'Had the Congress made Sidhu its CM face, they would have won 80 out of 117 seats.'
The Mayawati-led BSP will fight 20 of the 117 assembly seats in Punjab, while the rest will be contested by the SAD.
The AAP suffered a humiliating defeat in Haryana with most of its candidates set to lose their security deposit.
Sidhu, who had been attacking the AAP-led government in the state over various issues including the law and order situation, said Punjab's resurrection was possible only with a collective effort.
A five-time Olympic shooter, Randhir Singh was the lone eligible candidate for the OCA president's post.
The BJP's vote share in Punjab has been declining -- 8.21 per cent in 2007 to 7.13 per cent in 2012, and finally to 5.4 per cent in 2017, when it won just three of 23 seats the party contested. So doing an election deal with Amarinder and a political formation he might float in the future is not inconceivable.
The incumbent Congress could win only 18 seats, with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi losing both seats he contested -- Chamkaur Sahib as well as Bhadaur.
The CMs with lowest assets are West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with assets worth over Rs 15.38 lakh, Omar Abdullah, CM of Jammu and Kashmir, with assets worth over Rs 55.24 lakh, and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who has assets worth Rs 1.18 crore.
Mayawati said it became necessary for her to make the announcement as the Congress and some other parties, as part of a "conspiracy", are allegedly trying to create an impression that they would be forging an alliance with the BSP.
BJP leader Amit Shah in a poll rally last month had asked people of Ludhiana to send Ravneet Singh Bittu to Parliament, promising them that he will make him a 'bada aadmi' (a big man).
Senior lawyers H S Phoolka and Himmat Singh Shergill figure in the first list of 19 candidates released by the AAP on Thursday for Punjab assembly elections.
Amid intelligence reports of a pro-Khalistan group plotting an attack against him, Delhi Chief Ministerial candidate Arvind Kejriwal responded with faith, stating "God will save him." The threat comes ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls, with authorities reviewing Kejriwal's security and deploying round-the-clock surveillance.
The five-time former Punjab chief minister died at a private hospital in Mohali near Chandigarh on Tuesday, nine days after he was admitted there with breathing problems. He was 95.
A mathematical model is used to calculate how seat distribution will be altered as sentiment/percentage of votes towards a contesting political party changes.
The Dera chief has sought to stay in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, during the parole period, if granted.
Some Congress leaders consider Kishor as an "overrated" person and argue that in 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, he led to the decline of the party.
The move came in the wake of Vishwas' allegations against AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Last month, the Channi government replaced the state's advocate general A P S Deol after strong opposition from Sidhu.
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.
The Congress is likely to declare its chief ministerial face for Punjab on February 6 when former party chief Rahul Gandhi will visit the poll-bound state, party sources said.
Panthic politics came easily to Parkash Singh Badal. But he was quick to abandon it when it became a problem, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The Commission, under Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi, would recommend an amendment to the Constitution to add the "new chapter or part" on simultaneous elections, the sources said.
Sunil Jakhar was among the front runners for the chief ministerial post after the exit of Amarinder Singh. But the party preferred Charanjit Singh Channi, who became the first chief minister of Punjab from the Scheduled Caste community.
After Parineeti Chopra and Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha were spotted together on several occasions, rumours linking them have been doing the rounds.
There is no threat to the Amarinder Singh-led government in Punjab and the party's victory prospects for the upcoming assembly elections, Rawat said.
The Congress on Friday released a list of 30 star campaigners for the February 20 Punjab Assembly elections and left out names of Tewari and Ghulam Nabi Azad, who are among the prominent members of the 'G-23' leaders who had written to the party leadership seeking an organisational overhaul.
The relaxation will be subject to existing instructions of state disaster management authorities and preventive measures imposed by concerned district authorities, it added.
Yogendra Yadav, a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), believes the party's defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls is a setback for the entire opposition and raises questions about its future. He attributed the loss to factors like the liquor scam, the 'Sheesh Mahal' row, and the constant fights between the Delhi LG and the AAP government.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a major setback in the Delhi Assembly elections, losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The loss marks a significant blow to Kejriwal's national ambitions and raises questions about the future of the party. The AAP had been in power in Delhi for the past 10 years and had also formed a government in Punjab. Despite the defeat, the party still holds 13 MPs from Punjab and Delhi. The article examines the factors that contributed to the AAP's defeat, including allegations of corruption, poor civic facilities, and the BJP's relentless attacks. It also explores the impact of the loss on Kejriwal's national aspirations and the party's future.
"The Congress has an edge this time," Sonu claimed.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) distanced itself from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Friday, saying it is not part of the opposition alliance anymore and questioning the Congress party's role in leading it.
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
'The allegations of government involvement in targeted assassinations abroad are likely to help, not hurt, the ruling party.' 'True or false, they convey a sense of muscularity and, in some quarters, are celebrated as a harbinger of 'great power' status.'
'2019 was fought on delivery. But in 2024, you can see the before and after effects.'
The BJP may be in the Opposition in many states, but nowhere is it as divided as it is in Karnataka, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 15 of 20 seats up for grabs in the politically crucial province of Punjab on Sunday, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his 13-party alliance led by the ruling PML-N.
Anti-incumbency sentiment in Punjab puts SAD in a weak spot. But voters remain divided over AAP and Congress. Sahil Makkar reports.
The 79-year-old widely respected and popular leader steered the Congress in 2017 to a landslide victory in the 117-member assembly to occupy the chief minister's post for the second time.
Sources said the party has also tasked its senior leaders to be observers at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Haryana to elect its new leader.
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.
