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.
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.
Opening a new front with the Congress, the Mayawati government on Thursday created a new district named after Dalit icon Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj that would include Amethi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency.
Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress icon Rahul Gandhi, is expected to get the country's first 'Discovery Park' which will travel from Indiana in the United States to Uttar Pradesh.
The bench comprising Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Rituraj Awasthi on Wednesday stayed the Mayawati government's notification of July 1, whereby Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar district had come into being.
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.
There were verbal exchanges between members of Congress and treasury benches after Leader of the Congress Mallikarjun Kharge referred to the food park scrapped by the Narendra Modi government.
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.
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.
In what was seen as a huge surprise for his constituents, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will visit his parliamentary constituency of Amethi with Microsoft chief Bill Gates. The visit was kept a closely guarded secret until the news broke out late on Monday evening.
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".
Rae Bareli and Amethi -- the respective parliamentary constituencies of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, have ceased to enjoy a VVIP status, following withdrawal of "no power cut" order by the Akhilesh Yadav government.
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."
72 year-old washerman, Pancham Lal, who is accorded 'VIP' status on polling days, was the first to cast his vote in the erstwhile princely state. Sharat Pradhan reports
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.
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.
'At no point did Kamal Nath and Digvijaya indicate that the Opposition bloc was formed only to fight the Lok Sabha polls.'
It submitted a memorandum to UP Governor Vishnukant Shastri seeking a review of the governments decision to rename Amethi district after Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
With the strain and anxiety of the longest Lok Sabha polls now behind the leaders, governance, with consensus, is the next step.
In a veiled attack on Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandhi on Friday said there is a leader in the country who wants power for himself and makes repeated demands to strengthen him.
Ending suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party has picked actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani to take on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
What would Parliament be without these nine ladies?
Rai said that the terminology was part of the regional dialect and there was nothing obscene about it.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
In spite of its not-so-cordial relationship, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress could join forces to counter Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi if he contests the next Lok Sabha election from Lucknow or Varanasi. Anita Katyal reports
'Modi 3.0 will have more balanced policies like one saw in Modi's first term.'
Some have been cherry-picked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.
The SP chief said, "If the Congress behaves like this, who will stand with them."
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
Corruption, Anna Hazare's campaign and lack of grassroot support have led to the party's downfall, say analysts. Faisal Kidwai reports from Lucknow
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday declared 13 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls including actor Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram in popular TV serial Ramayan, from Meerut, while replacing sitting MP Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit with state minister Jitin Prasada.
The forest department officials have filed a case against Arif under relevant sections of the wildlife protection act and issued him a notice, asking him to appear and record his statement.
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dubbed the electoral bonds as the 'world's biggest extortion scheme' and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the 'champion of corruption'.
