With six days to go for state assembly polls in Punjab, political parties have intensified their campaign in the state. The outgoing ruling alliance of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and Bhartiya Janata Party is banking on Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and L K Advani to regain the power in the state.
'It will be a mistake to imagine that Sidhu will be a permanent feature of the Congress' Punjab scene,' says Amulya Ganguli.
A dominant force in the country's politics for decades, the grand old party's free fall continued as it lost Punjab to AAP and finished with just two seats out of 403 in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.
He said, Kejriwal was dreaming of becoming the CM of every state he visits.
An explosion took place at the headquarters of the intelligence wing of the Punjab police in Mohali Monday night, sources said in Chandigarh.
At a meeting convened by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on a range of issues ahead of Monsoon Session of Parliament, the seven chief ministers unanimously agreed to the need for filing a review petition urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent order rejecting the postponement of the competitive exams.
Amid speculation about a possible change of guard in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday asserted that his state can never become Punjab, and said the two states bear only one similarity -- that of having numbers in their names.
The BJP, whose campaign was focussed more on issues related to nationalism and Shaheen Bagh, failed to find support among voters.
The discussion between the former deputy chief minister and the Gandhi siblings comes days after the dramatic developments in Punjab where the Congress replaced Amarinder Singh as chief minister and appointed Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit leader, to the top post of the state.
In a major fillip to the Congress in poll-bound Punjab, former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Navjot Singh Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur on Monday joined the party along with former Akali MLA Pargat Singh.
India's assessment is that the Kartarpur project was being implemented with alacrity and military zeal under the supervision of the Pakistan army as it has the strategic objective to use the corridor to encourage separatism in Punjab, say government sources.
'We were ready to drink the poison of the Congress, but the statements show that the Congress is still seeped in its arrogance'
Information can be provided on the Punjab Police helpline -- 181, officials said, adding the identity of the informer will be kept a secret.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was defeated by Aam Aadmi Party's first-timer and an eye surgeon from Bhadaur and Chamkaur Sahib seats, respectively.
In a reprieve for Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, a local court in Mohali on Friday acquitted him along with his wife, son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and eight others in a seven-year-old corruption and disproportionate assets case. The case was filed against them during the Amarinder Singh-led Congress regime. Additional District and Sessions Judge R K Aggarwal acquitted 11 of the 15 accused, saying no incriminating evidence was available.
The former chief minister was expelled from the House on September 3, 2008, for "breach of privilege" after a resolution was passed on the basis of the report of a special committee appointed by the Punjab assembly on the alleged irregularities.
On his meeting with General Bajwa, the Congress leader said, "On his meeting with General Bajwa, Sidhu said, "I again want to make it clear that this meeting took place in Islamabad at a time when Gen Bajwa reached the venue of swearing-in ceremony." "He met me with enthusiasm after seeing me sitting in the first row. Immediately, he told me that they were making efforts to open the corridor from India's Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur Sahib, which is about 3 to 3.5 km in Pakistan, to facilitate the pilgrims to pay obeisance on the occasion of 550th 'Prakash Diwas' of Guru Nanak Dev ji."
The party is divided on the leadership matter with a section demanding collective leadership and another reposing faith in the Gandhi family.
Sidhu in a press conference on Friday had questioned the Channi-led state government over the steps taken for the delivery of justice in the cases of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and drug trafficking.
While Singh slammed Khattar for stopping farmers from moving towards the national capital, terming it as 'totally undemocratic and unconstitutional', the latter told the Punjab chief minister to stop 'inciting innocent farmers'.
His tweet pressing the Charanjit Singh Channi-led government to change the director general of police and state's advocate general appears to indicate that he continues to remain unhappy over certain key appointments.
The G-23 group seems to have expanded with several senior Congressmen attending Wednesday's meeting.
Ravinder Gosain, 60, was returning home after attending a morning drill at RSS shakha when he was attacked.
The 2012 assembly poll was seen essentially as a battle between the two leading families of Punjab -- the Badals versus the 'Captain' Amarinder Singh -- and their durbars, their contending styles, the rebels they had to reckon with, their grip over the ground realities. Neerja Chowdhury reports.
The 2012 assembly poll was seen essentially as a battle between the two leading families of Punjab -- the Badals versus the 'Captain' Amarinder Singh -- and their durbars, their contending styles, the rebels they had to reckon with, their grip over the ground realities. Neerja Chowdhury reports.
The leading ladies of Patiala royal family are sparing no efforts these days in gleaning voters' support for their men, who are in the fray from this crucial parliamentary segment in Punjab. The 117-constituency strong state assembly goes to polls on January 30.
The high-voltage campaign for the February 4 assembly elections in Punjab came to an end on Thursday evening following hectic campaigning by various political parties.
Badal and his family members are facing trial under the Prevention of Corruption Act for acquiring assets disproportionate to their known sources of income by misusing their official status. A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Mr justice R V Raveendran, however, refused to stay the trial.
The defeat in the elections has put a question mark on the five-time MP and former Union minister's political future.
"Happy to share that actor & philanthropist @SonuSood will be the Brand Ambassador of our #Covid19 vaccination drive. I thank him for supporting our campaign to reach out to, and protect, every Punjabi, and appeal to all to get vaccinated at the earliest," the chief minister tweeted.
Amarinder said predictions by health experts about the spread of the pandemic are 'horrendous and frightening'.
Suresh Raina, who pulled out of the IPL citing personal reasons, on Tuesday demanded a thorough probe into the violent attack on his aunt's family in Punjab, in which his uncle and cousin lost their lives.
'Several leaders leaving the party in quick succession tell us that something is very wrong with the oldest party'
Sidhu was in Patiala to take part in a protest against inflation when the Supreme Court verdict came in.
It is a predominately Akali stronghold district.
The BJP is upbeat about fielding Sidhu as its nominee because he has the ability to carry with him four assembly seats in the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency.
The police have a list of 23 witnesses, including four official gunmen of Kartar Singh, of the incident, which took place on October 23, 2006.
Sukhbir was having none of that. He saw Manpreet taking the V P Singh route to oust him (in the interests of austerity, Manpreet drives his car himself, has minimal security and refuses to touch cashew nuts offered to ministers at public functions, according to newspaper reports from Punjab).
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