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.
Seven Congress legislators and three Aam Aadmi Party MLAs who recently switched over to the ruling party also said Navjot Singh Sidhu was a celebrity and was no doubt an asset to the party but condemning and criticising his own party and government in public has only created a "rift in the cadres and weakened it".
Political parties were bracing for the assembly election results on Thursday in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and politically volatile Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, sending out feelers for possible post-poll tie-ups.
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi has died of gunshot injuries, with police saying on Saturday it could be a case of 'accidental fire' from his own licensed pistol.
A video has appeared on social media showing Punjab Congress MLA Joginder Pal and his security personnel thrashing a youth for asking what work the legislator had done for his village.
The four ministers -- Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi -- and around two dozen legislators met in Chandigarh at the residence of Bajwa on Tuesday.
'But unlike Punjab, the rebels have an alternative -- the BJP'
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.
With its landslide victory in Punjab assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party has achieved a major milestone in its journey so far and emerged as an alternative in the national politics.
The political circle in the state was abuzz with speculation that the legislators have gone to express their support to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 10 ministers at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh.
Political parties have fielded sons, wives and daughters-in-law of legislators who quit after being elected to the Lok Sabha.
The Punjab Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution against the Centre's Agnipath defence recruitment scheme.
Pargat Singh, Raj Kumar Verka, Gurkirat Singh Kotli, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Kuljit Nagra and Rana Gurjit Singh are likely to be included in the cabinet, according to the sources.
A social activist, a young law graduate, a debutante, and an eye surgeon -- Punjab polls gave gave birth to a number of giant killers from the Aam Aadmi Party, who drubbed such stalwarts as Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Badals, and even Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
She praised the chief minister for leading the party to "many victories" and taking Punjab on a "road to progress".
Several Punjab Congress leaders, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, were on Thursday prevented from heading to Lakhimpur Kheri and were detained at a police station in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
If the Congress is contesting fewer seats than ever before, the BJP is set to contest its highest-ever number of Lok Sabha seats.
In a series of interviews, Capt Amarinder Singh said, "Priyanka and Rahul are like my children. This should not have ended like this. I am hurt."
The committee has given its recommendations to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who will take necessary action, the sources pointed out.
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.
Sarari has resigned from the cabinet of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, confirmed a senior leader of the ruling AAP.
The Punjab cabinet has approved the summoning of a special session of the assembly on September 22 to bring a confidence motion.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asserted that the third battle of Panipat, fought in 1761, was a symbol of the bravery of Marathas and not their defeat. He said the state government is building a memorial to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Agra and acquiring land for another memorial in Panipat, where the battle was fought between Marathas and Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali.
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.
Amid speculation about a possible change of guard in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday asserted that his state can never become Punjab, and said the two states bear only one similarity -- that of having numbers in their names.
Several party hoppers including Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa and Anil Joshi were trailing from their respective constituencies in Punjab, according to poll trends.
An explosion took place at the headquarters of the intelligence wing of the Punjab police in Mohali Monday night, sources said in Chandigarh.
He said had the alliance with Goa Forward gone through, the Congress would have got majority in the state and that it was unfair to now make him a "villain".
"What are her qualifications? She is just Sonu Sood's sister," Harjot Kamal said.
The Congress picked Charanjit Singh Channi as the next chief minister of Punjab, making him the first Dailt to hold the post in the state, a day after Amarinder Singh resigned following a bitter power tussle in the party.
"They tried to buy our MLAs in Delhi and now in Punjab but we exposed them (BJP)," Kejriwal said.
"The two (the Pradesh Congress Committee chief and the chief minister) consult each other, but the final decision is of Channi, who is the chief minister, not Sidhu," the former chief minister told reporters at the Chandigarh airport.
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.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday allocated portfolios to the new ministers, keeping 14 departments with himself and giving home affairs to deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and health to other deputy O P Soni.
The party has fielded Dr Charanjit Singh from Sri Chamkaur Sahib against Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
Both the BJP and Congress understand that coalitions and alliances are not just about numbers, but have symbolic value.
Congress leaders claim the land Bill stir is an opportunity to shake off despair and serve as return vehicle for Rahul Gandhi.
