The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) gave a huge blow to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance by winning 43 seats out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, as per the Election Commission.
Even Priyanka's formal entry into politics could not act as a saving grace for the Congress. She was made in-charge of the party's fortunes in eastern Uttar Pradesh, but despite her high-octane election campaign, Congress is ahead on just one seat -- her mother Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.
Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Tuesday said he could not visit Amethi during his ongoing anti-corruption yatra in Uttar Pradesh as the Ashram which had extended him invitation was pressurised not to call him.
Amid their campaign schedule, the Congress party chief and his sister shared a few light-hearted moments.
The home ministry's notice to Gandhi was sent in response to a complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy.
In the five years in politics Priyanka Gandhi has undeniably emerged as a thorn in the BJP flesh, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. It is time that this thorn is twisted a wee bit more when the elections have become far more uncertain than what it was when the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.
In the past five years, UP's Opposition remained passive and defensive against the BJP, a trend that does not augur well for the impending battle.
Sources said that a security breach was alleged when the laser light was seen pointed at the head of Rahul during the roadshow.
Gates interacted with the locals, especially women self-help groups, and promised he would develop the area as a hub for information technology (IT).
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would accompany him to Wayanad.
"Some parts of West Bengal like Purulia had been described as the most backward in the country. A comparison of the socio-economic indicators of Purulia with those in Rae Bareli and Amethi will tell the real story," an editorial in the CPI-M mouthpiece People's Democracy said.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA won 64 seats -- 62 bagged by the BJP and two by Apna Dal.
Fielding of candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareli was one of the issues of contention between Congress and Samajwadi Party during their talks to forge the pre-poll alliance.
Rae Bareli and Amethi -- the respective parliamentary constituencies of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, have ceased to enjoy a VVIP status, following withdrawal of "no power cut" order by the Akhilesh Yadav government.
As the results for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 were declared on Tuesday, here is how some of the big faces fared in the contest.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday hit out at the Election Commission for allowing Rahul Gandhi to hold a road show in a Varanasi area where Narendra Modi was refused permission for a rally, saying it was done for "political reasons".
'Gandhi could have chosen to contest from some other constituency where the BJP was strong -- Karnataka or some other state'
Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas on Sunday questioned the clean chit given to Rahul Gandhi by the Election Commission on the allegation that he had violated secrecy of voting by entering the enclosure of EVM in one of the polling booths in Amethi.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha polls from Amethi.
Police did not rule out the possibility of it being a 'political murder'.
'If Rahul Gandhi disappears, Modi has to talk about his own policies and why they failed'
The Congress on Thursday renamed the Rahul Gandhi-led Manipur-Mumbai yatra starting on January 14 as the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which will travel through 100 Lok Sabha segments in 15 states including Arunachal Pradesh, and asserted it will prove to be as 'transformative' as his earlier cross-country march.
Opening a new front with the Congress, the Mayawati government on Thursday created a new district named after Dalit icon Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj that would include Amethi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency.
As Varun Gandhi courted controversy by "praising" estranged cousin Rahul Gandhi, his mother and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Maneka Gandhi on Thursday said her son's remark on Amethi's development was "not correct" and advised him to use his mind instead of heart while making statements.
Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress icon Rahul Gandhi, is expected to get the country's first 'Discovery Park' which will travel from Indiana in the United States to Uttar Pradesh.
If Priyanka Gandhi does take a plunge into electoral politics as demanded by the Congress rank and file, it will tantamount to an admission that Rahul Gandhi lacks the necessary qualities to take on Narendra Modi. On the other hand, the Congress also needs to change the political discourse in its favour, notes Anita Katyal.
The Congress' announcement that the party chief will contest from Wayanad evoked sharp reactions from the Left and Right of the political spectrum.
Amethi member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi has launched a series of 'chaupal sabhas' and mini road-shows to win votes for mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi -- seeking re-election from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat.
The Congress vice president has eyes on the larger objective of his partnership with Akhilesh, which may provide the template against the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday visited the house of a Central Reserve Police Force jawan who was among the 76 security personnel killed in the Maoist attack in Dantewada in April and assured the family of full support from the Central government.
Lok Sabha constituencies that sprung a surprise in the 2024 polls.
Is blood thicker than party loyalty for Varun Gandhi?
However, the party remained evasive about the part she could play in the party in future.
Political observers lauded the SP's choices in fielding several non-Yadav and Scheduled Caste candidates, the party's alliance with the Congress, and Rahul Gandhi's campaign around the danger to the Constitution if the BJP won a big majority.
Despite both parties joining hands to fight the elections, they have fielded different candidates for the polls in this region.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked the leaders and party workers to bury their internal differences and ensure victory of Congress candidates in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections.
If the Congress is contesting fewer seats than ever before, the BJP is set to contest its highest-ever number of Lok Sabha seats.