The Congress on Saturday made a stunning comeback in Karnataka ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party from its lone southern citadel with a comfortable majority in a morale booster win that will be key for reviving its electoral fortunes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress is now gearing up to take on the BJP over alleged corruption, jobs and issues tied to tribals, farmers and women.
Khera told reporters in Hyderabad that the views of the newly-elected MLAs have been elicited and the central leadership is seized of the matter.
On Wednesday, the Congress had announced that former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot would be contesting the Rajasthan assembly elections.
Taking a 30-minute break from the Kanyakumari to Kashmir foot march at Sonawar, Gandhi drove to the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on Maulana Azad Road before heading to the clock tower, locally known as 'Ghanta Ghar', to unfurl the tricolour.
Supporters of the two leaders are competing in Hadoti to highlight their dominance, which is visible from the hoardings in the region. This has also led to blame games between leaders of the two factions.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday claimed he has the support of party workers from across the country for his bid to fight the AICC president polls.
The Congress won nearly half of the 2,105 wards in the contest in the first local elections held in the state after the party came to power in Rajasthan last December.
The meeting is expected to start at 11 am at the hotel on the city outskirts where Congress legislators in support of the Ashok Gehlot government are camping.
While Tharoor declined to comment on whether he would throw his hat into the ring, he has written an article for the Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi calling for a 'free and fair' election.
The Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power in Rajasthan on Sunday, winning 115 seats out of the 199 where assembly elections were held last week.
P B Chandra finds out if the 'Modi wave' is sweeping the desert state as party workers have been claiming since the Bharatiya Janata Party's thumping victory in the assembly polls last year.
The Congress units in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the only two states where the party is in government on its own, have passed resolutions that Gandhi be made the party's president.
The Congress on Sunday suspended Rajasthan Member of Legislative Assembly Bhanwar Lal Sharma a day after he voiced his opinions against party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
While the going for Dushyant Singh in Jhalawar is not tough, winning Jalore is a tough battle for Vaibhav Gehlot.
Congress rivals have put factionalism aside for now. The party is betting on a series of well-received welfare schemes to return to power
In a major organisational rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday appointed Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Sachin Pilot was made the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
The notification for the Congress president's election will be out on September 22 by when all the PCC delegates will be finalised and electoral roll published and the election, if required, will be held on October 17.
Marking a generational shift in state politics, Union Minister Sachin Pilot was on Monday appointed the Congress chief in Rajasthan where the party faced a rout in Assembly polls.
Gehlot, one of the proposers of Kharge, said Tharoor is also a good man and has good thoughts but he is from the elite class.
Counting of votes will be held on Sunday in assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in what is seen as a semi-final contest ahead of the general elections in less than six months.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday expressed happiness that the Congress party has taken cognisance of the issues raised by him about welfare of youth and corruption under the previous Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan, and asserted the party will contest the assembly polls unitedly to secure a massive victory.
It appears that the party has some kind of political death wish, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
'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.'
Rahul is looking to bring new leadership in the state units that can bring in the young generation back into the party fold and revive its sagging image and morale. Renu Mittal reports
The election management committee and the election manifesto committee were formed by the party's national president J P Nadda.
Pilot's demand to order a probe and take action in the alleged mining scam during the previous BJP government and other corruption allegations was supported by state cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas.
"He also gave verbal directions to make the necessary arrangements for the prevention of COVID-19 spread during the session," the spokesperson added.
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.
The Congress leadership is caught in a peculiar situation and wants to find a middle path to the issue, party sources said.
On the eve of the Haryana assembly poll results, the issue of chief minister-ship has taken centre stage in the Congress with all eyes on its high command's next move as the party expects to regain power after 10 years in the state.
Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the manifesto was prepared after taking opinions through multiple platforms such as social media.
Why weren't the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra and Telangana -- all of which have borders with Karnataka -- not invited to Saturday's swearing-in ceremony, asks Shyam G Menon.
The Congress has appointed observers to coordinate meetings of its legislature party in four states where assembly election results will be declared on Sunday.
To highlight alleged misgovernance by the present regime, its first nationwide campaign ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Senior Indian Administrative Services officer Ashok Singhvi, who is the Principal Secretary (Mines) in Rajasthan, was arrested in the wee hours of Thursday by the state Anti Corruption Bureau in the eighth arrest in a bribery case involving clearance for reopening of six closed mines of a miner.
The visit comes amid the campaign for the November 25 assembly polls in Rajasthan, where the Congress hopes to return to power.
'I told Rahul: "You have to become president. Taalne se nahin hoga (you can't avoid the responsibility any longer)".' 'Rahul said: "I will think about it".'
A message on Pilot's official WhatsApp group said Tuesday night that he has served Malinga a legal notice for 'the false and malicious statement' he made to the press.
The Congress also has the support of 10 out of 13 independents, and other party MLAs like Rashtriya Lok Dal (1), which is its ally.
