The Congress party's only hope now lies in its desperate wish that an unstable conglomerate of non-BJP, non-Congress parties comes to power with its support and collapses within a couple of years by which time the party hopes to salvage whatever it can from the debris of 10 years of the UPA's incumbency, says Saroj Nagi.
Congress leaders are confident that Priyanka would act as a catalyst for the party and boost the sagging morale of cadres to put up a spirited fight against the BJP and also the SP-BSP pre-poll alliance which had already shut its door on the Congress, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
The Congress on Thursday dismissed an opinion poll predicting party vide-president Rahul Gandhi as the third choice for prime ministerial prospect, terming it inaccurate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a Rs 100 per cylinder cut in cooking gas LPG price to ease financial burden on households. Non-subsidised cooking gas price will be cut to Rs 803 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital with effect from midnight of Friday/Saturday, official sources said. Prices vary from state to state depending on the incidence on local taxes.
Football Delhi president Shaji Prabhakaran, who had filed the nomination papers for the president's post when the polls were to be held under the aegis of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) on August 28, decided not to stand for elections this time.
Gandhi reportedly told them that he has already conveyed his decision to the Congress Working Committee and would not relent.
'I have filed my nomination for AIFF president's post and I feel I am the right person for the job'
'It is an existential crisis. We cannot recover lost ground through social media. We need to forge alliances and reshape our ideological contours.'
Will a caste census make tens of millions desert Mr Modi?, asks Shekhar Gupta.
On the eve of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's birthday on December 9, the party handed over a 4-0 defeat to her in the assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
In her letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi three days ago, Kidwai said she was relinquishing charge as party general secretary and Mahila Congress chief as he felt that Rahul Gandhi should be given the necessary space to bring in younger leaders of his choice
He also said he does not want any other member of the Gandhi family to succeed him, virtually ruling out Priyanka as well for the top party position.
For the Congress' revival, the eclipse of the Gandhis is absolutely necessary, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
The BJP's challenge is whether it can again deflate a Congress, which now looks reinvigorated and has adopted sharper messaging around its 'guarantees', and several regional parties, especially in Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
Accusing Congress of 'abuse culture', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to punish those indulging in abuse, while casting their vote in polling booths on May 10.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Sachin Pilot's ejection as Rajasthan deputy chief minister.
Priyanka Gandhi's charge were the key seats of Lucknow, Amethi, Raebareli, Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Phulpur, Allahabad, Barabanki, and Kushinagar.
Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi has a real chance to push through the changes he has been talking about for the past year, now that the state bosses stand exposed after the recent assembly polls. Anita Katyal reports
Top Congress leaders are learnt to be discussing the current political situation.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday got a former player as its first president in its 85-year history with Kalyan Chaubey beating the legendary Bhaichung Bhutia in the election for the top post.
'It will be better if the 'family' desists from giving 'advice and guidance' lest it should be seen as a backseat driver which had placed a puppet at the top,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Patel's victory, which came against heavy odds, has given the Congress and the rest of the Opposition the confidence that Modi and Shah weren't invincible.
BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday promised Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs in Himachal Pradesh while releasing the party's manifesto for the state assembly polls.
The Congress Working Committee, the party's top-decision making body, would soon meet to deliberate further on the Chintan Shivir plans, the sources said.
With the Congress presidential polls round the corner, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said decisions, including that of one-man, one-post, taken at the Chintan Shivir at Udaipur in Rajasthan earlier this year are expected to be followed.
The Congress will hold a chintan shivir immediately after the Budget session of Parliament and the CWC will meet again before that, he told reporters
Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his corruption jibe at the Opposition, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused him of running a "bhrashtachari bhagao abhiyan" (make the corrupt flee campaign), and said that he must stop his image makeover by posing as an anti-corruption crusader.
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said they planned to meet President Droupadi Murmu and will hold another mahapanchayat in Haryana's Kurukshetra on Friday to discuss the next steps in the agitation.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of chief ministers of 12 Congress-ruled states to figure out how to fill out the vacancies in the Rajya Sabha. Highly-placed sources have said that he wants to cajole Amethis's former feudal lord Sanjay Singh; by giving him an RS ticket, in view of his own weak position in Amethi. Renu Mittal reports.
What some of our leaders were up to on the weekend.
'The myth that the BJP has created that they are an election winning machine has been comprehensively demolished.'
The BSP extended outside support to the Congress to form governments in these two states as it had failed to reach majority on its own.
Gehlot, however, refused to disclose names of those behind the toppling bids allegedly involving transfer of money for horsetrading. "A complaint has been lodged with the SOG so that investigation about those who are involved in this organised crime of money transfer could be conducted," Gehot said at a press conference.
Mother and son refuse to go away despite indications blowing in the wind that their leadership is ringing the death knell of the party, observes Ramesh Menon.
'The Congress's allies won't be left behind in looking out for their own interests. Some will demand a bigger share of the ministerial or electoral pie, others will simply jump ship,' says T V R Shenoy.
Party president Sonia Gandhi, former chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress chief ministers Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh and Charanjit Channi of Punjab attended the meeting.
Union minister Jairam Ramesh is back to doing what he does best: working out the logistics for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
A dominant force in the country's politics for decades, the grand old party's free fall continued as it lost Punjab to AAP and finished with just two seats out of 403 in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.
Kerala is one state where the Congress may do well in the general election and it where Rahul Gandhi has demonstrated why he is serious about rebuilding his party, says T V R Shenoy.
As Madhya Pradesh goes to polls, all eyes will be on 29 key assembly seats, out of the total 230, where the contest will be keenly watched.
