Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said she declined the offer of the Bharatiya Janata Party to contest elections pleading that she did not have the 'kind of funds' required for fighting the Lok Sabha polls.
The outgoing BJP government had 12 cabinet ministers, including Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
Top Congress leaders held deliberations on Saturday at the first meeting of the new Congress Working Committee (CWC) focusing on preparing a comprehensive road map for ensuring the party's victory in the upcoming assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Some of Independents claimed that the Congress and the BJP have been in touch with them.
With Charanjit Channi's selection as Punjab CM, the Congress has got its opponents thinking seriously about their next move, notes Sanjeev Nayyar.
Kumar, who hosted the first such meeting, said they were working in the national interest and accused the BJP of acting against the national interest as it was trying to change the country's history.
On November 3, Negi had cast his vote for the state's assembly polls through postal ballot, the Election Commission said.
Hemantkumar Shivsaran compares the number of rallies held by the BJP leadership in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
The result in Gujarat was not as grand as the saffron party had expected as the party did not even cross its 2012 tally.
After the Gujarat and Himachal elections and the municipal polls in Mumbai and Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh will elect new assemblies next year leading up to the Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024, points out Virendra Kapoor.
Gandhi said the Chouhan government had not even spared gods, referring to winds on May 28 damaging six idols in the Ujjain's Mahakal Lok corridor, the first phase of which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year.
Contests in 13 seats would attract most attention during the Chhattisgarh assembly elections as they feature prominent leaders of the Congress and BJP.
IOA's ad-hoc committee, tasked with conducting the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections, on Monday called five disputed state bodies for a hearing on June 21.
Congress is the only other horse in the race for national power, never mind how distant. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah know better than to take the Congress lightly, observes Shekhar Gupta.
He said the people are looking for an alternative and the Congress' victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka elections are clear proof of this.
"Whoever said all those words you mentioned, I did not respond in kind because it is not the way I am built and we now have to move on, let bygones be bygones, whatever was said, we need to forget and move forward. It is not about individuals or positions or someone's statements now. It is about the country and the party," Pilot said.
A week after assuming power in Karnataka, the Congress on Friday released the list of 24 legislators who will be sworn-in as ministers to fill up all the vacant ministerial positions.
Incessant rains unleashed more death and destruction on Monday in parts of north India, with 37 people killed in landslides and other rain-related incidents in the last two days even as the Army and NDRF teams stepped in to intensify the relief and rescue operations.
The emphatic victory in all three municipal corporations in Delhi will enthuse the party to keep its winning trajectory for the next polls, reports Sahil Makkar.
'Kejriwal tries to project that his party is not Hindu virodhi.'
The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee is keen to field senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Varanasi and will soon send a proposal in this regard to the top leadership, said newly appointed party's state president Ajay Rai on Sunday.
The agency has issued a provisional order attaching the farmhouse located in south Delhi's Mehrauli area under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It said the book value of the asset is Rs 6.61 crore but its market value is "worth Rs 27 crore and is in the name of Maple Destinations & Dreambuild".
After a resounding victory in Punjab polls, the Aam Aadmi Party will hit the ground in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat which will go to polls in November this year.
Virbhadra Singh, who steered the Congress to power in Himachal Pradesh, will be sworn in as chief minister for the sixth time in a function at historic Ridge Ground in Shimla on December 25.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma scotched speculation about his meeting with BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday, saying if he had to, he would do so openly as they both hailed from Himachal Pradesh and studied at the same university.
The AIMIM chief claimed top leadership of the Congress has "ignored" important elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The former Union minister and Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma on Wednesday said that the party needs revival and which is possible with collective efforts.
With the D-day for the polls drawing closer, Modi upped the ante against the Siddaramaiah government addressing four back to back rallies at Gadag, Tumakuru, Shivamogga and Mangaluru.
"The agenda as published at the moment, is much ado about nothing - all this could have waited till Winter session in November. I am sure the legislative grenades are being kept up their sleeves to be unleashed at the last moment as usual. Parde ke peeche kuch aur hai!" he said.
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The fact that Gehlot has stayed relevant these five years with his populist schemes is one reason why he may beat incumbency in a state that votes for change every election, observes Ramesh Menon.
Leaders of several like-minded opposition parties are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday in Bengaluru.
As initial trends indicated a Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh, party veteran Virbhadra Singh said on Thursday that he had put in his "best efforts" in the polls and it was for Sonia Gandhi to decide the party's chief minister.
While the Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Telangana by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Mizoram by the Mizo National Front.
Chief ministers of 3 Congress-ruled states, other national and state party leaders are also likely to accompany Rahul to the court.
A map showing the current political scenario of the country
Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attended the swearing in ceremony, while former AICC President Sonia Gandhi was absent. Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukku (Himachal Pradesh) and several top party leaders were also in attendance.
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