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Inflicting a shock defeat on BJP, the Congress today ousted the Vasundhara Raje government from power, emerging the single largest party with 96 seats falling short of a majority by just 5 seats.
Of the 34 SC reserved seats that went to the polls, the BJP won 22 and the Congress 11.
With no apparent wave on the ground or pressing everyday issues, that's what it boils down for voters as Rajasthan readies for assembly polls this week.
Former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who has been involved in a leadership tussle with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, skipped his interaction.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a money laundering case related to a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur. The ED has also attached properties worth Rs. 37.64 crore linked to Vadra.
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Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's mortal remains were brought to the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday, where top party leaders paid their last respects. Singh, who headed the Congress-led UPA government and is considered the architect of India's economic reforms, died on Thursday at 92. A seven-day national mourning will be observed throughout the country in his honor.
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.
'Mr Modi has the power and pre-eminence in the BJP-RSS to choose how long he wants to serve, and he is definitely going to want to contest in 2029.' 'He will only be 79, as old as Donald Trump now, and fitter,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Amid slogan shouting by Congress members, the House witnessed three adjournments.
A drunk SUV driver, identified as Usman Khan, a Congress leader, allegedly hit multiple pedestrians and vehicles in Jaipur, killing three people and leaving six others seriously injured. The incident occurred on a narrow city road in the Nahargarh area. Khan, who is the Congress' Jaipur district vice president, was driving recklessly and under the influence of alcohol, according to police. Following the incident, locals gathered at the Nahargarh police station and blocked roads to protest and demand compensation for the victims. The Congress has expelled Khan and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. The BJP criticized the Congress, alleging that the party is full of people with criminal tendencies.
The agency has also summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot for questioning in a case related to alleged contravention of the foreign exchange law, official sources said on Thursday.
"I sometimes think of leaving it, but the chief minister's post doesn't leave me," Ashok Gehlot famously said earlier this year, in part as a signal to the Congress top brass not to pick someone else for the job if the party wins the assembly polls.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other senior party leaders, including All India Congress Committee general secretary Avinash Pande and spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, also moved to Jaisalmer along with the MLAs in five chartered flights.
Robert Vadra, husband of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with the Sanjay Bhandari money laundering case.
According to the police, the bus was speeding and filled with passengers due to which the driver lost control and the vehicle rammed into the wing wall of the flyover.
The party also promised reservation to minorities on basis of their population after the caste census.
The panel, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, had called Patkar to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the land acquisition law enacted by Parliament when the Congress-led UPA government was in power in 2013.
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rajasthan Congress leaders Jyoti Mirdha and Sawai Singh Chaudhary switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jaipur on Monday ahead of assembly elections due later this year.
BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been awarded the Sansad Ratna for his outstanding performance in the Lok Sabha, becoming the first actor-turned-politician to receive the honour.
'The water crisis is so obvious that people see no point begging for it from politicians.'
'These frequent visits show the BJP fears that the Congress will retain power.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday suggested that if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
At its Jaipur meeting, the BJP will focus on this year's assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh while the Congress's Chintan Shivir in Udaipur will discuss how it can resurrect itself.
If Meena resigns, it is likely to put pressure on other ministers whose areas also saw poor performance in the general elections.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and senior leader Jairam Ramesh were among the 10 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha on Friday from Karnataka, Rajasthan and Haryana, while counting was underway in Maharashtra after an eight-hour delay due to wrangling by rival parties over alleged breach of voting rules.
Independent MLA candidate Naresh Meena was arrested on Thursday following high drama and escalating violence in which a mob assaulted a PTI reporter and video cameraperson and burnt their camera.
Malviya, the MLA from Bagidora in Banswara district, said he joined the BJP for the development of the Vagad region.
The controversy followed after another Madhya Pradesh minister, Vijay Shah, came under fire for remarks about Col Sofiya Qureshi who conducted media briefings on Operation Sindoor along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
The Congress refrained from commenting on any peace formula between Gehlot and Pilot.
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Congress observers for Rajasthan on Tuesday recommended disciplinary action against three key loyalists of Ashok Gehlot but did not seek any action against the chief minister, as the party scampered to resolve the crisis that has cast a shadow on the election of the party president.
With Thursday's win, the Congress's strength in the Lok Sabha has gone up to 48.
Data collected by Association for Democratic Reforms on the candidates show a maximum number of candidates (482) fall in the 31 to 40 years age group.
Bharat Adivasi Party MLA Jaikrishn Patel was arrested by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Rajasthan on Sunday for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakh to drop three questions in the state Assembly. The ACB claims to have audio and video evidence to prove that the MLA had demanded and taken the bribe. The party has said it will take action against the MLA if his involvement is found.
Thapar had strong reservations about Project Cheetah, India's initiative to reintroduce African cheetahs into the wild. He argued that India does not have the necessary habitat or prey base to support free-ranging cheetahs and that the authorities lacked experience in managing spotted felines in the wild.
The most number of crorepati candidates are fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (176), while the Congress has fielded 167 crorepati candidates.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded candidates in all 200 constituencies while the Congress has fielded 199 candidates.
Several opposition MPs have made a similar demand to the government in the wake of the dastardly attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed last week, leaving the nation grief-stricken and outraged.
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