Here are the 10 key issues likely to be the centre of discussion in the seven-phase general elections that begin on April 19.
The Congress party may have its eyes firmly set on the Bharat Jodo Yatra, but it kept its fingers crossed as it waited for Thursday's counting of votes for the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Extending its winning run in the south, the Congress on Sunday won 64 assembly seats to form government in the Bharat Rashtra Samiti-dominated Telangana, with the southern solace coming in the midst of a saffron sweep of the Hindi heartland where the Bharatiya Janata Party wrested two states from the grand old party and retained one.
The Congress leader, who resigned as the chief minister Sunday night, emerged victorious in the Patan assembly seat, defeating BJP candidate Vijay Baghel by 19,723 votes in the state assembly elections held last month.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday clinched a stunning hat-trick win in Haryana overcoming anti-incumbency and dashing Congress' hopes of a comeback while the National Conference-Congress combine pulled off a spectacular victory in maiden elections in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
NCP's Kandhal Jadeja was the only MLA to win from the party.
Against predictions by most exit polls that the ruling Congress had an edge in the state, the BJP banked heavily on the charisma of the PM.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the party said that while on the one hand the Bharatiya Janata Party has already started preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is in dire straits.
The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially.
Dev had been serving as the national spokesperson of the Congress and its women's wing chief.
In her article, Sonia Gandhi underlined that the next few months will be a crucial test of India's democracy and that the country is at the crossroads with the Modi government bent on "misusing every power" and elections approaching in several key states.
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
Singh defeated Bharatiya Janata Party's Dara Singh Chauhan in the bypoll to the Ghosi Assembly constituency in Mau district with a margin of 42,759 votes on Friday.
Polling is underway to elect 119 members of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, with voters queuing up to exercise their franchise amid tight security on Thursday.
Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist from Karnataka, has become the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.
Sources said the Congress, which has 19 legislators in the Bihar assembly, will go by what the Rashtriya Janata Dal decides and its presence will help strengthen the coalition.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is arriving in New Delhi on Thursday for a four-day visit during which she is likely to meet senior leaders and attend a Niti Aayog meeting on August 7, sources said.
Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh.
The Congress seems to be heading for the Karnataka polls so far on the strength of its local leadership and focusing on issues concerning the state, making corruption a central theme of its campaigning.
Polling will take place in 3,328 polling booths, out of which 1,100 are sensitive and 28 are categorised as critical.
Chowdhury stung Sibal for "giving sermons from AC rooms" and said disgruntled members may join other parties or float their own outfits.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Friday hit out at the Congress for blaming the anti-incumbency of his four-and-half-years tenure for the poor show in assembly polls, saying the party's leadership will never learn.
Former United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday is cruising towards winning the race for the White House in one of the greatest political comebacks in American history by almost defeating his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in an election that virtually divided the country into two camps.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with several party leaders, embarked on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari on Thursday, marking the beginning of a challenging journey through which the party is seeking to reach out to people and rejuvenate its organisation.
'If the Congress party wants to take on the BJP it cannot do it in this fuddy-duddy, grand old party, style.'
The Congress, which is not very keen on having an alliance with the TMC, called it 'an untrustworthy ally', which is trying to grow at its expense.
I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind," he wrote on Twitter sharing his brief resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi.
Savadi would now be the grand old party's candidate in Athani in Belagavi district, Congress leaders said.
Voting came to an end for the Karnataka assembly elections on Wednesday at 6 pm with data showing a voter turnout of 65.69 per cent an hour ago.
Diwan said he has approached the Guinness Book of World Record for making Gandhi internationally famous.
In private, questions are being raised about the wisdom of a 'dual-SIM' leadership during the long run-up to the 2026 assembly polls where 'family rule' could become an election issue, reports N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tharoor said people of the country have the freedom to watch or not watch the BBC documentary on the 2002 riots and asked who can say the British broadcaster has no right to do a story on the topic.
According to Congress, the five schemes are 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).
Asked whether the Congress will be a part of this confluence, he said, "I said that there will be sangam of people and thoughts. All answers are included in this."
The rear windscreen of a car carrying Rahul Gandhi was damaged during the ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', with West Bengal unit president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleging that the vehicle was "pelted with stones" in Malda district, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the incident took place in adjoining Bihar.
Kumar's comment comes days after a section of JD-U leaders in Uttar Pradesh announced that they would join the Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in the state.
'The greatness of India can be experienced by meeting Indians on the frontiers of India.' 'Every citizen on the border is a soldier'
Akbar said the next general election "will be won on the basis of governance and not on journeys".
Today even those who support Prime Minister Modi feel there is a certain sense of listlessness in this government. What is it intending to achieve? This is not easy to say, notes Aakar Patel.
As Azad ended his decades-old association with the party, leaders across political spectrum praised his contribution to Jammu and Kashmir, with the BJP hailing him as a "towering leader".
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances