In a close race to power in four states, a pre-poll survey released Friday today shows Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party tied in Rajasthan but the saffron party having an edge in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Needing 46 seats to secure a simple majority in the 90-member state assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party led in 52 seats pushing the Congress to distant second place with a lead in 33 seats, as per the official website of the state election commission.
The former Union minister asserted that an objective analysis of the political situation will lead to the conclusion that the Congress has to be the "pole" around which Opposition unity in the 2024 Lok Sabha election can be built.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday visited the family of slain Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel at his native Nadeli village in Raigarh district and assured them of justice and his full support.
The party raised concern over the security of Electronic Voting Machines inside strong rooms and their handling during the counting process in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the alleged deletion of voters in Uttar Pradesh.
The move comes a day after the government called a special session of Parliament between September 18 and 22, the agenda for which is under wraps.
"Objectively, it is only the Congress that has a footprint, shall we say, in eight to 12 states. So to have healthy democracy in which one party does not steamroll the Opposition, the kind that India experienced from the late 1970s till 2014, to revive that, to restore it, which I believe would be very good for all of us, it would depend a lot on the Congress becoming more competitive," he claimed.
The BJP leader said Congress leaders "flouted law" by starting protests on the Delhi airport tarmac and endangered the lives of fellow passengers. People were inconvenienced by the Congress' protests, he said.
What some of our leaders were up to on the first day of November...
A total of 10 women candidates, one less than last time, have emerged victorious in Chhattisgarh Assembly polls where the saffron party is back in power for the third time.
In the months to come, the skies above promise to be a captivating theatre of action, where helicopters play starring roles, ferrying leaders, and echoing the pulse of democracy.
Congress leader Pawan Khera was on Thursday arrested by Assam Police in connection with a first information report (FIR) over alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the action coming soon after he was deplaned from a flight to Raipur where he was going to attend the party's plenary session.
The TV news anchor arrested and released on bail over a misleading video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was not named as an accused in the first information report (FIR) lodged by the Uttar Pradesh, just minutes before they reached his home in Ghaziabad.
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ajit Jogi on Monday made a formal announcement to float a new political outfit.
The situation in Manipur and the Delhi services ordinance are set to dominate the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning Thursday with the Opposition gearing up to raise these issues to corner the government.
The National Investigation Agency, which will probe the shocking Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh, is seeking information about an operative named Gaganna alias Ramesh. The preliminary investigation has revealed that Gaganna was the leader of the operation.
Ramesh stressed that the prime minister should participate in the debate on Manipur.
The winter session will begin on December 7 and will last until December 29.
Pitching for forest rights of tribals, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi attacked the Centre and the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Chhattisgarh, accusing both of working "just for two-three industrialists" and not passing on the benefits of development to locals.
Minister Rajesh Munat has filed a complaint against state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel and senior journalist Vinod Verma for allegedly tarnishing his image through a "fake" sex CD.
In an apparent message to the G23, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said she is a full-time, hands-on party president and there is no need for leaders to speak to her through the media.
BJP president J P Nadda also appointed former Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill its national spokesperson.
Sonia Gandhi had tested positive for COVID-19 in early June as well.
Ajit Pawar was seen as an heir-apparent in the NCP, but his dalliances with the Bharatiya Janata Party, including an early morning swearing-in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister along with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in 2019, had not been received well by the party.
Amid speculation about the agreement to be the chief minister of the state just for two-and-a-half years, Baghel said, "The high command instructed me to take the oath (as chief minister), so I took the oath. When they will say someone else will be the chief minister, then it will be so. Such agreements happen in a coalition government."
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday scored a hat-trick of victories in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, winning 49 of 90 seats, thwarting the Congress' bid to wrest power after a decade.
Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his corruption jibe at the Opposition, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused him of running a "bhrashtachari bhagao abhiyan" (make the corrupt flee campaign), and said that he must stop his image makeover by posing as an anti-corruption crusader.
Soren described the police firing as 'inhuman' and 'barbaric'.
Senior Congress leader A K Antony, assisted by All India Congress Committee general secretary and former Union minister Mukul Wasnik mket party leaders from Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and held meetings daily and interacted with leaders individually
As the party moves forward into the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it not only needs to strengthen the state units and reach out to the grassroots level, but also forge alliances with like-minded parties.
Sibal, a prominent Opposition voice and a former Congress leader, also said that instead of a common minimum programme, the Opposition parties should talk about a 'new vision for India'.
One of the ministers said they are going back to Ranchi for a Cabinet meeting scheduled on Thursday.
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.
Senior Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, are accompanying Rahul Gandhi to the court.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said he has never owned a house and noted that this experience had helped him 'change' his Bharat Jodo Yatra and connect with the people.
'If Rahul Gandhi's authority was absolute, he could have picked his man.' 'Compare this with the ease with which outsiders like Adityanath, Khattar and Fadnavis were picked.'
The BJP's challenge is whether it can again deflate a Congress, which now looks reinvigorated and has adopted sharper messaging around its 'guarantees', and several regional parties, especially in Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
The ruling MLAs took part in the meeting called by Soren with their luggage before leaving for unknown destination.
Chhattisgarh Congress on Sunday released a 20-point "charge sheet" against Raman Singh government, accusing it of failing to tackle Naxalism and practising corruption.
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