With their high-decibel campaigns so far, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party may appear to be locked in a direct fight in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress' announcement that the party chief will contest from Wayanad evoked sharp reactions from the Left and Right of the political spectrum.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the deputy leader.
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.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appears to have shed the maximum sweat among top leaders for over the last 45 days in the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections campaign.
The BJP accused the Congress leader of playing politics in the matter.
A man was shot dead in police firing in Telangana's Secunderabad, trains went up in flames, and public and private vehicles attacked, as railway stations and highways turned into battleground in many states on Friday amid burgeoning protests against Agnipath, the contentious defence recruitment scheme.
Amethi, Guna, Rohtak.... These were believed to be easy seats to win but as they say in politics, anything's possible. This election has seen a few family bastions fall and one could attribute it to the TsuNaMo that has swept the country.
Sinh, who has been in the BJP earlier and was elected to Lok Sabha on its ticket in 90s, wields considerable influence in the Amethi region of Uttar Pradesh.
The great Indian election is over and now the wait for the results is shrinking with every passing moment. Though exit polls hint at a cakewalk for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Democratic Alliance, there are some battles which will be keenly observed on the result day.
'Rahul has done nothing for us. Rajiv Gandhi was different. He was a great man.' In Amethi, each person knows at least five people who have spoken to him, sipped chai with him. It's a connect the Gandhis hope people won't forget when Amethi goes to the polls on May 7.
She, however, did not talk of the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance and sought support for only her party's candidates.
Thushar is the son of Vellappally Natesan, who is the general secretary of the influential Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, which works for the welfare of Ezhava community, a backward caste with sizeable population in the state.
The Congress quickly hit back accusing TMC of being a 'stooge of BJP' and challenged it to prove its credentials on a 'pan India' platform.
Party functionaries at Amethi, who met Priyanka Vadra said that she was upbeat and exuded confidence about a spectacular performance by the Congress party in the Uttar Pradesh polls. Sharat Pradhan reports from Amethi.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would accompany him to Wayanad.
Newly elected mayors will campaign for the party in poll-bound Gujarat.
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.
If the Opposition has any chance at the prime minister's job, it can happen only if they all stop dropping names and work at the grassroots-level, state-wise, suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha polls from Amethi.
Even Priyanka's formal entry into politics could not act as a saving grace for the Congress. She was made in-charge of the party's fortunes in eastern Uttar Pradesh, but despite her high-octane election campaign, Congress is ahead on just one seat -- her mother Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.
Having already received and deployed the first lot of around 72,500 Sig Sauer assault rifles from the US for counter-terrorist operations, the new batch of these assault rifles would be given to the soldiers deployed on the front with China in Eastern Ladakh.
Amid their campaign schedule, the Congress party chief and his sister shared a few light-hearted moments.
The Congress was not unduly perturbed by reports that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's application for proof of residence in Amethi was turned down by the district magistrate, stating emphatically that this would have no impact on his nomination from his Lok Sabha constituency. Anita Katyal explains why
The order for the second batch of the assault rifles would be coming after the first lot of 72,000 rifles, has already been delivered to the army for use by troops in Northern Command and other operational areas.
After dethroning the Congress in its Delhi bastion, the Aam Aadmi Party has decided to throw the gauntlet at the grand old party's second-in-command Rahul Gandhi -- and that too in Amethi, the political home ground of the Gandhis for decades.
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.
He vowed to fight to get back a mega food park project to his constituency in Amethi.
The Congress on Thursday downplayed a survey which projected major gains for the Aam Admi Party in big metropolises pushing Rahul Gandhi to third position as prime ministerial choice after Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, saying it will comment on its strategy at an appropriate time.
Speaking to reporters at the Gujarat BJP headquarters, the Union textiles and women and child development minister hit out at Gandhi over his comment that the Congress, if voted to power, would scrap the contentious legislations.
Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party and Narendra Modi over election expenditure, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that corporates were pumping money into the saffron party's campaign and asked it come clean on the source of funds.
In his opening remarks at the talks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that India is confident of overcoming the challenges with a strong political will and an inherent capability of its people.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas on Sunday questioned the clean chit given to Rahul Gandhi by the Election Commission on the allegation that he had violated secrecy of voting by entering the enclosure of EVM in one of the polling booths in Amethi.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the impressive show by his party to the "alert voters" who he said rejected the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of opposition parties.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked the leaders and party workers to bury their internal differences and ensure victory of Congress candidates in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections.
"The aam aadmi is groaning under unprecedented price rise. It is no achhe din (good times) for them. It is achhe din only for the prime minister," Gandhi said during his two-day visit to Amethi.
Cross FIRs were lodged against 30 people, including Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas and a Congress leader, after an altercation between activists of both parties, at Peparpur police station in Amethi district.
To repeated questions, the SP chief asserted that the Congress was 'very much in the alliance'.