The All India Congress Committee headquarters on Monday witnessed high drama when a person posing as a journalist tried to attack party General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi with a shoe. The attacker was apparently miffed over the treatment meted out to Baba Ramdev.
After serving as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for ten years, Digvijay Singh has been entrusted with the responsibility of the Congress' affairs in UP. In an interview with Renu Mittal, Singh talks about the 'friendly fight' between the two parties in UP.
On March 30, West Bengal will elect five new members to Rajya Sabha. The ruling Trinamool Congress with its 185 members of Legislative Assembly in the state legislative assembly is in a position to elect three members to Rajya Sabha with ease.
Minister of State for Tourism Gulam Ahmed Mir said 15 chief ministers are ecpected to attend the meet.
Rahul Gandhi mostly stayed away from the elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, choosing to focus on the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Speaking to newsmen in Hyderabad on Thursday, Singh recalled, "The Congress has never supported anything which BJP has brought in." He lambasted the BJP for its 'double-speak and inconsistency' on the Telangana statehood issue.
'The BJP is using administrative machinery to fight elections'
Like the last time, Ghulam Nabi Azad is believed to have taken the lead in preparing and despatching the letter this time too.
Sources at the private hospital where Mitra was admitted to said he died due to heart and age-related ailments.
Interestingly, this is not being done surreptitiously or secretly but is a decision taken by senior AICC general secretaries who feel there is nothing wrong with the practice. This though is a first of its kind move by the AICC leaders.
The alarm is understandable as neither the Congress party nor the United Progressive Alliance has said a word so far on advancing the Lok Sabha elections which are due in 2014. AICC leaders who have a closer rapport with the DMK do not buy the theory of the Dravida party trying to position itself, and suggest that the party is attempting to gear up its cadres's morale following the rout in the assembly and civil polls in the state.
The Congress presidential polls will be held by a secret ballot and no one will get to know who voted for whom, the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said on Wednesday, asserting that a level-playing field has been ensured for both candidates.
Congress workers and supporters rejoiced over the announcement of the Gandhi scion becoming Congress chief on Saturday. Rahul Gandhi, 47-year-old, took charge of the party in the presence of the 132-year-old party's top brass and his family members. Here are scenes of the celebrations.
"I have been given BJP ticket from Mandi and the party has informed me about this," he said.
Kharge said that India progressed due to Congress' approach of inclusion and taking everyone along.
Shashi Tharoor has been removed as Congress spokesperson after the party high command received complaints that he had embarrassed the party with his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Inaugurating the solidarity rally, Venugopal, a Rajya Sabha MP, strongly condemned the war unleashed by Israel in Gaza and their attacks against hospitals and refugee camps there.
Sources said Sidhu's resignation has not been received by the party and its leadership will take a call once it reaches them.
Counting of votes began on Wednesday in the Congress presidential polls in which senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor faced-off for the post of All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief.
Patole, the MLA from Sakoli in Bhandara district, had resigned as speaker of Maharashtra assembly on Thursday.
A revamp of the All Indian Congress Committee is also on the cards.
The political crisis arose in Himachal Pradesh during the recently held polling for the Rajya Sabha elections as nine MLAs, including six Congress rebels and three independents, voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.
The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially.
P Chidambaram proposed that Sonia should be made the party's interim president.
Congress' good show was a "Janata Janardhana Victory", he said, crediting the people for the party's apparent return to power as it established a clear lead ahead of its rival BJP.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has directed state units to ensure that one-third members of the All India Congress Committee and Pradesh Congress Committees are women.
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has resigned as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, sources said on Saturday, a day after he filed his nomination papers for the All India Congress Committee president's election.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
The Congress on Wednesday released a list of 40 leaders who would be the party's star campaigners for the May 10 assembly elections.
I don't want to hide that some questions are still being resolved, Rawat said.
"We have a commitment before the people of Karnataka. Parliament elections are ahead. So, I have to bow to the AICC president and the Gandhi family. In the larger interest of the party (I have agreed to the formula) and why not, because sometimes the ice should break. Ultimately, there is a responsibility towards what we have a commitment to the people of Karnataka and we have to deliver," he said.
The yatra, which is scheduled to begin on January 14, will cover 6,713 kilometres and the participants will travel on buses and foot.
Even though it was stated that no action would be taken against the senior leaders who had written to Sonia Gandhi, they say that the retaliation had already begun, reports Aditi Phadnis
Former National Students Union of India President Alka Lamba has quit the Congress and could be joining the Aam Aadmi Party, a development that the ruling party sought to downplay saying it was long that she held any post in the party or was fielded in any election.
The decision is being seen as a balancing act in the faction-ridden party in the state.
Seemingly expressing his displeasure against ministers demanding three more deputy chief minister posts in Karnataka, state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the party would respond to them appropriately.
Taking a 30-minute break from the Kanyakumari to Kashmir foot march at Sonawar, Gandhi drove to the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on Maulana Azad Road before heading to the clock tower, locally known as 'Ghanta Ghar', to unfurl the tricolour.
On Saturday, Delhi unit of the Congress unanimously adopted a resolution urging Rahul to take over as the president.
Political sources say Modi is 'keen' on getting the NCP (SP) over to the Mahayuti to counter Eknath Shinde's 'demands' and to act as a cushion against his present allies, Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, 'in case their relationship became untenable'.
The Congress has accused Twitter of acting against Gandhi's account under pressure from the government.
