Thirteen cities of the country had an average Air Quality Index above 400, which falls in "severe" category, with seven of them in Uttar Pradesh, five in Haryana and one in Bihar, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday pilloried Prime Minister Narendra Modi over suspension of BJP MP Kirti Azad who has been leading a campaign against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on alleged corruption in Delhi cricket body, reminding him of his "na khaoonga na khaney doonga" poll slogan.
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.
Notwithstanding the party denial of the possibility of national campaign by her, the Congress on Tuesday saw demands that Priyanka Gandhi contest Lok Sabha elections.
Samajwadi Party, which has decided not to enter the fray in Amethi and Rae Bareli, on Tuesday disapproved the Bharatiya Janata Party fielding "outsiders" from the Nehru-Gandhi pocket borough, saying such a practice was against democracy.
Unhappy over not being able to get an audience with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, local residents of two villages in Amethi raised slogans before a Munshiganj guest house where the Amethi MP has been putting up.
'Both Modi and Yogi are contesting this election together.' 'Both bring their individual strengths to BJP in UP.'
The first public-private partnership (PPP) initiative in bottled drinking water has taken shape at Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, with a Rail Neer plant set for commissioning.
However, she said her own wish is to work for the party's organisation.
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's first visit to his own parliamentary constituency in Amethi after the party's devastating debacle, not only all across Uttar Pradesh but also in the family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli, openly displayed the simmering discontent and disillusionment of his own party insiders with him. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Mayawati made it amply clear that her party will not enter into any alliance with the Congress.
Gandhi had said, "For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing as suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in issues."
Amethi member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi has launched a series of 'chaupal sabhas' and mini road-shows to win votes for mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi -- seeking re-election from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
Gandhi claimed that Modi will not be able to look him in the eye if the two debate the Rafale deal.
Does India's first political family see some serious threat to its own bastions? The question was doing rounds in Uttar Pradesh, where lie Rae Bareli and Amethi -- the respective parliamentary constituencies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president son Rahul Gandhi. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at Narendra Modi for dubbing his sister Priyanka's "neech rajniti" remark as an attack on his caste, saying people's actions are low, not their caste.
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.
Three persons were killed in Kanpur dehat, two in Hathras and one each in Chitrakoot, Auraiya, Allahabad, Unnao, Amethi, Jaunpur and Fatehpur.
Will 'Bhaiyyaji', as Priyanka is called in UP, contest against Modi?
The seat sharing formula reached between the BSP and SP is not on the basis of who emerged stronger in the previous election.
Gandhi's tweets on Wednesday, attacking Pakistan and asserting that Kashmir is India's internal issue, were made due to public anger over his earlier comments, he said.
The Congress will give 40 per cent of tickets to women in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections beginning next year, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said here on Tuesday.
Scindia also said that as far as talks for alliances are concerned, "like-minded parties should also think in a like-minded way".
Stepping up his campaign against Rahul Gandhi in his home turf, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas on Monday visited a Dalit home where the Congress vice president had spent a night and claimed nothing has changed for the family.
Sheela Bhatt travels with Priyanka Gandhi deep into the villages of Amethi and Rae Bareli and discovers that all is not well in the pocket borough of the Congress First Family.
Touring Congress strongholds of Amethi and Rae Bareli in the run-up to the UP polls, Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday said she will do "anything to help" her brother Rahul in the assembly elections.
The Election Commission on Sunday issued a show cause notice to Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal for his alleged remarks in Amethi that even if a single vote is cast in favour of Congress and BJP, then it will be "treachery against God and the country".
The Opposition unity to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party seems to have run into rough weather as the Trinamool Congress and the Congress are at daggers drawn over the recent instances of 'poaching' by the Mamata Banerjee-led camp, with the grand old party finding itself in a tight spot.
Is blood thicker than party loyalty for Varun Gandhi?
Confident that his party would "defeat" Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha polls, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday took a train to Varanasi where they are locked in tough electoral battle.
The party is finding increasing acceptability in the 18-35 years age group with Rahul Gandhi adding a million followers in the past 2 months and Facebook and Twitter also seeing similar spikes.
Aam Admi Party leader Kumar Vishwas on Friday claimed that armed Congress workers attacked his supporters and damaged vehicles in Sindurva village under the Kamrauli police station area in Amethi on Friday evening.
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.
Battling on Rahul Gandhi's behalf, Priyanka Gandhi took on Narendra Modi over his shehzada, namuna and other barbs at her brother on Tuesday, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party leader is aspiring to be prime minister but indulging in childish behaviour and that he should maintain decorum.
The home ministry's notice to Gandhi was sent in response to a complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy.
'India has decided - Democracy needs to be celebrated.'
She has been appointed general secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East), while Jyotiraditya Scindia holds charge of UP West.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas on Thursday slammed Rahul Gandhi for his remark that his father Rajiv Gandhi was being denied justice, saying it was a "drama" to divert people's attention from core issues like corruption.
SP has already fielded its sitting MLA from Gauriganj seat.
