Weighed down by anti-incumbency, the BJP heavily banked on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal appeal to enable it to sail through in the assembly elections but it was not to be.
However, Gehlot, said he will make one last-ditch effort to convince Rahul to take up the party president's post.
The pressure on Delhi mellowed Lucknow's ruling dispensation's initial enthusiasm to try and draw electoral mileage from the developments in Afghanistan.
Soon after Gandhi's press conference, the Election Commission said it will respond with full facts in writing.
The Congress on Tuesday said it cannot accept the Haryana assembly polls verdict as there were 'serious issues' about the integrity of the counting process and functioning of the EVMs in some districts, and asserted that it would take up the matter with the Election Commission.
The people of Amethi want to rectify their 'mistake' of 2019 and Congress workers as well as leaders are demanding that Rahul Gandhi contest from the constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party's Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai said.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra is heavily banking upon a six to 10 per cent shift in voters -- mostly women -- in its favour to return to power with anywhere between 160 and 170 assembly seats, say four MLAs belonging to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party leader Birender Singh on Monday threatened to quit the party if does not sever ties with the Jannayak Janta Party, which he accused of indulging in rampant corruption in the state.
In line with exit poll predictions, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken an early lead in Uttar Pradesh, after one hour of counting.
The Congress also claimed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP was the "B-team" of the BJP in Gujarat.
'There are legions of unemployed degree holders across rural and semi-urban belts in Maharashtra. Now, they aren't finding brides.' 'This issue has now snowballed into a social crisis. In 2014 and 2019, they had voted for the BJP.'
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
'One Sandeshkhali won't turn around women's perception of Mamata Banerjee in this state'
Beleaguered Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's political credibility will be tested by the outcome of the three by-elections. And cries that he must resign will become shriller if the Congress loses them.
Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda on Thursday met leaders of the party's allies in Uttar Pradesh -- Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal-S and Sanjay Nishad of the Nishad party -- at his residence in New Delhi as part of its government formation exercise.
Among the BJP rebels, a notable figure is Gopal Shetty, a two-time MLA and former Lok Sabha member from Mumbai. He has filed his nomination as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee, Sanjay Upadhyay, in Mumbai's Borivali assembly constituency.
Brisk polling was seen for the Wayanad Lok Sabha and the Chelakkara assembly seats in Kerala as they witnessed a turnout of 20.54 and 19.08 per cent, respectively, after the first three hours of voting on Wednesday.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
How Modi retrieves the situation and how he enlists new allies in the next two years will show if the BJP is fighting fit, report Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Most candidates hailing from political families emerged victorious in the Delhi civic polls, while the richest contender faced a drubbing.
He was administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
The respective Dussehra rallies of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray were once again about whose version of Hindutva is genuine and who is the true inheritor of party patriarch Bala Thackeray's legacy.
With the Congress in power in the state and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) snapping at its heels, the BRS is now fighting an existential battle.
'Our approach is forward-looking. The central leadership wants young leaders to lead the charge now. This will also send a clear signal that lapses will not be tolerated. We are targeting beyond 2025.' Satyavrat Mishra reports.
From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-State actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real State, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
When it comes to the Congress and Wayanad, the only way the scepticism in the minds of some in Kerala may be addressed is by the Gandhi family proving that they are more than a passing caravan in town, reports Shyam G Menon.
Kailash Gahlot, a key minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, has resigned, potentially impacting the party's ambitious plan to roll out a Rs 1000 monthly honorarium scheme for women ahead of the Assembly polls in February. Gahlot, who represented the Jat-dominated Najafgarh constituency in West Delhi, cited several issues, including the "Sheeshmahal" controversy over his former official residence, the Delhi government's tussle with the Centre, and the failure to clean the Yamuna River, in his resignation letter. Delhi BJP leaders welcomed Gahlot's resignation, fueling speculation that he could join the party before the assembly polls. However, AAP leaders claimed Gahlot resigned due to pressure from central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, and that joining the BJP was his last option. Gahlot's resignation has sparked speculation about his future and the impact it will have on the AAP's electoral prospects.
'Our Left is squeamish about democracy. They are so mechanical they have only dogma.'
UP's representation in the government could diminish, given the BJP's decreased seat count in that state.
'When honest, wealthy people come forward to serve India, people should feel proud and welcome them.'
'This fight was against the strongest oppressive forces in the country. And Vinesh emerged victorious.'
AAP's presence in both states has complicated the contests for the BJP and its Congress rival.
There were many people who wanted to seek favours from her by offering lakhs and crores of rupees even through her family members when she was Odisha's transport minister. She never allowed any kind of corrupt practices to touch her department officials, family members or the supporters who have stood by her.
'Pro-incumbency worked big time for the ruling party.' 'It has never happened in the past of pro-incumbency working so much for the ruling party.'
Besides the national capital, polling will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Simultaneously, polling will be held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
Both the BJP and the Congress have banked on new and young faces, some of whom have been nominated by the parties for the first time.
Madhya Pradesh assembly polls have recorded a voter turnout of 77.15 per cent, which is 1.52 per cent higher than in 2018, as per the latest data released by the Election Commission of India.
'It is not just about numbers. Sometimes coalitions and alliances have symbolic value.'
'A government whose policies are focused around making the life of ordinary citizens, specially the most deprived sections, richer; a government that prioritises education, health and transport, that doesn't treat its citizens as subjects who must come to it for everything, is rare in our country.' 'When such a government is thrown out, one is left stunned,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
