Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai claims he was placed under "house arrest" in Ayodhya to prevent him from visiting the Ram temple amidst an ongoing controversy over alleged embezzlement of donations. Other Congress delegation members were also reportedly stopped or detained, sparking protests and further political debate.
Samajwadi Party MP Shiv Pal Singh Patel asserted that the Congress would not have secured any seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections without their alliance. He claimed SP chief Akhilesh Yadav persuaded Rahul Gandhi to contest Raebareli and highlighted the SP's significant contribution to the INDIA bloc's success in Uttar Pradesh.
Police in Wayanad, Kerala, have registered a case after posters targeting Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Mallikarjun Kharge appeared on the walls of the Congress office and nearby areas. The posters also threatened that Vadra would be defeated in the next election, warning that "Wayanad will become the next Amethi".
The BJP has announced its new national organisational team, with eight leaders from Uttar Pradesh receiving key appointments. These include two national vice-presidents, two general secretaries, two secretaries, and the chiefs of the OBC and Minority Morchas. The appointments reflect a strategic focus on youth, social diversity, and experienced campaigners, particularly after the party's recent electoral setbacks in the state.
Several prominent BJP leaders, including former Union minister Smriti Irani, RSS veteran Ram Madhav, and former chief ministers Biplab Kumar Deb and Tirath Singh Rawat, have been reinstated into significant roles within the party's national team. This reshuffle marks a political recovery for many who had previously seen their influence wane or lost electoral battles, positioning them for key organisational responsibilities ahead of upcoming elections.
Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, has been fielded from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, the party said in a statement.
Union minister Smriti Irani on Monday bought a plot of land in Amethi to build a house for herself and, in an apparent dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, said no member of Parliament from here ever made the constituency his house.
Several parts of India are experiencing a severe heatwave, with temperatures soaring past 44 degrees Celsius. States are issuing alerts and taking measures to protect people and animals from the extreme conditions.
Irani said that Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Raebareli is a "victory" for the people in Amethi.
Indicating his keenness to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, Robert Vadra, businessman and husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said that the people of Amethi expect him to represent their constituency if he thinks of becoming a member of Parliament.
"As of now, two accused persons are still absconding and we are tracking them," the DGP said.
Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi are likely to contest the Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli and Amethi seats, respectively, sources said on Thursday.
Eid al-Fitr was celebrated across India with prayers for peace and brotherhood, alongside protests condemning US-Israel actions in West Asia.
Smriti Irani took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi and his brother-in-law suggesting that Vadra has an eye on the constituency.
Sharma was the key person who looked after Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies on behalf of the Gandhis.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi assures that the Indian government is prepared to bring back Indians stranded in the Gulf region due to the Iran-Israel conflict and disruptions in Dubai, emphasizing citizen safety as the top priority.
'I have always been a 'sevak' of the Gandhi family and whatever responsibility the Gandhi family has entrusted to its sevak, I will fulfil it'
Gandhi, a former Congress president, represented Amethi in Parliament from 2002 till 2019.
'Has the BJP not announced its candidates in Raebareli?'
When asked about the matter, Superintendent of Police Dinesh Singh said on Wednesday Yadav had tweeted for a distant relative. "When he was called, he did not pick up. We thought he might be in some problem and therefore he was not picking up the phone. So we used surveillance and tracked his location and reached his house, where he was found sleeping," Singh said. "Shashank's motive was to create sensation and fear," he added.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress on Friday announced that Rahul Gandhi will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli, the constituency held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades, and Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, will fight from Amethi.
"I am going to Raghopur to get feedback from the people of the constituency, which wants an end to the supremacy of one family. Before Tejashwi Yadav, a second-term MLA, his father Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi had represented that seat. Yet, it is crying for basic amenities," alleged Kishor.
The last time a non-Gandhi was in the fray from the constituency was in 1998, when Satish Sharma, a close aide of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, contested the polls but lost to the BJP's Sanjaya Sinh.
AICC general secretary and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi will be on a two-day tour of his constituency from January 14, Congress sources said today.
Rahul Gandhi will be back "soon", Congress President Sonia Gandhi said in Amethi on Saturday while answering questions about her son's mysterious "leave" which has extended to over a month so far.
Following the footsteps of his maternal uncle and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi's son Rehan was on a surprise visit to Amethi during which he interacted and shared meals with villagers, creating a buzz in the high-profile constituency.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday indicated his party could field a candidate in the next election from the high-profile Amethi seat, which it used to leave for the Congress.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners Samajwadi Party and Congress on Wednesday announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with UP's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats in the state for the ally.
Kharge claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are "put on the lap" and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly.
Police did not rule out the possibility of it being a 'political murder'.
Eight railway stations in the Lucknow division of Northern Railways were officially renamed after saints and freedom fighters on Tuesday, officials said.
The people of Amethi want to rectify their 'mistake' of 2019 and Congress workers as well as leaders are demanding that Rahul Gandhi contest from the constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party's Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai said.
Samajwadi Party district chief Ram Udit Yadav joined the dharna by the Congress members at the office of the chief medical officer, around 12 km from the hospital.
Rahul Gandhi was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019 elections.
'At no point did Kamal Nath and Digvijaya indicate that the Opposition bloc was formed only to fight the Lok Sabha polls.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the family of Shubham Dwivedi, one of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, and called for a special session of Parliament to ensure justice for the victims. Gandhi, along with the opposition, has demanded the government take strict action against the terrorists and provide justice to the bereaved families. He met with Dwivedi's family in Kanpur and expressed his condolences, emphasizing the need for a united front against terrorism. The Congress has also issued statements calling for a strong response to the attack and demanding accountability for the perpetrators.
The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee is keen to field senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Varanasi and will soon send a proposal in this regard to the top leadership, said newly appointed party's state president Ajay Rai on Sunday.
Amethi's former Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has sent five trucks each of rice and wheat besides one truck of pulses, cooking oil, spices and other material for distribution among people, said party's district unit president Anil Singh.
A resident of Poore Pahalwan village under Musafirkhana tehsil had on August 27 given a complaint letter to Irani saying that after the death of his father, who was a teacher, his mother Savitri Devi is entitled for pension, whose verification has not been done by lekhpal Deepak.
