With the BJP continuing to be the constant combatant, centrifugal pressures will rise. Fractured relations between the Centre and the states as between BJP and non-BJP ruled states is a sizeable risk owing ahead, warns Shekhar Gupta.
There was near unanimity among the guests at the Sibal dinner that the country is ready for a change, that the ruling party has lost popularity. However in the same breath speaker after speaker lamented that without Opposition unity Modi could as well win a third successive term, reveals Virendra Kapoor.
The fear that Mamata might snatch the mantle of Opposition leadership which the Gandhis firmly believe to be theirs by birthright seems to have persuaded Sonia and Rahul to give up their hoity-toity ways, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Patel, 71, the quintessential backroom strategist for the Congress, died at a Gurugram hospital in the early hours of Wednesday due to multiple organ failure more than a month after he tested positive for COVID-19.
In her condolence message for Patel, who served as her political secretary for years and was the All India Congress Committee treasurer, party chief Sonia Gandhi said, 'In Shri Ahmed Patel, I have lost a colleague, whose entire life was dedicated to the Congress Party.'
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ajit Jogi on Monday made a formal announcement to float a new political outfit.
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
During the first phase of voting on November 12 for 18 seats in the Naxal-affected areas of the state, a total of 76.42 per cent polling was recorded.
The 41st meeting of the GST Council, to be held via video conferencing, has just one agenda for discussion -- making up for shortfall in states' revenues, sources said.
If the Congress manages to upset its dominant rival, the BJP, in these assembly polls, then it will be a big boost to the opposition for the Lok Sabha polls, while a good show by the BJP will energise its cadres and give a fillip to its hopes of retaining the power at the Centre in 2019.
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
While Himanta Biswa Sarma scotched rumours that he would be the king this time, political sources in Guwahati maintained that he, and not Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, had a bigger say in choosing candidates, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the BJP, saying one has to refer to the state-wise election schedule to know when one will have access to the vaccine. The BJP, however, said health is a state subject and its manifesto is for Bihar, not for the entire country, where it has promised that the state will buy the vaccine for its people.
The top court did some tough-talking and had warned that the administration at large will be made accountable even if there is a single incident of stubble burning henceforth.
Party president Amit Shah tweeted that BJP-ruled states will soon be filing review petition against the SC order and care will be taken to safeguard the rights of the tribals and prevent eviction.
The politics of hate does not pay. The people are too sensible to fall for such a ruse, says Amulya Ganguli.
The meeting of the party's highest decision-making body will go into the reasons behind the party's debacle and discus as to why its poll narrative failed to convince the people.
A majority of Congress leaders said the party will face desertions if Rahul Gandhi does not remain the leader.
Governments in most of the world saw their approval ratings dip as they struggled to contain the raging virus, which hit economy hard everywhere, but Indian politics followed a different script, with the outgoing year marking further shrinking of a rudderless Congress while the ruling BJP soared riding on Modi's enduring appeal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in June dedicated the modernised and expanded Bhilai Steel Plant to the nation.
As the Congress party prepares to launch protests against the economic slowdown, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel tells Archis Mohan that his state has escaped its effects as his government has pursued policies that have put money in the pockets of workers, farmers, housewives and tribals, which has helped spur demand.
The Congress had won over 400 seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha election after which Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister.
'Modiji and the BJP have hoodwinked the nation by their machinations.' 'We have not been able to convince the electorate about Modiji's deceit.'
As the debate over the issue of leadership raged, another group of leaders put their weight behind the Gandhi family on Sunday, calling for Sonia Gandhi to stay or Rahul Gandhi to take charge again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack.
Eight women died and 52 others have been hospitalised due to botched surgeries at a government-organised sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district.
According to officials, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam and Telangana wanted the lockdown to be continued, some of them wanted the powers to decide the zoning of districts -- green, orange and red -- as per the COVID-19 situation.
Gandhi added the minimum income guarantee would be implemented across the country.
Glimpses of Republic Day celebrations across the country.
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla on Thursday joined the Congress and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, saying his promise of serving the country is nothing but "plain dishonesty".
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday sought answers from Narendra Modi on CNT/SPT Acts, starvation deaths and 'divisiveness',a day after the prime minister threw challenges to Congress on citizenship, Article 370 and triple talaq. She also attacked the prime minister on economic slowdown, Citizenship Act, National Register of Citizenship and alleged assaults on women in different parts of the country.
In some ways, Jyotiraditya parting ways with the Gandhis was similar to the saga of the Gandhis and the Bachchans, largely a story of friendship that turned sour. A fascinating excerpt from Rasheed Kidwai's The House Of Scindias: A Saga Of Power, Politics And Intrigue.
Around 40,000 Delhi Police personnel, 190 coys (companies) of Central Armed Police Forces and 19,000 Home Guards have been deployed for smooth conduct of election in the national capital, officials said.
Gandhi, on the other hand, has also reached out directly to the party workers in the three states to know their top choice for the chief minister post through an internal mobile messaging app, party leaders said.
Elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will see the BJP and Congress in direct contest.
'Mamata wanted the Congress in alliance with the BJP in Bengal against the Left Front government.' 'Pranab Mukherjee opposed it, stating it would amount to compromising on secularism.' 'In 2021, Mamata defeats the BJP and becomes a champion of secularism.'
Nath, 72, reached Bhopal late in night to be greeted with chants of 'Jai Jai Kamal Nath' by his supporters.
Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi read out the Preamble to the Constitution of India as part of the 'Satyagraha of Unity' protest.
Of the 20 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, eight were from Maharashtra, three each from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, two from Jammu and Kashmir and one each from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Given the controversy over Uttar Pradesh's population control moves, Hemant Shivsaran/Rediff.com digs deep to find out how many children BJP MLAs in UP have.
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