A map showing the current political scenario of the country
Pawar on Wednesday visited the Congress office in Pune for the first time after he quit the Grand Old Party 23 years ago.
With Bharatiya Janata Party set to accomplish its Mission 25 of winning all seats in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje on Friday said 'good days' have arrived as the country is now 'free' from Congress.
Slamming as "fascist" Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's pitch for a "Congress Mukt Bharat", Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Monday reached out to all non-BJP parties on the plank of secularism.
Sonia wanted to know what happened to the institution of Lok Pal, the anti-graft watchdog that was proposed to be set up.
While the BJP distanced itself from the article, the TMC also rubbished allegations of "understanding with the saffron camp" but the Congress said that the "cat is now out of the bag".
While the Congress was a unifying force, the Left front was divisive, he said adding "wherever we go, we unify everybody. We are a unifying force. Wherever we go we identify everybody and unite them and make them strong".
All opposition parties should come together to get rid of the BJP-led NDA government to ensure "Modi-mukt Bharat", he said, reminding the audience of BJP's "Congress-mukt Bharat" slogan.
AICC general secretary Sachin Pilot has accused Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of following similar political approaches to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging a tacit understanding between the CPI(M) and the BJP in Kerala.
Congress says RSS was working for "Dalit-mukt Bharat" which was "sponsored" by BJP to polarise communities ahead of next year's Gujarat polls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has entered into post-poll alliances with rivals Congress and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in some municipal councils in Maharashtra, even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday rejected the tie-ups and warned of action against party leaders involved.
Apart from Kerala, in no state did the Grand Old Party scored in double digits.
Opposition parties and political analysts in Karnataka believe the 'truce' between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is temporary, a lull before the storm and a 'strategic adjustment'.
'The BJP is pouring in money so that only BJP candidates are visible everywhere.' 'If the Congress does not win this time, its survival itself will be a problem...'
Congress workers must feel what their BJP counterparts did in 2009, but that could change.
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's Sirsa candidate Rohtash Jangra on Monday said he has withdrawn his nomination and hinted that the party may back sitting MLA Gopal Kanda, who has been supporting the state government.
Priyanka Gandhi will strike a deal with Mayawati and not Akhilesh, says Nazarwala.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress on launched an all out attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "misleading" people on the WTO issue and ridiculed BJP over its "Congress phobia".
'This kind of poisonous and anti-national activities happening in the country and the economic failure of the Modi government may boomerang in the form of a Congress revival.'
'The BJP is no longer the BJP. It has become the Bharatiya Janata Poaching Party.' 'They talk of black money and here they are ready to pay Rs 100 crore to MLAs.'
Hailing the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi assembly polls victory as 'historic', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a stinging attack on the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, saying the country needs a serious political transformation and not politics of 'dhoort-ta (deceit) and moorkhta (foolishness)'.
'The Congress may have made mistakes, but their ideology is not wrong. India will not function if you do not believe in unity in diversity,' declares filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com reports from Lucknow.
It seems the Congress just does not have the energy and vitality to break through even in the states where it has a ground presence and the wind of anti-incumbency on its back, says Aakar Patel.
'Like it or not, the Congress is still the only party with the potential to challenge the BJP at a pan-Indian level,' says T V R Shenoy.
'Why has the phrase gone missing from Modi's vocabulary?' asks Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The Karnataka state executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party held on Friday in Bangalore spent a considerable amount of time discussing the election strategy, and more importantly, the return of Karnataka Janata Paksha chief B S Yeddyurappa into the party.
His fresh attack came a day after he said the government is coming up with 'excuses' to stop the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which is currently in Haryana and will enter the national capital on Saturday.
'Be it Shivraj Singh Chouhan or Raman Singh or Vasundhara Raje --- all of them would have won as it is. These are all leaders who would have won on their own. But the victory margins have been enriched by Modiji's campaign.'
Sibal also said the present dispensation wants an 'Opposition-mukt Bharat' not just a 'Congress-mukt Bharat'.
It would be best that Rahul remains party chief, but at the same time, Rahul's own wishes must also be respected, Aiyar said.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
BJP Meghalaya in-charge Chuba Ao said the party's 'Congress mukt campaign' is valid for the state and hence the party will seek clarification from the chief minister.
Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha said the "writing on the wall is clear" that the 'Mahagathbandhan' will be 'maha vijayi' (grandly victorious) as everyone can see the attraction and euphoria for the grand opposition alliance.
Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which were set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.
Just weeks ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Singh quit the Congress party on Tuesday and joined the BJP, in a setback for the grand old party.
Party will decide when the time was right to pass on the baton to Rahul Gandhi, says senior Congress leader Ambika Soni.
Making a no-holds-barred attack on Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said Narendra Modi needs to be "treated in a mental hospital" for talking "rubbish".
If it splits now, who takes what away and leaves what behind? asks Shekhar Gupta.
Modi said it was time to rid 'Devbhoomi', or the land of the gods as Himachal Pradesh is known, of monsters.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances