'The BJP alliance needs to handle the Maratha quota issue skilfully and address its root cause, which is agrarian distress. Then there is stalled industrialisation. If these issues are addressed, caste fault lines would wither away. But, this is next to impossible in a short span of three-four months.'
Rahul Gandhi made the statement on January 15, 2025, during the inauguration of the Congress Party's new headquarters at Kotla Road in Delhi.
'In Western UP, last time a lot of Dalits voted for the BJP.' 'This time, there is a rethink among Dalits about the extent of their support for the BJP.'
'The Congress backstabbed us and the BJP frontstabbed us.' 'This is the only difference between the two parties.'
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday claimed that contrary to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's "false propaganda" that the population of Muslim community was increasing in the country, the number of the minority community members vis-a-vis Hindus was fast declining, and added that he could prove it.
'There is a saying in Assamese about inflicting pain on an adversary: He cut my hands with a sword and rubbed salt into my wounds.' 'This has never been the BJP's culture but it started happening openly and frequently under Himanta Biswa Sarma.'
'Whether somebody else can take up (Narendra Modi's position) the answer to it is yes but for that (to happen) some kind of crisis must come and in that crisis Modi must lose the (trust) vote.' 'Only then another candidate from the BJP can come and most likely it could be Nitin Gadkari because he enjoys the confidence (of the RSS as well as that of BJP MPs).'
The Congress said BJP MPs had sticks in their hands and Kharge was threatened and pushed.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat discussed reasons behind the BJP dismal performance in Delhi.
A veritable political `storm in a tea cup' has arisen over Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's assertions on Wednesday that all in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were "not bad" and there are many who "do not support the BJP".
Owaisi criticized the court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, saying it weakens India and distracts from real issues like inflation and unemployment.
'The BJP is solely responsible for changing the image of the state, which is now known for political switch overs, and decline in its culture'
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The supernatural always trumps the natural,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
BJP president L K Advani has not been invited.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, accusing them of "speaking the language of urban naxals" and being "AAP-da" for the youth. He also took a swipe at former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying those who entertain themselves by getting photo sessions done in huts of the poor will find the talk about the poor in Parliament boring. Modi also hailed his government's decisions in the Budget and said that the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which his government started for the poor, has been stalled by some states, leaving poor people in hardship.
The discussion will prove Gandhi has more knowledge about religion and spirituality than these persons, Kamal Nath said.
'Mohan Bhagwat's reaffirmation of the RSS's Hindu rashtra ideal has shown that nothing has changed, that it remains firmly rooted in its fundamental beliefs, that the willingness to listen to voices from outside its fold was a pretence about being openminded,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
When Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's name was floated as Venkaiah Naidu's successor as vice president, the RSS instead suggested Jagdeep Dhankar, indicating that he was also Mohan Bhagwat's choice, states Prakash Bhandari.
Following the post, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused Congress leaders of spreading "misinformation" and creating social hatred by sharing a "false" post on Golwalkar.
"Before the BJP came into existence, its forerunners Jan Sangh and RSS had opposed Babasaheb while the Constitution was being adopted," Prakash Ambedkar, who heads Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, told reporters in Pune.
'The Constitution of India defeated the BJP.'
The Bharat Ratna for him comes nine years after the honour was bestowed on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The two leaders together spearheaded the journey of the Jana Sangh and then the BJP for over five decades.
Devendra Fadnavis, a veteran politician from Maharashtra, is set to become the state's chief minister for the third time following a decisive victory by the BJP in the recent assembly elections. Fadnavis' political journey has been marked by resilience, strategic manoeuvring and a string of successes, including becoming the youngest mayor of Nagpur. He is known for his articulate speeches and effective governance, but his tenure has also been marked by challenges, including the Maratha reservation issue and the irrigation scam. He faces a new set of challenges, but his ability to adapt and make tactical decisions could prove crucial for him and his party in the coming days.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's first list of 20 candidates for Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka has caused dissidence among leaders in the state with few claiming that they would switch over to Congress.
He was administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
The chief minister said Najeeb, who has been missing for over two weeks now, will come back only when Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be made to realise that he is losing votes over the issue.
The ruling party's leaders are likely to watch the ceremony from different parts of the country along with others, including the masses, amid the suggestion from the leadership that they should visit the temple after January 22 when a large number of guests are expected.
When the assembly election comes around later this year with Nayab Singh Saini, from the OBCs, at the helm, the sense of victimhood non-Jats feel will propel the BJP into power again, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
Kerala Chief Minister and veteran Marxist leader Pinarayi Vijayan intensified his attack on the Congress, alleging that its general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is contesting the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election with the backing of Jamaat-e-Islami.
At a time when none in Kerala's Left politics questioned the chief minister's authority, MLA P V Anvar hurled a series of accusations against Pinarayi Vijayan's government, notes Shyam G Menon.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has held a meeting with Union Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah in Delhi.
Rahul made his clash with the Sangh ideology clear amid growing speculations about BJP leader and his cousin Varun Gandhi's entry into Congress, as he said that their ideologies do not match.
Cong's LS whip asks: "Why he is speaking language of RSS/BJP'
He also said that now everyone should listen to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's advice to shun habit of fighting on small disputes.
BJP's national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Radha Mohan Singh on Monday held meetings with the top state leaders and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office-bearers here to review the party's programmes in the politically crucial state where assembly polls are due next year.
Eight workers of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) have been taken into custody in connection with the killing of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker in Alappuzha, police said on Thursday.
According to him, the purpose behind such allotment was to help these organisations grow and with that its ideologies should also grow.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha on Monday, saying the leaders of the ruling party are not Hindus as they engage in "violence and hate" round the clock, drawing massive protests from the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the Congress leader of calling the entire Hindu community violent.
A vistarak is assigned to convince voters of the 'far-reaching benefits' of the schemes and doles handed out by the Centre and the UP government.
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