Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy is set to become the Kerala chief minister with Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday opting out of the race for the top post. A meeting of the senior party leaders held at the KPCC headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram unanimously decided Chandy should lead the United Democratic Front ministry. The Congress Legislature Party meeting scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram later on Sunday will formalise the decision
Even as the Congress Legislature Party is set to meet on Friday afternoon to elect the new Karnataka chief minister, at the moment, it appears that it would be a closely contested battle between Siddaramaiah and Mallikarjuna Kharge.
Hectic lobbying for the post of Karnataka's next chief minister is on ahead of the crucial Congress legislature party meeting to be held at 12.30 pm Friday in Bangalore.
The Congress on Saturday made a stunning comeback in Karnataka ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party from its lone southern citadel with a comfortable majority in a morale booster win that will be key for reviving its electoral fortunes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
State finance minister T Harish Rao began introduction of Budget 2022-23 soon after the House met, even as BJP floor leader T Raja Singh and others tried to draw the attention of Speaker Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy.
Hemant Soren staked claim to form the government and the swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held soon. If sworn in, Hemant Soren will be the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000.
Maharashtra Industries Minister Ashok Chavan will be the next chief minister of the state.The decision comes after long deliberations by the Congress high command, which on Wednesday had asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to resign, following the terror attack in Mumbai last week. Chavan has been nominated the leader of the state Congress Legislature Party by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on Friday.
Uproarious scenes on the concluding day of the special session on Thursday turned the West Bengal Assembly into a cauldron of chaos, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's speech was repeatedly drowned out by slogan-shouting, leading to the suspension of five Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs and the collapse of two legislators during forcible eviction by marshalls.
Trinamool Congress first timer Biman Bandopadhyay was today elected unopposed Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly. Leader of the House Partha Chatterjee proposed his name which was supported by the Chief Whip of Trinamool Congress Legislature Party Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.
A crucial meeting of the Congress Legislature Party to choose Goa's next chief minister got underway in Panaji on Thursday.
Pilot had claimed that the Ashok Gehlot government was in minority and more than 30 Congress and some independent legislators have pledged support to him.
Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang resigned on Wednesday just before the trust vote in the assembly, saying his government was unable to muster a majority. "Congress could not get the requisite support, so the Congress Legislature Party decided to resign," Lapang told reporters shortly after a CLP meeting on Wednesday morning. He said he was going to Governor S S Siddhu to submit his resignation.
Dorjee Khandu, who led the Congress to an absolute majority in the assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh, was on Saturday elected the Congress Legislature Party leader, paving the way for his second stint as chief minister. Khandu's election was announced by central observer V Narayanasamy after all the 42 Members of Legislative Assembly, in a resolution, authorised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take a decision on the leadership.
The MLA physically blocked the police vehicle, demanding Deshmukh's release, alleging biased action by the law enforcement officials.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the incident of Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad slapping an employee of a canteen at the MLAs' hostel in Mumbai sends out a wrong message about all legislators that they indulge in misuse of power.
BJP members, including the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, opposed the resolution, saying it was not part of the listed business.
He also said the expansion of his cabinet would take place once state Congress leaders get an approval from their high command.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Maharashtra authorised All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi to choose a new leader to succeed Ashok Chavan who resigned as chief minister in the wake of Adarsh Housing Society scam.
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
Addressing a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting at a resort in Jaisalmer, he said, "We are all democracy warriors. We are going to win this war and also win the (assembly) election after three-and-a-half years."
Rawat through his tweets on Wednesday had expressed anguish at the factionalism in the state unit and noted that thought has been crossing his mind that "it is time to rest".
Shinde was reportedly not happy as he had to cede the top post to the ally BJP, and was reluctant to take the deputy CM post.
'If the Congress gets to form the government in 2024, then Sonia Gandhi by virtue of being CPP chairperson will have the authority to decide who will be the prime minister and not Kharge.'
former union minister Renuka Chowdhury said the mandate was given to the party and it was natural for its MLAs to feel bitter about not being able to form the government.
Speaking to the media persons in Delhi on Sunday, the Rajya Sabha member said: "I have declined the offer to be the next Punjab CM. I believe Punjab CM face should be a Sikh."
The action comes two days after Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a key meeting and broke the ice by starting dialogue with some of the prominent 'letter-writers', who had earlier written to her demanding an overhaul of the party and an effective leadership.
A group photo taken at the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Jaipur ahead of Tuesday's legislature party meeting showed Bhajan Lal Sharma in the very last row.
All eyes are on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as top leaders converged at her 10, Janpath residence in New Delhi on Monday after a series of developments in the last 24 hours in Rajasthan, where a majority of the party MLAs have rebelled against Sachin Pilot and want Ashok Gehlot to continue as the chief minister.
The decision to change the leadership in faction-ridden ruling Congress in Meghalaya came just five days ahead of the budget session of the assembly.
Speculation has been rife that the Gandhi or his sister Priyanka could be projected as the Congress face in UP.
In a day of frantic developments, Digvijaya Singh entered the fray for the Congress president's election as Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot opted out of the race and the suspense over his continuation at the helm in the state deepened with the party saying it would be decided in a day or two.
With K Rosaiah stepping down as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, insiders say that Kiran Kumar Reddy, speaker of the Andhra Pradesh assembly, is the frontrunner of the post.
'By design or default, the BJP's election strategy militated against the very essence of Karnataka politics and the idea of Karnataka.'
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah was on Saturday nominated the Congress Legislature Party leader by party chief Sonia Gandhi, bringing down the curtains on the issue of sucessor to late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash more than two months ago.
Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangsamy resigned on Thursday, bringing an end to the month-long political uncertainty following a revolt by his cabinet colleagues against his leadership.Rangasamy tendered his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Govind Singh Gurjar at the Raj Nivas apparently on the directions from the Congress high command.Rangasamy was asked by the Congress high command to step down as chief minister after he failed to muster majority among the party legislators
Congress observers for Rajasthan on Tuesday recommended disciplinary action against three key loyalists of Ashok Gehlot but did not seek any action against the chief minister, as the party scampered to resolve the crisis that has cast a shadow on the election of the party president.
The 37 MLAs supporting him in the 60-member House, include 30 from his party, the Congress, four of the Communist Party of India and three from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, party sources said.
Senior Andhra Pradesh minister K Rosaiah is likely to be made the acting chief minister in the wake of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's death in a chopper crash. Highly placed Congress sources said the party was not in a hurry to convene the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party, to elect Reddy's successor, and the meeting could take place three or four days later.Rosaiah, 77, is Andhra's finance minister and the number two in the state cabinet.
The move comes after at least six Congress MLAs in Gujarat resigned from the party to join the BJP.
