Among all Joshi's other portfolios -- he is also minister for coal and mines -- it is parliamentary affairs that is politically the most crucial. But to make a success of his job, he may have to hone his people skills a bit more, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Even if the BJP gets 60, 70, or even 100 per cent of the votes in the seats where it scored more than 50 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, these will still add up to only 224 seats, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Another meeting convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday with the floor leaders of the INDIA constituents in Parliament will, however, go ahead according to its schedule to formulate the opposition strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday stepped in to ensure cabinet ministers don't keep their junior ministers idle but give them more work to do.After reading out her written speech in the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, Gandhi made an unusual impromptu addition over this issue. According to insiders, Gandhi -- in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and most of the Congress cabinet ministers -- pitched for Ministers of State.
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Politics is a game of public perception and my father felt that by his long disappearances, Rahul Gandhi was losing the battle of perception.'
Gandhi's remarks drew massive protests from the treasury benches and a rare intervention from the prime minister, who slammed the Congress leader for calling the entire Hindu community violent.
With the monsoon session being a washout, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday directed the National Democratic Alliance members of Parliament to fan across the country to "expose" the Congress whose disruption of Parliament he equated with Emergency when the party wanted power to be concentrated in one family.
On the day of polling in the high-profile Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh on Friday, the city's mayor Vikram Ahake, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, urged people to vote for Congress' Nakul Nath.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said the decision to field his wife for Rajya Sabha bypoll was taken by his Nationalist Congress Party's apex body and denied reports that senior colleague Chhagan Bhujbal was upset over the move.
He said the people are looking for an alternative and the Congress' victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka elections are clear proof of this.
With the remarks of the Thackerays against North Indians and stray attacks on them in Mumbai raising a huge controversy, Congress president Sonia Gandhi disapproved "bigoted provincialism", maintaining that internal migration only strengthens national integration.
The Common Minimum Programme will also be made public on Wednesday.
'Who are Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti to issue certificates?'
He told PTI in an interview that parties that are still thinking of 'being the leader' of a possible united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls have not understood the gravity of the situation at all.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
Two-time chief minister and five-time MLA Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy has once again demonstrated his political acumen by bagging a seat in the union council of ministers, despite his party joining the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance just last year.
At the meeting, Gandhi described bills on Food Security and Women's Reservation as 'most important' legislative agenda of the government.
Referring to next month's elections in Goa, she said there too Congress was confronting the BJP whose single point programme was communal polarisation.
When several opposition MPs expressed their desire to ask questions about the Centre's vaccination policy such as increasing the gap between two doses, the BJP MPs strongly opposed it and few of them even demanded postponement of the meeting and walked out, the sources said.
Party sources said Sonia, addressing the CPP, the first in the Budget session, faulted the main opposition for its stalling tactics in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
'If things don't work on the ground and they continue moving at this pace, it will vanish.'
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari attributed the party's poor performance in Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal to lack of support from the minority community, asserting that 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' was unnecessary and proposing instead 'Hum unke saath jo humare saath' (we are with those who are with us).
"I want to send you my good wishes that you prepare so much that you get a chance to bring a no-confidence again in 2023," he had said while replying in Lok Sabha to the no-confidence motion in 2019, ahead of the general elections.
The event is set to witness a lot of fireworks as it provides yet another opportunity to a section of ruling party critical of the UPA regime's economic policies.
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Recalling an incident, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari revealed that his friend once suggested him to join the Congress but he declined the offer saying that he would prefer to jump into a well rather than joining the party.
Rajnath came down heavily on the National Conference-Congress alliance over its poll promise of restoring Article 370 and said it is impossible as long as the BJP is there.
Kangana later apologised saying she didn't mean to hurt anyone, and it was a harmless joke about Biden being friends with the Dalai Lama.
Congressmen can expect and tolerate anything in the world, but not impropriety against any member of the Gandhi-Nehru family.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership in Himachal Pradesh is making efforts to mollify party leaders who are disgruntled over distribution of tickets to six Congress rebels for the assembly bypolls, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said on Tuesday.
'The Congress is solely responsible for the situation that has arisen in Surat'
Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party in New Delhi, Gandhi referred to the Group of Ministers set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the preparations for the Games, and termed the CWG as a matter of national pride
Unrest in Kashmir and Commonwealth Games preparations are expected to find a mention when Congress President Sonia Gandhi addresses a meeting of Congress Parliamentary Party in New Delhi on Thursday.
The suspense over whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the polls from Amethi and Raebareli respectively continued.
Jaitley's concerns are unlikely to cut much ice with the Congress.
All 13 candidates in the fray in Indore against Lalwani, who won by a potentially record margin votes, lost their security deposit, indicating they were clearly rejected by the voters. If a candidate gets fewer than one-sixth of the total valid votes cast in a constituency, his/her security deposit is seized by the EC.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recognised Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition on Wednesday, a day after the Congress communicated its decision to name him for the position to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Sources said senior leaders of the party have been told to reach out to other leaders of the alliance and talks with some parties have begun.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
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