AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has once again ruled out an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, dismissing recent reports suggesting a tie-up between the two parties. Kejriwal, in a post on X, stated that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest the election on its own strength, reiterating his earlier stance. The recent buzz over an alliance between the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners was fueled by the cancellation of the Congress's "Nyay Chaupal" event, which was scheduled for Wednesday. Despite recent meetings between Kejriwal and other INDIA leaders, the AAP has maintained that it will fight the Delhi elections independently. The AAP has already released two lists containing the names of 31 candidates for the polls, with the remaining candidates expected to be announced soon. Meanwhile, the BJP is making all-out efforts to dethrone the AAP from the capital.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for tough decisions and unity within the party after the Congress suffered electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana. In a meeting with top party leaders, Kharge highlighted the need to strengthen the organization from the grassroots, fix accountability, and address internal bickering. He also urged leaders to remain united and avoid public criticism of each other. The Congress chief expressed concern over the party's performance in state elections despite a strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. He acknowledged the need to learn from the setbacks and improve the party's strategy and communication to counter its rivals' propaganda.
He termed the allegations as "just random statements" and demanded that people making such allegations should demonstrate how the EVMs can be "hacked"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the Congress stands 'badly exposed' in front of people for promising to them what the party knows it will never be able to deliver.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concerns about the Congress party's leadership role within the INDIA bloc, raising questions about their ability to justify their position. Abdullah highlighted a sense of disquiet among some allies, who feel the Congress isn't doing enough to earn its leadership position. While praising Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he also criticized the alliance's lack of consistent engagement and called for more structured communication to address potential disagreements. Abdullah's comments suggest underlying tensions within the opposition alliance, particularly regarding the Congress's electoral performance and seat distribution strategies.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has criticized the Congress party's objections to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), echoing the BJP's stance that questioning the machines' integrity is only acceptable when losing elections. Abdullah argues that parties should not contest elections if they don't trust the voting process. His comments highlight the growing friction between the National Conference and the Congress, their recent alliance partners in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Congress on Wednesday filed a police complaint over the recent statements of leaders belonging to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) targeting Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress on Friday hit out at the Election Commission after it rejected allegations over irregularities in the Haryana assembly polls, saying if the poll panel's goal is to 'strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality', then it is doing a 'remarkable job' at creating that impression.
Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala on Thursday said his party is ready to support the Congress in the Rajya Sabha election and ruled out any alliance with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana before or after the next assembly polls.
The KPCC made this decision simultaneously as Sarin announced a press conference in Palakkad, declaring his intention to work with the Left Democratic Front moving forward.
KC Venugopal mentioned that the Congress's goal is to diminish the BJP's representation in Uttar Pradesh by securing half of the seats in the state.
Industrialist and former MP Naveen Jindal quit the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday, saying he wants to contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda of 'Viksit Bharat'.
Modi referred to the Lok Sabha polls as a "Kurukshetra (battle)" in which "there is development on one hand and 'vote jihad' on the other".
Early trends from counting of votes on Tuesday threw up disappointing results for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections, which appears to be losing heavily in its strongholds of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan although it is expected to form the government with about 290 seats.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
Pradhan further said the opposition had a chance to raise this issue during the motion of thanks to the President's address and asserted the government was ready for any type of discussion.
According to a senior Election Commission official in Chandigarh, Panwar got 36 votes, while Sharma got 23 first preference votes and six transferred from the BJP, taking his tally to 29.
The BJP, which contested more seats this time than in 2019 but is likely to fall short of the magic figure of 272, garnered 36.91 per cent of the total votes polled, a drop of around 0.39 percentage points as of 6.15 pm.
uring the meeting at the Cecil Hotel in Shimla, discussions were being held and feedback taken from MLAs, sources said.
The returnees also included three independent MLAs, who too had landed in Panchkula on Tuesday after casting their votes in the Rajya Sabha election.
Describing it as 'Sankalp Patra', the party in its manifesto promised 33 per cent reservation to women in government jobs and private institutions in the state and free rides in Haryana roadways buses.
He also told reporters outside the state assembly complex here that the state police will seek help from central agencies on a possible Pakistan angle in the incident.
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 general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said like other states, the BJP started the game of using money power, power of the government and muscle power to destabilise the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh but has failed.
The charges under the UAPA have been imposed against Khan, the MLA from Ferozpur Jhirka, in a case registered at Nagina police station in Nuh.
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
"Special circumstances" exist in Punjab, Wasnik said and added that in view of these, the AAP and the Congress have decided to fight the Lok Sabha polls separately in the state.
'I hope that the day has not yet come to say good bye to party. But the way leadership is behaving with me, it doesn't seem far away,' Nirupam said in a tweet.
A case of criminal conspiracy, corruption practices and undue influence on election has been registered on the complaint of two Congress MLAs, police said on Sunday.
The petition was filed ahead of the Chandigarh mayoral polls on Thursday. The polls for the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held.
The Congress is hopeful of soon finalising the Lok Sabha poll seat-sharing arrangements with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) allies Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, sources said on Friday, days after the principal opposition party arrived at an understanding with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress has appointed observers to coordinate meetings of its legislature party in four states where assembly election results will be declared on Sunday.
Sharma's remark came a day after Grover and some other BJP leaders were held up for hours inside a temple complex in Rohtak's Kiloi as several villagers and farmers staged a protest outside.
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Assembly seats in which the victory margin was less than 1.5 per cent in the 2009 elections.
The 'war room' has been running since 2008, and all the important party meetings were held there.
For renomination to the Rajya Sabha, Nadda will have to look for a seat outside his home state of Himachal Pradesh as the Congress is in power there.
Cow vigilante Monu Manesar, who was booked by Rajasthan Police for the murder of two Muslim men in February and is also accused of inciting communal hatred in home state Haryana, was arrested Tuesday, officials said.
In a major organisational rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday appointed Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Sachin Pilot was made the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
The leaders of the two parties discussed the possibilities of seat sharing but did not divulge any details.
The Congress has developed cold feet on advancing the assembly elections in ruling state Haryana in October, when three other states of Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are also scheduled for the polls.
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