The "venom" that the Congress leader has been spewing against the prime minister in his "political frustration" has now turned into an insult to the country, Irani alleged.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Varun Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Party candidate in Amethi Kumar Vishwas and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan were among the prominent candidates who filed nominations on the fourth day for the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha election covering 64 seats in seven states.
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan sparked a political row on Friday, with his party quick to dissociate itself from the comments while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party latched on to them, accusing the Congress of being an apologist for Pakistan and the terrorism emanating from its soil.
Though there was no official word from both the parties, the sources claimed that two Uttar Pradesh-based political outfits will contest 37 Lok Sabha seats each.
Smriti Irani will reprise her electoral battle with Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.
The seat sharing formula reached between the BSP and SP is not on the basis of who emerged stronger in the previous election.
The remarks by the BJP leaders came as 17 opposition parties resolved to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly to defeat the saffron party and work with flexibility by setting aside their differences. They dubbed the planned alliance as "unholy and opportunistic".
While the Congress vice-president fighting an anti-incumbency wave is doing all he can to wrest power in the Gandhi stronghold, Amethi, political pundits believe that his estranged cousin, Varun, riding on a strong Modi wave will sail through in Sultanpur. Anita Katyal reports on their political battles.
While the Congress vice-president fighting an anti-incumbency wave is doing all he can to wrest power in the Gandhi stronghold, Amethi, political pundits believe that his estranged cousin, Varun, riding on a strong Modi wave will sail through in Sultanpur. Anita Katyal reports on their political battles.
While the Congress vice-president fighting an anti-incumbency wave is doing all he can to wrest power in the Gandhi stronghold, Amethi, political pundits believe that his estranged cousin, Varun, riding on a strong Modi wave will sail through in Sultanpur. Anita Katyal reports on their political battles.
The party will also leave two seats for the Apna Dal, and entered into an electoral agreement with the lesser known Jan Adhikar Party.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha polls from Amethi.
Here are some of the big political leaders' who await their fate on Monday.
Will 'Bhaiyyaji', as Priyanka is called in UP, contest against Modi?
The allegations against her are baseless. Nothing against her or Swami Aseemanad have been proved, Shah said.
Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Amit Shah on Saturday said winds of change were blowing across the country and its effect would be visible even in a Congress stronghold like Amethi.
'We will defeat her with the blessings of the people of Amethi, but we will always respect her as an opponent'
Congress leaders are confident that Priyanka would act as a catalyst for the party and boost the sagging morale of cadres to put up a spirited fight against the BJP and also the SP-BSP pre-poll alliance which had already shut its door on the Congress, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
'The Constitution of India defeated the BJP.'
'Gandhi could have chosen to contest from some other constituency where the BJP was strong -- Karnataka or some other state'
Meanwhile, the Congress said that that it is ready to go it alone in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha election.
Kumar Vishwas, an Aam Aadmi Party leader whose name is doing the rounds as the candidate Arvind Kejriwal might field against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha elections, has dared the Bharatiya Janata Party to make it a three-cornered fight by fielding Narendra Modi.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has now moved to the newly created Madha constituency in the state leaving his pocketborough of Baramati to daughter Supriya Sule, currently a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Congress hopes to field upper caste candidates to eat into BJP voter base while SP-BSP focuses on consolidating Dalit-OBC votes in their favour.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
The SP chief said, "If the Congress behaves like this, who will stand with them."
The Congress president offered prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli road hours after landing in the state capital where enthusiastic party workers greeted him with garlands.
Rahul Gandhi challenged the BJP to fight on secular terms instead of using the temple as a poll plank.
BJP sources indicated that swearing-in ceremony could take place on May 30.
In the first major action after its massive drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, Congress on Tuesday dissolved the state unit of politically key Uttar Pradesh signalling a drastic overhaul.
The prime minister said he was also grateful to his opponents who fought against him. At the same time he lamented there was a sense of political untouchability, adding Bharatiya Janata Party workers were being killed for their ideology in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala.
Bharti also targeted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying by choosing to contest elections from Amethi and Wayanad, he has accepted defeat.
"The first thing is he is not fit for politics. Probably, the work he should not do, he is doing," Sarma said.
In the same breath, the RPI-A leader said, "No one can challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- neither Congress president Rahul Gandhi, nor SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, nor BSP supremo Mayawati."
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
Targetting Priyanka Gandhi, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said her ignorance about the presence of party candidate Smriti Irani in Amethi showed the Congress star campaigner's "arrogance at its worst".
To a question whether his party will not forge a coalition with any political party, Azad said, "If any political party is willing to accompany the Congress, and the Congress feels that it can fight the BJP, then it will be definitely accommodated."
A day after the Congress's second straight defeat in the national election, resignations were flying.
Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday broke away from her SPG security cordon and went ahead for campaigning in Tiloi in the district without security cover of the elite protection agency.
'The Congress's policy is it will take benefits from everybody, but when it gets an opportunity, it does not want to share it with others'
