After the Congress' poor performance in all five states where Assembly elections were held, party workers staged a protest outside the party's headquarters, alleging that democracy was being "murdered" through EVMs.
The relaxation will be subject to existing instructions of state disaster management authorities and preventive measures imposed by concerned district authorities, it added.
The seven seats -- Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura -- went to poll on September 5.
With the assembly election results throwing up surprises, most exit polls got the outcome in Chhattisgarh and the scale of the Bharatiya Janata Party's win in Madhya Pradesh wrong.
The Election Commission on Tuesday appointed special observers for administrative, security and expenditure monitoring purposes in several states to ensure a level playing field during the upcoming elections.
Azad, who is a prominent member of the group of 23 leaders who had demanded organisational overhaul in the Congress, said that for the next two months the party is the top priority.
Amid signals of disgruntlement among a section of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka over the delay in expansion or reshuffle of the cabinet, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who will be on an official visit to Delhi on April 30, said on Thursday he has not thought about meeting the party high command for now.
Sidhu, who had been attacking the AAP-led government in the state over various issues including the law and order situation, said Punjab's resurrection was possible only with a collective effort.
Rahul Gandhi succeeds his mother Sonia Gandhi, who remained in the post for 19 years.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who is under pressure to expand or rejig his cabinet at the earliest, ahead of the assembly polls next year, on Friday said he would try to discuss in this regard with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is scheduled to visit Bengaluru on May 3.
There are concerns within the Congress with respect to the articulation of the party's demand for the caste census, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the grand old party of attempting to divide Hindus through its push for the Other Backward Classes.
People lined up in large numbers on both sides of the road to greet Modi.
All eyes are on the parties to see which of them can stake claim to power.
Centre took the line that it should not be presented in the middle of Assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur
The government, however, asserted that the Budget will be presented as scheduled, rejecting the opposition's allegations that it will impact the upcoming assembly elections.
The term of the Gujarat assembly ends on January 8 next year, and the state is expected to go to polls this December. Besides, elections are also due in Himachal Pradesh alongside Gujarat.
Rawat lost from Kichcha and Haridwar (Rural) seats.
Analysts caution a non-BJP government is not an impossible scenario. In case of a Modi-led coalition, they advise investors to focus on discretionary consumption, select private banks and financials, RIL, housing, and IT.
After the party's drubbing in the just-concluded assembly polls in five states, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked its state unit chiefs in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur to put in their papers.
The scarcity of resources is particularly evident in the case of Rajasthan compared to many other states.
The results will be seen as a virtual referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity after his demonetisation decision.
According to the poll panel, election campaign can now be conducted between 6 am and 10 pm instead of earlier 8 am to 8 pm.
Addressing the party's national executive, Nadda also reached out to Sikhs, who are in majority in poll-bound Punjab, by listing a number of measures the Modi government has taken for the community, including expediting action against 1984 riots accused, facilitating foreign grants to gurudwaras and keeping langars outside the review of the Goods and Services Tax.
International oil prices jumped to the highest level since 2014, topping $87 a barrel but domestic petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for the 74th day in a row - a freeze that may be linked to ensuing assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Brent - the key global oil benchmark - soared to $87.7 per barrel mostly due to rising geopolitical tensions and supply-side disturbances due to Yemen's Houthi group's attack on oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates. Also, global inventories are waning. The attack, some analysts believe, may lead to more hostile behaviour between the two power centres in the Middle East - Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Voting for by-elections to seven assembly constituencies of six states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tripura, West Bengal, and Jharkhand, started on Tuesday at 7 am.
With the party fielding three Union ministers, besides four other MPs, as candidates in the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, it may continue with the strategy in Rajasthan.
The ruling BJP in UP, however, lost Khatauli to Samajwadi Party ally Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of party general secretaries and state in-charges on March 26 to discuss organisational elections, the party's membership drive and the current political situation besides planning agitational programmes.
The Congress also asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc had been formed for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections at the national level and was not state specific.
Sources said that Congress leaders, including Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, AK Antony, Ambika Soni and Randeep Surjewala, are also taking part in the meeting at Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence.
The Congress should take the lead in resolving differences of opinion within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and show 'large-heartedness' in seat sharing to emerge as a viable alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming elections, according to some opposition leaders.
For the BJP, Telangana is a sunrise state in the South, while Karnataka is a southern success despite the ups and downs.
Rahul Gandhi's focus will be on his Nyay Yatra, rather than the INDIA bloc's election campaign, leading to speculation among allies that the Congress leader is already looking at the Opposition's fight beyond May 2024.
On the eve of the final phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani reviews the political landscape in the epicentre and beyond.
Addressing a press conference, Pawar said the trends of the assembly polls (in five states set to be held in November) suggest the situation is favourable for the opposition, but added he had no authentic information to comment on whether there would be a change (in government) at the national level.
The Winter Session of Parliament usually starts in November. However, it would be the second year in a row when it would begin in December.
The Congress Working Committee, the party's top-decision making body, would soon meet to deliberate further on the Chintan Shivir plans, the sources said.
Several parties had requested that the session, which was originally scheduled to continue till April 8, be curtailed due to the five assembly elections being held in eight phases till April 29.
Rampur Sadar and Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh, Padampur in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar and Bhanupratappur in Chhattisgarh are the assembly seats where the bypolls are being held.
A handsome victory for the BJP in UP would act as confirmation of its recent political choices. The UP chief minister would be cemented in the popular mind as Mr Modi's chosen heir within the Hindutva fold, and presumably as his successor in New Delhi, observes Mihir S Sharma.
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