Prasanna D Zore and photographer Rajesh Karkera set out to discover Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's success formula.
Top Congress leaders held deliberations on Saturday at the first meeting of the new Congress Working Committee (CWC) focusing on preparing a comprehensive road map for ensuring the party's victory in the upcoming assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The winning momentum is important for the BJP as the crucial state of Karnataka is next headed for assembly polls, expected in May, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram later this year.
Should he begin the yatra from Gujarat's Porbandar, the birthplace of the Mahatma, on October 2, and skip campaigning for the five assembly polls?
Asserting that the Congress government in the state will not only complete its five years but will also win the next assembly elections, Gehlot again accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of conspiring to topple his government at any cost.
BJP candidate and minister Kunvarji Bavaliya defeated his nearest rival Congress nominee Avsar Nakiya by a margin of 19,979 votes, officials said.
Even as the deadlock between the Gujjars and the government over the quota issue persisted for the 13th day on Saturday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot ruled their demand for five per cent reservation in state government jobs, saying the government will work according to the guidelines of the Rajasthan high court.
Rampur Sadar and Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh, Padampur in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar and Bhanupratappur in Chhattisgarh are the assembly seats where the bypolls are being held.
Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Malkhan Singh and sacked Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna's wife Lila Maderna were on Saturday grilled for the second day in the Bhanwari Devi missing case by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Jodhpur. Malkhan, who represents Luni constituency in Rajasthan assembly, was grilled along with Lila at the circuit house in Jodhpur.
The transmogrification of Prime Minister Modi to Saint Modi began with the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. By identifying himself with Lord Ram, Modi raised himself in popular imagination to a saintly person.
A day after a group of Congress MLAs met Sachin Pilot, another party legislator on Friday expressed support for the dissident leader as trouble brewed again in Rajasthan's ruling party.
'If Mr Rahul Gandhi is coming to Rajasthan he should also know how his own chief minister is throttling the voices of the people belonging to the most backward classes.'
Rajasthan Police has denied the allegation of a woman who said her full-term pregnant daughter-in-law lost her child after she was assaulted by it during a raid at her house.
The ED said Das stated that his first statement given to the agency on November 3 last year in which he cited Baghel's name was "true and correct".
At places in the border districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, people walked miles through the desert to cast their votes.
Why did Karnataka's economic prosperity fail to influence the nature of electoral promises made by political parties in the run-up to the assembly elections? asks A K Bhattacharya.
Some of them have also endorsed Sachin Pilot as chief minister. However, they added that whatever decision the party high command takes in this regard, they will accept it.
Pilot said rules and discipline of the party apply to all, adding that he hoped Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge would take a decision in the matter soon.
KCR will continue as caretaker chief minister until the new government is formed.
The family members of the deceased had named five men linked to the Bajrang Dal in their complaint to the police.
In a big organisational rejig, the BJP named Union minister G Kishan Reddy, Sunil Jakhar and Babulal Marandi as party presidents in Telangana, Punjab and Jharkhand respectively.
Modi's BJP has promised more revdis or freebies for these assembly elections than ever before, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot called Sachin Pilot a gaddar (traitor) on Thursday and said he cannot replace him as he had revolted against the Congress in 2020 and tried to topple his own government.
According to the TMC, the momentum built by the INDIA bloc over three successful meetings has dwindled in the last few months due to inactivity, with the Congress preoccupied with elections in three states.
As soon as the chief minister made the first two announcements, which featured in Budget 2022-23, the Opposition began creating a ruckus and stormed into the well of the House.
The BJP and Congress are the top two beneficiaries of the electoral bonds, followed by the Trinamool Congress.
If the CM can steer the BJP into forming a government for a third term, he will have achieved a unique place in the party's history -- Mewat notwithstanding.
The Congress should take the lead in resolving differences of opinion within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and show 'large-heartedness' in seat sharing to emerge as a viable alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming elections, according to some opposition leaders.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said three months before the five state elections, where the 'BJP is staring at certain defeat', and six months before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is literally clutching at straws.
Despite a warning issued to him by the Congress, former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot sat on a daylong fast at the Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur on Tuesday, demanding action in cases of alleged corruption related to the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state led by Vasundhara Raje.
Congress observers for Rajasthan on Tuesday recommended disciplinary action against three party leaders, including two ministers, for the crisis in the state, but did not seek any action against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Four persons arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament have been charged under the anti-terror law UAPA besides sections of the Indian Penal Code, police sources said on Thursday as security agencies were on the hunt to nab the alleged mastermind.
The ruling BJP in UP, however, lost Khatauli to Samajwadi Party ally Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and some of his cabinet colleagues, including Shanti Dhariwal, figure in the list of 63 Congress candidates for the forthcoming assembly polls, announced by the All India Congress Committee.
'Shivakumar is an andhbhakt of Congress ideology and principles.'
Vasundhara Raje, who led the Bharatiya Janata Paty to a landslide victory in the Rajasthan assembly polls, was on Friday sworn in as the chief minister for the second time, in the presence of Narendra Modi and other top party leaders.
Malik, who was then governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has recently alleged intelligence failures and that the central government denied aircraft for the movement of security personnel.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said he cannot restore the river water-sharing pact with three neighbouring states that was scrapped by a unanimous vote in the state assembly earlier this week.\n\n
Voting for the 13th assembly election in Rajasthan on Thursday commenced at 0800 hrs in all the 42,212 polling booths amid unprecedented security cover.
In UP and Bengal, it is willing to sacrifice its interests to stop the BJP and would work towards ensuring the BJP did not win incremental seats in Odisha and Telangana.