The chief minister, who had tested positive for COVID on January 10, today resumed his day-to-day work from office, after recovery.
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury while making these points however, spoke out against any need for change in the top leadership of the party, stating that both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have been 'trying wholeheartedly'.
Petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday were hiked for the sixth time this month, propelling prices to cross the Rs 100-a-litre-mark in places from Nanded in Maharashtra to Rewa in Madhya Pradesh to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Petrol price was hiked by 27 paise a litre and diesel by 30 paise per litre, according to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers. The increase took petrol and diesel prices to their highest-ever level across the country. In Delhi, petrol now comes for Rs 91.80 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 82.36.
After its resounding defeat in the assembly polls in five states, the Congress on Thursday said the results are contrary to its expectations, but it accepts the people's mandate.
It is likely that the party's allies in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, two of the five states going to the polls in April-May, might insist on allocating fewer seats than they did in 2016, reports Archis Mohan.
A senior party leader on the condition of anonymity said the CWC meeting will be called next week although the agenda is to be worked out and finalised.
Labelled as the semi-final before the big Lok Sabha poll, assembly elections in five states will set the tone for summer of 2019.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of tax cuts on petroleum products, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said people were aware of the fact behind the issue and pointed out at his government effecting a Rs 3 a litre cut on petrol earlier.
Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Sunday said that his party has supported the decision of the Election Commission to restrict opinion polls, and added that opinion polls create delusions and mislead people.
The sub-quota scheme may now lead to a ganging up of non-Vanniyars in individual constituencies against the Vanniyars just as in the past, such ganging up against SC-ST candidates was seen in the non-quota constituencies, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
He said the bearer bonds can be purchased by corporate donors and donated to political parties without revealing their identity.
The prime minister made the charge at a rally in Ajmer just ahead of the announcement of assembly election dates for Rajasthan and four other states in November and December.
Can Mamata Banerjee unite the Opposition?
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked stakeholders like the Centre, Niti Aayog, Finance Commission and the Reserve Bank of India, to brainstorm on the 'serious' issue of freebies announced during elections and put forth 'constructive suggestions' to tackle it, saying no political party will oppose such handouts or like to debate it in Parliament.
In Indian elections today, India's Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath says, "Muscle Power has been replaced by 'Money Power,'" adding that the Election Commission's greatest dilemma is worrying about how the media can be prevented from influencing the outcome in the coming general election.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Election Commission to explore the possibility of introducing Vote Verifier Paper Audit Trail in EVMs to maintain paper record of each vote for upcoming assembly polls in five states and next general election in 2014.
He, however, did not give any date for the proposed challenge which he announced in his opening remarks at the meeting.
With the announcement of poll schedule for five states, the Election Commission has directed the authorities to enforce the model code of conduct strictly and also asked parties in power to ensure that there is no cause for complaint.
The BJP parliamentary board made the decision in an hour-long meeting attended among others by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah.
If the Congress manages to upset its dominant rival, the BJP, in these assembly polls, then it will be a big boost to the opposition for the Lok Sabha polls, while a good show by the BJP will energise its cadres and give a fillip to its hopes of retaining the power at the Centre in 2019.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the three farm laws, which have now been repealed, were a big reform after 70 years of freedom which was not liked by some people and the government has moved 'a step back' and will 'move forward again' as farmers are the backbone of the country.
'It is a well-entrenched belief in the downtrodden, the deprived sections, that Modi cares for them. He has come to occupy their mindspace as their messiah.' 'And it is this deprived, dispossessed section that is powering his electoral performance, breaking ancient shibboleths and shackles like religion and caste and region and language,' argues Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Friday said the Congress had no clear policy on countering Naxalism, and it was the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Chhattisgarh which showed the way on how to tackle the ultras.
Reacting sharply to Banerjee's fulminations, the Congress struck back pointing out that Prime Minster Narendra Modi's and her stand were similar, with one seeking a 'Congress 'Mukt' (Free) India' and the other, an 'Opposition coalition sans Congress'.
A day after the Congress brainstormed over its electoral reverses, senior leader M Veerappa Moily on Monday said Sonia Gandhi should take "full control" of the party with a free hand to change non-performing leaders, and asserted that a "mere culture of tweets and social media propaganda" would not take the organisation forward.
Raje said the electricity infrastructure in the state was in bad shape when she came to power, adding that the government turned the situation around by infusing nearly Rs 40,000 crore.
Singhdeo was the main architect of the Congress party's poll manifesto, which he said was made after feedback from about 80,000 people from across the state.
Sarma, after being elected unanimously as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance legislature party, said in his address that he was grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda, Sonowal and all other party leaders for giving him an opportunity to serve the people of the state, and pledged to carry out his duties with "dedication and honesty".
The counting for all five states will be held on March 11.
The EC communication to the national and state parties added: 'The Commission will take stern actions for any violation under all powers available.'
Elections 2024 is not as open and shut as has been presumed. There is some life left in it, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sidhu was in Patiala to take part in a protest against inflation when the Supreme Court verdict came in.
The government rejected the contention on Friday that it has developed any second thoughts on the issue of Telangana, saying that the process with regard to its creation is underway and won't be affected by assembly elections in five states.
"You don't change party leadership for losses in one or two elections. The leadership is ideology. They make teams. Our team failed there (in UP)," he said.
The prime minister may go for new faces with an eye on grooming younger leaders while also factoring in caste and regional balances
The Uddhav Thackeray-led regime is performing a veritable balancing act. The lack of coordinated strategies, the weakening authority of the leadership, growing disgruntlement among its constituents, the inability to set a narrative, and poor damage control mechanisms have seen it lurch from one crisis to another, reports Dhaval Kulkarni
Counting of votes for the high stakes assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry began on Thursday morning with trends expected to be available by 11am.
The chief minister will arrive in Agra on Friday night and visit the calamity-hit areas on Saturday morning, Principal Secretary Information Avanish Awasthi said.
The plea said there should be a total ban on such populist measures to gain undue political favour from voters as they violate the Constitution and the ECI should take suitable deterrent measures.
Without doubt, the BJP is miles ahead in marshalling digital tools for electioneering better than any other party, observes Virendra Kapoor.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances