Senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, in the race for the post of Congress president, not only possess contrasting demeanour but have had an equally disparate political journey.
"Rajasthan is the only state where no demand was raised to change the PCC president in seven years. We knew that nothing is happening here. We knew he is 'nikamma' (worthless) and 'nakara' (idle), still we did not question this in the interest of the party," Gehlot told reporters.
Mistry said the election authority is in the process of finalising the AICC delegates who will vote in the crucial election for the top party post.
Also, with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not in the running for the party president's post, a non-Gandhi would be at the helm after over 24 years following the polling on Monday and counting on Wednesday.
The MLAs supporting Pilot cannot stand the repeated undermining of Pilot, also the state PCC chief, by the Gehlot camp and the letter by the police's special operations group sent to the deputy chief minister was to "humiliate him", sources said.
Even when the Congress is facing the toughest challenge in its long history, it shows no sign of turning a new leaf and injecting internal democracy to revive its fortunes, argues Virendra Kapoor.
Amid questions over his future, many political observers believe he has enhanced his political stature.
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.
Sidhu told Gandhi that he is working hard and will work harder now, and that he will join his duty as Punjab Congress president, Rawat said.
The Congress will reach out to civil society members and like-minded political groups for the 'Bharat Jodo' yatra from October 2 for rallying support to combat polarisation and protect Constitution, democracy and various institutions, senior party leaders said on Thursday.
The top Congress leadership has not accepted Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation and adopting a wait and watch policy.
An OBC leader, Thakor, who has good oratory skills, will have to take along all factions in the state unit while taking on the well-organised BJP which has been in power in the state from 1998.
There's no doubt that now Captain Singh has no choice: A succession plan has been forced on him. He can sulk, or he can fight back. But the playing field is no longer as level as it was.
Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi confirmed that disqualification notices have been sent out Tuesday on the basis of the complaint made by the party. The dissidents have to reply by Friday.
Controversial Punjabi singer Sidhu Mussewala, who joined the Congress sometime ago will contest from Mansa and actor Sonu Sood's sister Malvika Sood from Moga.
Pilot's statement came amid reports of his discontentment with the Congress leadership.
It is clear that Kamal Nath is gearing up for the 2023 assembly polls, reports Sandeep Kumar.
"Congress state in-charge Harish Rawat is my good friend but who gave him the right to take such a big decision about Punjab at his level? What is the meaning of Captain's leadership now after the Kharge committee's decision to contest elections under Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi?" Congress MLA Pargat Singh said.
Sharma had on Monday slammed Congress' association with the ISF led by Muslim cleric Abbas Siddiqui in West Bengal, contending that it was against the "Gandhian and Nehruvian secularism" and the party cannot be selective in fighting "communalists".
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'.
This tweet came following Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's remark on July 15, when without naming Pilot, he said leaders from new generation have become Union ministers and state chiefs without much toil.
He also said that the party "cannot be selective in fighting the communists" and it must do so in all its manifestations, irrespective of religion and colour.
England's first-class county teams will be allowed to field two, rather than one, overseas-registered player in next season's domestic championship and Royal London Cup, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Friday.
South Africa has lifted overnight curfew rules that were first imposed nearly two years ago, with officials saying the country may have passed the peak of its fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, offering hope to other nations facing a surge in cases fuelled by the fast-moving Omicron variant.
'When I said the Gandhi family had to step aside, it was because we have consistently seen that the public has not accepted them.'
Noting that a very important policy for advancement of SCs and STs was Schedules Caste Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan, Raju said the group has recommended a central and states' legislation on them.
Fearing political gain for the Congress from the padayatra, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is making 'frustrated attempts' to scuttle it, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday, as their march demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river, entered its third day.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said action will be taken in accordance with law, as he hit out at Congress leaders for going ahead with padayatra (march), demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river, by violating government's COVID-19 restrictions.
'An old party like the Congress cannot rely solely on the prescriptions of a 'Doctor' whose motives and intentions are still unknown and that he does not look attached towards any party or ideology,' point out Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Tharoor's appeal came in support of his party colleague and former MP Sandeep Dikshit's remarks that the the biggest challenge the party faces is the 'leadership question'.
The Congress party is in talks with various political parties to form a secular alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Bihar assembly polls, its spokesman Rajeev Gowda said on Monday.
The Congress in Karnataka on Wednesday found itself in a tight spot after a video showed a purported conversation between the party media coordinator M A Saleem and former Lok Sabha member V S Ugrappa attributing the Congress state president D K Shivakumar's involvement in a scam when he was a minister.
Members of the G-23, who had shown courage to point out the flaws in the party's functioning, have allowed themselves to be co-opted by the Family to go through the motions of a post-mortem, notes Virendra Kapoor.
On Saturday, Delhi unit of the Congress unanimously adopted a resolution urging Rahul to take over as the president.
Amid internal rumblings in the Punjab and Chhattisgarh Congress, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said his government will complete its full five-year tenure.
All senior leaders will be along with Rahul Gandhi during these programmes and this will be the 'first leg' of the campaign by the Congress president.
Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi was on Monday sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab, making him the first Dalit to hold the top post in the state.
Union Minister Charan Das Mahant was on Monday appointed the acting Pradesh Congress Committee president of poll-bound Chhattisgarh, a week after senior party leaders in the state including PCC Chief Nand Kumar Patel were killed in a Naxal attack.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday said the state must concentrate on real issues that concern every Punjabi even as MP Manish Tewari said he never saw "such chaos and anarchy" being played out in the party's state unit.
The Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi wants state leaders to pull up their socks and deliver results within three months or face consequences, reports Renu Mittal
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