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.
'Ajit Pawar is trying to sideline us; he is trying to be in the BJP's good books at our cost.'
Pilot, who is also the president of the state unit of the party, on Tuesday night claimed he has the support of 30 MLAs and the Gehlot government is now in minority.
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.
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.
Faced with brewing dissidence by a section of party MLAs, the ruling Congress party in Assam have taken every precaution possible to ensure victory of both the party candidates, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ,on May 30 Rajya Sabha polls from the state
Congress leaders Siddarmaiah and G Parameshwara are likely to leave with a host of other senior leaders to meet with party high command in New Delhi to hold discussions about the Karnataka elections.
The assembly also witnessed a brief adjournment after the ruling alliance members pointed to remarks of Jarange and alleged there was a conspiracy to create unrest in the state.
'I have faith in the party high command. I have certain principles. I can also take about 50 legislators and do the shouting, but for me the discipline of the party is important. If people like us don't follow things, there won't be any discipline in the party. I have said that if the high command gives me the responsibility, I will take it up. I have not said I won't'
Porbander Member of Legislative Assembly Arjun Bhai Modhwadia was on Tuesday appointed the new president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee after his predecessor Siddharth Patel resigned from the post.The appointment of Modhwadia, a former Congress legislature party chief, comes after prolonged deliberations by the party leadership to finalise the candidate for the post, who will command the party in the state ruled by BJP Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Y S Vijaya Lakshmi, widow of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was on Thursday unanimously elected as the leader of YSR Congress Legislature Party.
As soon as the House reassembled, Sarma stood to give his reply, which was objected by all opposition members saying "the matter was over".
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
The political drama in Rajasthan over leadership change continued on Monday with MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot remaining non-committal on holding a meeting with Congress observers, who are likely to return to Delhi to apprise the high command about the developments.
With assembly polls in Gujarat scheduled next year, the Congress on Friday opened a new front against Chief Minister Narendra Modi by petitioning President Pratibha Patil for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged corruption of Rs 1 lakh crore during his tenure.
Amid speculation over Congress leader Sachin Pilot's next move, sources close to him on Tuesday said he was firm on his demands, including action against alleged corruption during the previous Vasundhara Raje government, and was waiting for a definitive response from the party high command.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday reiterated that he will stop drinking water from Wednesday evening if his demand for reservation to the Maratha community is not fulfilled by the Maharashtra government.
Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal has launched a veiled attack on party president Ajit Pawar, claiming that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was in favor of his induction in the cabinet. Bhujbal expressed his disappointment and humiliation over his exclusion, alleging that he was treated like a "toy" by the party leadership. He also alleged that Ajit Pawar makes decisions for the NCP like Fadnavis does for the BJP and Eknath Shinde does for the Shiv Sena.
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the three ruling allies in the state will retain their existing constituencies while deciding a seat-sharing formula for the coming assembly elections.
Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday night had a meeting with party MPs, district presidents, Pradesh Congress Committee chief and Congress Legislature Party leader of West Bengal to discuss the strategy for the upcoming assembly polls in the state.
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".
Singh, along with five cabinet ministers, were administered oath by Governor La Ganesan.
In the coming assembly election, negotiations over seat-sharing will be as important as actual outreach to voters.
The incident occurred late Saturday night at the resort where the Congress MLAs are hunkered down since Friday in a move to keep the flock together against alleged bid to topple the ruling coalition by BJP, according to Congress sources.
United Progressive Alliance Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee is expected to file four sets of nomination papers signed by top UPA leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.
Five Goa Congress MLAs, who went incommunicado a day before, attended the state assembly proceedings on the first day of the monsoon session on Monday, and claimed there was 'nothing wrong' in the opposition party.
Reaching out to arch rival Communist Party of India - Marxist, the Trinamool Congress on Thursday invited outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, to be headed by Mamata Banerjee.Deputy leader of the Trinamool Congress legislature party Partha Chatterjee met Bhattacharjee at his Palm Avenue residence in Kolkata and invited him for the ceremony.Chatterjee invited both Bhattacharjee and his wife Meera.
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."
Two days after being sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as an MLA along with deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi boycotted the ceremony alleging EVM misuse.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has made it clear that there was no proposal to recommend dissolution of the state assembly.
Facing heat from dissidents, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin on Monday tendered his resignation to the governor, paving the way for a new incumbent for the post. A new Congress Legislature Party leader is likely to be elected on Tuesday by All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi and will be subsequently sworn in as the new chief minister, party sources said.
Offering to trade second preference votes with the Congress, Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said his main agenda is to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the contest for fourth seat, during the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka.
The Congress on Monday appointed the party's Punjab unit chief Navjot Sidhu as chairman of the state election committee.
The governor accepted Kumar's resignation, and asked him to continue as caretaker CM till a new government is formed, they said.
'These frequent visits show the BJP fears that the Congress will retain power.'
The legislators landed at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi in a chartered flight and were taken to the Circuit House in the city in two buses.
Upset over not getting a Lok Sabha ticket, former Bihar Congress chief Mehboob Ali Kaiser could join Lok Janshakti Party, led by Ram Vilas Paswan, in a couple of days.
The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party in a ruling alliance? Yes, this unique scenario is currently playing out in Nagaland where Congress and the BJP legislators are now part of the same ruling alliance headed by Nagaland People's Front.
The Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday stressed that the party would fight the Rajasthan assembly polls "unitedly" and said that a decision on who would lead the next government would be taken by the high command after consultations with the newly-elected MLAs.