Former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat is up for grabs. And there are quite a few in the reckoning. Anita Katyal reports
The Congress campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha contest is fast fading away, thanks to the tempo maintained by BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. For the disenchanted Congress worker, the blame for the shoddy party campaign squarely lies at the doorstep of Rahul Gandhi.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is using modern management techniques, which he picked up during his stint as a strategy consultant abroad, to revamp his party. But the moot question is: will they work? Anita Katyal reports
The lure of the17 Lok Sabha seats in the new Telangana state is driving Sonia Gandhi and her party to make every effort be made to push it through Parliament at the earliest.
Daily revelations about the wealth amassed by Bansal's family made it increasingly difficult for the Congress leadership to protect him, reports Anita Katyal
While the Congress party's popularity is on the wane, an aggressive Akali Dal is moving in quickly to encash on the hurt feelings of the Sikh community and pitch itself as the only party which works for its interests, says Anita Katyal
'I know people will say I am raising this issue because I have lost. There have been a lot of complaints about the electronic voting machines. There is a view that the machines were defective. 'When advanced countries like Japan and the US have discarded the use of these machines and gone back to using ballot papers, the Election Commission should take a fresh look at this,' former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot tells Anita Katyal.
As the debate in the Congress over its vice-president Rahul Gandhi's declaration as the party's prime ministerial candidate continues to rage on, there is growing pressure from the rank and file that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should step down and the Nehru-Gandhi scion be sworn in his place. Anita Katyal reports
Faced with a demoralised army, the Congress leadership has to find the right answers as the party heads into what is fast turning out to be an extremely tough electoral battle, says Anita Katyal
If the poll surveys pointing to a near-whitewash for the Congress in the five assembly elections are any indication, the United Progressive Alliance government it heads will find it increasingly difficult to govern, as it will now have to contend with an aggressive opposition and far more assertive allies. The situation is unlikely to improve even after the session ends as the looming 2014 Lok Sabha elections will reduce the UPA to a 'lame duck' government, feels Anita Katyal
Senior Congress party leaders though continue to be divided on the formation of Telangana state, political expediency finally won the day, reports Anita Katyal
These days, a good dose of Narendra Modi is served along with piping hot cup of tea at Varanasi's favourite melting pot, Pappu ki Adi. Differing voices are silenced at once, discovers Anita Katyal.
So Congress has taken the plunge into the world of social networking. Though late in the game the party has realised the need to reach out to an estimated 8 crore people who use online networking, to aggressively counter the BJP campaign against it on corruption and propagate the UPA government's achievements. Anita Katyal reports.
While Hemant Soren enlisted the support of small parties and independent MLAs, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief kept the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader waiting till the apex court gave its verdict in the fodder scam case. Anita Katyal reports
In 2009, the Congress won all seven Lok Sabha seats in New Delhi. This election, the party may not even win one.
Apart from opening up the possibility of a tie-up for the 2014 general election, the crucial Congress support to Nitish Kumar's trust vote also has other advantages, notes Anita Katyal.
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal may have been quick to deny any role in Railway Board bribery scandal and ask for a thorough CBI probe. But his image as an honest man, whose integrity could not be challenged, has been demolished. Anita Katyal reports
The Congress No 2 was the hero of Friday's party meet, but senior leaders have their share of doubts if his pace will sustain till the upcoming polls.
With its credibility at an all-time low, the Congress party is struggling to even come up with a slogan for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The party is hoping to find one post December 8 when the verdict of the five-state assembly elections is announced. Anita Katyal reports
The Congress party's decsion to cut its losses and accept the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's hand of friendship shows its dire need for partners, says Anita Katyal
Sonia's spirited speech at the Mahila Congress event was seen as an announcement that she has not abandoned the party and will steer it through these troubled times.
The Telangana Bill will not come up in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday with the House secretariat on Monday seeking clarifications from the Union law ministry over whether or not it is a money bill.
Three months after the Rout, the Congress finally stirs into action. Anita Katyal reports on Wednesday's party convention, the first since the debacle.
The National Democratic Alliance government is keen on the passage of the Insurance Bill before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US to send out a message that economic reforms are back on track in India. Anita Katyal reports
Is Prime Minister Narendra Modi using official functions to 'embarrass' Congress chief ministers?
The prompt approval to set up a radar station on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands signalled the Modi government's intent to deal with China on its own terms.
The recent offensive launched by the Congress against campaign committee head Narendra Modi is being viewed with a degree of apprehension by party seniors who believe that a sustained aggressive strategy against the Gujarat strongman could prove to be counter-productive, says Anita Katyal
'We can deal with defeat but what is upsetting is that there seems to be no roadmap for the future.' 'What one can say when the high command itself is not appearing to be concerned.' Congress leaders complaining about the lack of vision and the path ahead can heave a sigh of relief after sources said that party president Sonia Gandhi has planned a special brainstorming session next month in order to galvanise the beleaguered party and help reposition it. Anita Katyal in New Delhi reports.
Despite the hype over the possible candidature of All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijaya Singh for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, the Congress has narrowed down its choice to local legislator Ajay Rai and former party MP Rajesh Mishra, with the former emerging as a front runner.
In the past four years, neither the BJP nor the VHP has shown any interest in the mandir or Lord Ram. Now that elections are nearing, it is attempting to whip up communal passions, says Minister of State for Home R P N Singh in an interview to Anita Katyal
A revamp of the All Indian Congress Committee is also on the cards.
Is the demoralised party trying to open its account as an Opposition party?
After announcing their partnership for the coming Lok Sabha polls, social activist Anna Hazare and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee are set to mark their presence on the national scene with a public rally at the Ramlila Grounds in New Delhi on March 12. Anita Katyal reports
Besides the various political parties, the election commission is also getting into poll mode.
The government is being pushed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to put the food bill on fast track as the Congress had promised a 'right to food' in its 2009 election manifesto, reports Anita Katyal
The battered Congress has slammed the BJP on its decision to hike rail fares, the power crisis in the Capital and the abduction of Indians in Iraq. Anita Katyal reports how the Congress is wasting no time to criticise the ruling party.
With infighting in state units showing no signs of abating, Rahul Gandhi is once again in the line of attack for not taking the initiative in tackling this rebellion and showing the way forward in the poll-bound states.
Pakistan and Israel will define the relationship between the Modi government and the Middle East. While the region is concerned that India-Pakistan relations may become prickly in the Modi regime, it is also worried that the BJP government will give greater weightage to its ties with Israel.
Rahul Gandhi's attack on Narendra Modi over the 2002 riots in his first-ever television interview indicates that the Congress will shift focus to 'contrasting ideologies' with the BJP before the general election.
While an embarrassed government is using technical procedures to ensure that the no-confidence motion does not come up for discussion, the Seemandhra MPs are struggling to get the required support for it. Anita Katyal reports.
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