'I am surprised to discover that Priyanka gives unimpressive speeches. It is as if she is fulfilling a 'duty.' Political passion is clearly absent.' Sheela Bhatt on the campaign trail.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray were among the famous faces who queued up at the polling booths on Monday to caste their votes in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
The ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, which has already crossed swords with the Congress, is all set to launch its campaign for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from the bastion of Gandhi family -- Amethi and Rae Bareli -- on February 9. The party, while announcing its plan to organise Brahmin Sammelans across the state, has decided to organise its first convention in Amethi, parliamentary constituency of All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
With the Aam Aadmi Party hinting at a contest between Kumar Vishwas and Rahul Gandhi in 2014 general elections, the AAP leader said it is up to the party and the people of Amethi to take a decision on his candidature from the constituency represented by the Congress vice-president.
In the five years in politics Priyanka Gandhi has undeniably emerged as a thorn in the BJP flesh, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. It is time that this thorn is twisted a wee bit more when the elections have become far more uncertain than what it was when the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.
The Election Commission on Thursday said it has sought a "factual" report on allegations that Rahul Gandhi, a candidate from Amethi, had violated rules by going to the polling area inside some booths in the constituency during balloting on Wednesday.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Smriti Irani on Wednesday filed her nomination from Amethi and attacked her main opponent Rahul Gandhi, saying his own party did not have faith in his abilities to name him the prime ministerial candidate.
Apparently provoked by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's focus on enhancing road network across the state, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has suddenly woken up to the need of better infrastructure in Amethi, his parliamentary constituency, about 150 km from Lucknow.
As many as 37 ministers have been dropped from the government in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term and these include seven with cabinet rank -- prominent among them being Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur and Narayan Rane.
A constable was killed and six persons injured in a clash here between alleged supporters of Anant Vikram Singh, the son of Congress MP Sanjay Singh, and police.
Gandhi said when the Congress was in power, the Opposition would allege that all money was going to Amethi and now they say nothing has been done here.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh is trying very hard to evict his own wife and children from Amethi Palace.
The BJP's nationwide vote share saw its steepest decline in Rajasthan, falling by 9.23% from 2019, resulting in the loss of 11 seats.
The local MP interacted with party workers and people not only from his constituency but far flunged areas and adjoining districts as well at Munshiganj guest house on last day of his visit, party activists said.
According to an agreement reached after the telephonic conversation between Priyanka Gandhi and Yadav, the Congress has now got seats such as Sitapur and Barabanki.
With Lok Sabha elections knocking on the doors, United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi appear to have suddenly woken up to the need to develop their respective constituencies -- Amethi and Rae Bareli.
On a tour of his parliamentary constituency Amethi on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi had his vehicle intercepted by an unexpected quarter -- two sisters who had come all the way from Lucknow to narrate their woes to the Congress leader. When the Congress general secretary was on his way to Sarvan village, two sisters Sonia and Shivani intercepted his car and told him about the harassment at the hands of their uncles after the death of their parents.
In his characteristic style, Rahul walked into the dusty swathe of his constituency reminding villagers of the manner in which his father Rajiv Gandhi and grandmother Indira Gandhi had interacted with them.
When a similar incident had taken place last year in another village, Priyanka Vadra had helped the victim, a dalit, register a case with the police.
He upholds his father's legacy in reaching out to his electorate. Much like his father, he shuns the company of local party leaders, who are told to keep off while he is around.
Rediff.com captures the mood from Amethi and Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Baramulla and Ladakh in Jammu Kashmir.
The extended timing to offer prayers at the new Ram temple in Ayodhya came into effect on Thursday with 'darshan' being allowed from 6 am as key roads leading to the temple town remained closed to regulate vehicular movement.
The local administration has cancelled the application of Congress Vice President and local Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi for issuance of a domicile certificate.
The vehicle used by the attackers of Dalit leader and Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad was recovered from a village in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district, the police said on Thursday.
Narendra Modi on Sunday ridiculed Sonia Gandhi for asking people in Amethi to take care of Rahul Gandhi to ensure his victory, wondering how the Congress vice president can lead the country when he cannot "handle" his constituency.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recognised Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition on Wednesday, a day after the Congress communicated its decision to name him for the position to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Political observers lauded the SP's choices in fielding several non-Yadav and Scheduled Caste candidates, the party's alliance with the Congress, and Rahul Gandhi's campaign around the danger to the Constitution if the BJP won a big majority.
As the Uttar Pradesh assembly election battle hits new lows, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani walks you through all you need to know about the fifth phase of polling on February 27.
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.
Rahul Gandhi said both Rae Bareli and Wayanad "will get two MPs".
Skirting any comments on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (demonstration on the streets of Delhi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi chose to train his guns at the Uttar Pradesh government for neglecting Amethi, the Gandhi family's political bastion.
Commenting that running a country is not a play for those born with a golden spoon, Modi said, "They have gone from Amethi and will go even from Rae Bareli."
Barely two months before the Lok Sabha election, Gandhi will be filing her nomination papers in Jaipur on Wednesday. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are likely to accompany her.
Contesting Priyanka Gandhi's claim that her brother Rahul had done a lot of development in his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said she was unaware that the Congress vice president had failed to even spend the fund provided to members of Parliament for development in the area.
It sent shock waves in the party -- a political greenhorn had taken on Modi in his home turf of Gujarat. Smriti had clearly tried to choose sides, in this case Vajpayee's camp. Many felt that this would end Irani's career. A revealing excerpt from Nidhi Sharma's new book She, The Leader: Women in Indian Politics.
On his second day of the visit, the young leader was reminded that he had promised monetary compensation to the members of the bereaved family a year ago.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his convoy will spend the night on a farm in Bhadohi as the district administration has denied permission for his stay at a government college citing a police recruitment exam, a party member said on Thursday.
Gates interacted with the locals, especially women self-help groups, and promised he would develop the area as a hub for information technology (IT).
