A political slugfest broke out on Wednesday between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cavalcade, in a major security breach, got stranded on a flyover, 30 km away from Hussainiwala in Punjab, as a group of protesting farmers blocked his route.
Congress chief had accepted the resignation of Punjab PCC chief Shamsher Singh Dullo, but had asked him to continue on the post till the appointment of the next PCC president.
Even as the assembly elections in Punjab are around the corner, Congress MP Preneet Kaur, wife of former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, continues to stay away from poll campaigning in Patiala.
For the last several weeks, both Channi and Sidhu have, directly or indirectly, made a case to be declared as the party's nominee for the top post.
Ahead of Amarinder Singh's resignation as Punjab chief minister on Saturday, over 50 Congress legislators from Punjab had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi seeking his replacement, highly placed party sources said.
Sidhu's meeting came days after he called Mann as a "rubber doll", alluding to the Opposition charge that the state government is being run by the Aam Aadmi Party leadership from Delhi.
The Supreme Court of India has repeatedly criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for exceeding its authority and misusing its powers. The latest rebuke came on Thursday, when the court accused the agency of 'crossing all limits' in a money laundering probe against a Tamil Nadu state-run liquor retailer. This follows a string of similar observations by the Supreme Court and high courts across India, raising concerns about the ED's investigative practices and the potential for misuse of its powers.
'The honourable prime minister virtually handpicked me for the Amritsar East seat.' 'Amit Shahji announced that if I am elected, the whole of Punjab will be drugs free.'
Panthic politics came easily to Parkash Singh Badal. But he was quick to abandon it when it became a problem, points out Aditi Phadnis.
"Making a person belonging to Dalit caste as the chief minister of Punjab is nothing but an election stunt. I have come to know through the media today that assembly elections in Punjab will be fought under a non-Dalit leader and not under Channi," Mayawati told newspersons in Lucknow
Both the BJP and Congress understand that coalitions and alliances are not just about numbers, but have symbolic value.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday. He will be given a state funeral with full state honors at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. Singh served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 and was known for his role in India's economic reforms. Leaders from across the political spectrum paid their respects to the departed leader, highlighting his contributions to the nation.
In its first list of 86 candidates, the Congress on Saturday gave the ticket to party MLA Gurpreet Singh GP from Bassi Pathana (SC) seat.
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
Gang member Lucky has taken responsibility for the murder, said Bhara.
Ahead of a crucial Congress Working Committee meeting, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said no one was taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Gandhi does and was fighting resolutely.
Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation from the Congress on Friday marked the most high-profile exit of one of the "Group of 23" (G-23) leaders, who had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi two years ago for a "collective and inclusive leadership" in the organisation, exposing the faultlines in the grand old party.
Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's health has become critical after 27 days of a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border protest site. Doctors attending to him have warned that he is at risk of cardiac arrest and multi-organ failure. Dallewal, 70, began his hunger strike on November 26 to pressure the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP on crops. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have issued a statement saying that Dallewal's immunity has become very weak due to the continuous hunger strike, putting him at risk of infection. Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met Dallewal at the protest site on Saturday evening and conveyed the concerns expressed by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding his health and well-being. The statement also said that candle marches will be taken out across the country on December 24 in support of Dallewal's hunger strike. On December 26, when Dallewal's fast will complete one month, symbolic hunger strikes will be held at tehsil and district levels.
Asked how many seats the Congress would fight on, Singh said they would be flexible in seat sharing.
Fearing defeat in the upcoming high-pressure polls, state Congress chiefs are reluctant to fight from their constituencies, eye a shift. Anita Katyal reports
In his resignation letter, Kishor stated that as he decided to take a temporary break from an active role in public life, he will not be able to discharge his duties as the principal advisor to the Punjab CM.
The Dhuri assembly seat is presently represented by Congress MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy.
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.
The Central Board of Film Certification, however, submitted that all the 13 changes including deletion of Punjab in the film title suggested by its Revising Committee were justified and proper.
The BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral election on Thursday, defeating the AAP-Congress alliance. Harpreet Kaur Babla of the BJP was elected as the new mayor, while the AAP-Congress alliance won the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The victory of the BJP candidate indicated that cross-voting took place during polling. The Supreme Court had previously overturned the result of the 2023 mayoral poll, which had seen the BJP candidate win despite allegations of tampering with ballots. The court had ordered prosecution of the returning officer for the poll, Anil Masih, a BJP leader, for his "misdemeanour." The court had also declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the new city mayor. This latest victory is a significant win for the BJP in the city and represents a setback for the AAP-Congress alliance.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister. Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls.
Bareta, who was one of the accused in the incidents related to the desecration of a religious text in Faridkot in 2015, was declared a proclaimed offender.
'It will be a mistake to imagine that Sidhu will be a permanent feature of the Congress' Punjab scene,' says Amulya Ganguli.
However, the scheme will be optional for the eligible beneficiaries, Mann said in a video message.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
Apart from Chamkaur Sahib assembly seat which comes in Maajha region of Punjab, Congress is all set to field CM Channi from Adampur assembly constituency which falls in the Doaba Region.
'They are completely corrupt and have introduced a mafia culture which has seen one family control the entire resources of the state.'
The "silence" of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on the attack on Lieutenant General (retired) Kuldeep Singh Brar is "seditious", Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh alleged on Wednesday. It is shocking that the chief minister has preferred to keep quiet on such a critical issue that is directly related to Punjab, he said.
After the Opposition, now Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and two MLAs of the party have questioned their government's decision of giving jobs to sons of two legislators and urged Chief Minister Amarinder Sigh to roll back the 'ill-advised' move.
Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann too questioned separately Gandhi's description of Channi as belonging to 'gareeb ghar', asking 'from which angle, is he poor'.
'His success confirms that the infirm 132-year-old party can still get to its feet if it allows regional leaders to come to the fore,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
This comes a day after he targeted the saffron party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, asking why they were not chanting 'Jai Siyaram' and 'Hey Ram'.
As Election 2024 hurtles towards result day in a medley of mangalsutra, mujra, mutton, machli and other barbs, these may sound like character names from Hindi comics of yore. Instead, these are the mocking, sometimes vicious monikers given by political rivals to each other.
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
