 18 other dissident MLAs to the party-fold. Referring to Pilot's open rebellion while addressing the legislators, the CM asked them to 'forget what has happened'.
Over 2.5 million voters will decide the fate of 239 candidates in the fray for 26 Jammu and Kashmir assembly seats in the second phase of the election to be held in the Union territory on Wednesday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah was on Saturday nominated the Congress Legislature Party leader by party chief Sonia Gandhi, bringing down the curtains on the issue of sucessor to late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash more than two months ago.
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
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday promised to restore the old pension scheme for government employees in Himachal Pradesh if the Congress was voted to power in the assembly elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were among the top leaders who paid homage to former prime minister Manmohan Singh at his home in New Delhi on Friday.
The statement by the Communist Party of India man in the CPI(M)-led ministry has spurred widespread criticism against the V S Achuthanandan government.
Four people, including two staff of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad office, were arrested on Friday for allegedly causing damage to Mahatma Gandhi's photo nearly two months ago when an Students' Federation of India protest march led to violence on the premises.
The Congress vice president has taken up the daunting task of bringing in a sea change in the working of the party, but also faces opposition from some old guards and regional satraps, notes Anita Katyal.
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.
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.
Ramesh, however, said it was too early to talk about all this right now as the Congress' first priority was the upcoming elections in Karnataka and the string of state polls this year.
Primarily the discussion will be on Satyam matters and also on ensuing parliament and state Assembly polls.
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.
The withdrawal of the candidature by DPAP leaders on the last day on August 30 is seen as a boost to the NC-Congress alliance.
TDP Telangana unit president Ramana said they favoured a 'grand alliance' for the elections in the interest of Telangana people.
As Mallikarjun Kharge won the Congress president poll, his electoral rival Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said the 'democratic contest' has galvanised vibrancy at all levels and has prompted a healthy and constructive discussion on change, which will serve the party in good stead in the future.
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.
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.
The Congress on Wednesday filed a police complaint over the recent statements of leaders belonging to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) targeting Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress Working Committee will meet on Sunday to discuss the outcome of the assembly elections in five states where the party received a drubbing, sources said.
Tharoor's campaign team has also raised 'serious issues' in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.
More than three years after assuming office, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will effect a major reshuffle of his ministry on Sunday in a bid to refurbish administration with several ministers facing the axe.
As Rahul Gandhi continued his kisan padyatra for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party claimed that his "love" for farmers is mere a political drama in view of the forthcoming assembly elections in the state.
It will be clear whether the voters preferred the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led regime for a third term or the "six guarantees" by the Congress worked any miracles or the BJP's BC chief minister 'mantra' wooed the electors or if there will be a fractured verdict, by tomorrow evening.
Hitting out at Tharoor, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee working president and the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Kodikkunnil Suresh on Friday said everybody in the party should work according to it's policies and programmes.
A leaking gas cylinder caused the fire, which killed Sarika (Rajaiah's daughter-in-law) and her three sons - Abhinav, Ayan, Sriyan.
He said had the alliance with Goa Forward gone through, the Congress would have got majority in the state and that it was unfair to now make him a "villain".
The Andhra Pradesh minister for information technology Komatireddy Venkatreddy told mediapersons in Hyderabad that he had not received the notice from the All India Congress Committee and will respond to it when he receives it.
'It is this fear that is behind all that has happened to Rahul Gandhi.'
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah will be visiting New Delhi on Wednesday amid mounting pressure on the Congress to resolve the Telangana issue.
The Congress on Monday promised that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste census and implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, including adequate representation for women belonging to the OBC community.
In changes ahead of crucial Assembly elections, the Congress on Wednesday made Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi its state unit chief in the Left-ruled West Bengal and appointed two other union ministers as party heads in Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
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.
Kharge said that while there are very responsible people in the party who were doing their duty, some people had assumed that lack of responsibility will be ignored.
Priyanka Gandhi was earlier actively involved in key decision making in the party along with her mother and brother, including the selection of new chief ministers for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh recently.
Surjewala made the case for state-specific alliances while arguing for a larger coalition with like-minded parties in 'national interest'.
In an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Anita Katyal, Singh speaks about his candidature from Varanasi, the party's prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and how the Congress is likely to fare in Andhra Pradesh.
The Congress refrained from commenting on any peace formula between Gehlot and Pilot.
V Narayanasamy was on Monday sworn in as the tenth chief minister of Puducherry.
