Fears of the Congress not having a credible face, after the death of its three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit last July, and ceding its vote bank to the Aam Aadmi Party came true with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party capturing the space once occupied by the grand old party.
Hard selling the development work carried out in Delhi in the last 15 years and United Progressive Alliance's Food Security Bill, Rahul Gandhi on Sunday reached out to migrant voters who constitute around one-third of the population.
Ever since Nitish embarked on the slippery path of trying to unite the Opposition against the BJP, he has repeatedly rebutted suggestions that the exercise was aimed at bringing himself centre stage. The problem is: It is not enough if he says so. Others have to say so as well, especially Congress, observes Aditi Phadnis.
The Congress, out of power in UP for 27 years is making a big pitch to bounce back, on a cocktail of caste politics and promises of agriculture debt waiver worth Rs 49,000 crore and power rate reduction for farmers hit by high input costs and diminishing returns., reports Amit Agnihotri.
'They gave Nitish their votes to bring progress. But he forgot this and got involved with his own political interests. That is not done. So he was rejected.' 'Lalu is a symbol of anarchy. He is the symbol of regressive politics.' BJP General Secretary Dharmendra Pradhan discusses Lalu, Nitish, and his strategy to bring Bihar in the BJP's fold, with Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
From Saha joining the saffron party in 2016 to being made chief minister last year in a brand renewal exercise last year, it has been a short but upward journey for the 69-year-old dental surgeon-turned politician.
The party plans elaborate year-long celebrations to commemorate his 125th birth anniversary next year. Kavita Chowdhury reports
As fuel prices continue its northward march with petrol and diesel being sold at Rs 80.73 and Rs 72.83 per litre in the national capital, at least 21 opposition parties, led by the Congress have staged a Bharat Bandh protesting the rise in fuel prices and depreciation of the rupee.
Even as Congress has announced plans to hold year-long celebrations to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to lay the foundation stone for the 'Ambedkar International Centre' in New Delhi, the legacy of the Dalit icon becoming the focus of a contest between the rival parties
'Delhi 2015 is a warning of an intensifying nightmare in the offing.'
Permissive communalism, as represented by the Sachar Committee report, cannot become the basis to counter the threat of majoritarianism, says D L Sheth.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday declared their third list of candidates for 20 Lok Sabha seats with prominent names being Savita Bhatti, wife of late comedian Jaspal Bhatti's, who has been given a ticket from Chandigarh, and Anand Kumar, a professor from JNU, from Delhi.
Kerala is one state where the Congress may do well in the general election and it where Rahul Gandhi has demonstrated why he is serious about rebuilding his party, says T V R Shenoy.
"Anybody fighting for an ideology and appealing to the voice of conscience cannot be a scapegoat. I am a fighter and I will fight and I am sure that many will join me in this fight," she said in response to a question whether she was being made a scapegoat in the presidential election.
"Unlike in UP, the governments of Punjab and Rajasthan are not denying that the girl was raped, threatening her family and blocking the course of justice. If they do, I will go there to fight for justice," he tweeted.
Daughter of former deputy PM late Jagjivan Ram, Kumar, 72, was also the first woman to occupy the high office of the LS speaker
'With vendetta politics as its main plank, the BJP will be looking out for every opportunity to destabilise this Mahagatbandhan government.'
Nepal witnessed political turbulence in 2022 that dramatically turned rivals into allies and throned former guerrilla leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the prime minister for a third time, as Kathmandu made efforts to balance ties with immediate neighbours India and China with high-profile talks and visits.
Twenty-two proposals comprising 16 states and Union Territories and six ministries and departments have been shortlisted for participation in the parade after a series of five meetings.
What some of our leaders were up to on Thursday and Thursday.
Many factors like women, caste combination, education qualification, age and performance of the legislators will be taken into consideration before the formation of the Yogi government 2.0, sources said on Thursday. Several rounds of meetings have taken place within the party after the poll results came out on March 10.
Amid a series of deliberations over a strategy for upcoming general and assembly elections by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, a group of senior leaders of the Congress has given its recommendations to party president Sonia Gandhi and left it to her to take a call on them and initiate organisational changes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again led the BJP's campaign holding several rallies and stepping up his attack on Opposition parties, particularly the Congress.
Union Minister P Chidambaram has opted out of the Lok Sabha election with the party on Thursday night nominating his son Karti from his constituency Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu while another Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was brought as a candidate from Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir.
'We are seeing an era where only what Modi wishes is going to happen.' 'A clear message has now been sent to others that if this fate could befall on Nitin Gadkari, then just think what could happen to lesser mortals.'
Kishor posted a tweet 'thanking' Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for their 'formal and unequivocal' rejection of the NRC. He also reassured the people of Bihar that the CAA and NRC will not be implemented in the state. However, JD-U's ally BJP got rankled by Kishor's move and made contrary claims.
More and more Congressmen are breaking their silence and coming out in the open blaming party vice president Rahul Gandhi for the poll drubbing. Renu Mittal reports.
A weak and troubled United Progressive Alliance government has stumbled badly by issuing the ordinance to counter the fine judgment by the Supreme Court that forces the disqualification of lawmakers convicted for a criminal offence punishable with a jail term of over two years.
'The Congress has become two distinct parties, one of the durbar, the other of the field and if they keep drifting apart, death is a certainty,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'All appointments are from one family. And this is the fundamental difference between the Congress and the BJP'
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to rival leaders to "not do politics" over Chhath Puja, even as he asserted that the restrictions imposed on its celebrations at riverbanks and other public places were for the safety of people amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of "lecturing" as if he was the "cleanest of them all", Congress President Sonia Gandhi today advised him to read history again to know about the party's contribution in transforming the country since Independence from a poor state to a progressive nation.
The raids, taking place mainly in South India, was termed by the NIA as the 'largest ever' investigation process 'till date'.
10 women and six minors are among the injured, the officials said.
Here's an analysis of the style and strategy of the man who did the magic for Narendra Modi and then Nitish Kumar and whom the Congress has now hired.
Singh said the Indian Army doesn't conscript soldiers and that aspirants can join of their own volition.
Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister only till the time the BJP wishes, points out Ramesh Menon.
Counting of votes is underway in assembly byelection to 58 seats in 11 states including Madhya Pradesh where the results will decide the fate of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
The finance minister is "reasonably confident" that when it comes to the crunch, "it would be extremely difficult even for the Congress party to take a contrarian view" on the GST Bill.
The resolution praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and accused the opposition of 'opportunism' and a mindset of 'extreme hate'.
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