While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
Mallikarjun Kharge may be a respected politician and a loyal Congressman, but he is not a great orator nor does he have exceptional debating skills. Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com reports
The Gandhi-led yatra will pass through Amethi on Monday. It will then enter Raebareli, where the Samajwadi Party chief had earlier said he would join.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recognised Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition on Wednesday, a day after the Congress communicated its decision to name him for the position to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The opposition INDIA bloc is considering submitting a notice to move a resolution to remove Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar from office, sources said. The opposition had previously considered this in August but decided to give Dhankhar "another chance." The Congress is leading the charge, and the TMC and the Samajwadi Party are supportive. The decision comes after a contentious session in Rajya Sabha where BJP members protested alleged links between Congress leaders and George Soros.
The Congress leader said his sister Priyanka Gandhi will be representing Wayanad if the people give her an opportunity and expressed confidence that she will do an excellent job at being their MP.
Ganguly joined the BJP in New Delhi at the party headquarters in the presence of several other party leaders, including its national media department in-charge Anil Baluni.
The Congress leadership is upset over Nath's remarks against many leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Janata Dal-United supremo Nitish Kumar, over seat sharing.
Results of the Delhi assembly election are not a vindication of Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's policies but a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress said on Saturday as it vowed to bounce back from another whitewash.
Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday took charge as the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, citing Rahul Gandhi's slogan 'daro mat' to energise workers and declaring that the party will demolish the government's 'system of lies, treachery and hatred'.
Kharge accused PM Modi of inciting people over the issues "that the Congress will never do".
Voting began on Monday in the Congress presidential polls as senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor face-off for the post of All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief.
Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments on B.R. Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha, saying the opposition party launched a malicious campaign after a parliamentary discussion "established" the Congress as being "anti-Ambedkar and anti-reservation." Shah defended his remarks, stating his address was clear and without confusion, and that his party would explore all legal options against the Congress for misrepresenting his comments. He also accused the Congress of insulting V.D. Savarkar, crushing constitutional values by imposing Emergency, and humiliating soldiers who laid down their lives.
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has once again ruled out an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, dismissing recent reports suggesting a tie-up between the two parties. Kejriwal, in a post on X, stated that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest the election on its own strength, reiterating his earlier stance. The recent buzz over an alliance between the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners was fueled by the cancellation of the Congress's "Nyay Chaupal" event, which was scheduled for Wednesday. Despite recent meetings between Kejriwal and other INDIA leaders, the AAP has maintained that it will fight the Delhi elections independently. The AAP has already released two lists containing the names of 31 candidates for the polls, with the remaining candidates expected to be announced soon. Meanwhile, the BJP is making all-out efforts to dethrone the AAP from the capital.
Replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Modi in the Rajya Sabha had referred to the manner in which Telangana was formed.
In a significant political development, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced on Thursday that an alliance with the Congress was finalised for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which is going for its maiden assembly polls after being reorganised into a Union Territory.
The Congress seems to be heading for the Karnataka polls so far on the strength of its local leadership and focusing on issues concerning the state, making corruption a central theme of its campaigning.
Sources said senior leaders of the party have been told to reach out to other leaders of the alliance and talks with some parties have begun.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Saturday she looks forward to being the voice of the people of Wayanad in Parliament and thanked Rahul Gandhi for 'showing her the way and having her back always'.
Parliament is set to witness heated debates on a range of issues like the NEET paper leak row, the Agnipath initiative and inflation when both houses reconvene on Monday.
The Congress on Friday welcomed the statements of opposition leaders condemning Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha and said it was now time for the party to take on the job of building the opposition unity in a "systematic way".
Speaking at the Congress manifesto launch programme, Gandhi said it is a much closer contest than what is propagated by the media, and expressed confidence in winning the polls.
Former MP Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday took a swipe at the Congress leadership over his expulsion, claiming it was done after he sent his resignation letter to the party.
A new Congress leader may make an electoral impact by his very presence. Congress voters who had moved away from the party, after being influenced by the BJP's 'family rule' campaign, can now return with a certain moral satisfaction, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress has proposed AAP should contest five seats while the Samajwadi Party and Left parties could contest one seat each.
For renomination to the Rajya Sabha, Nadda will have to look for a seat outside his home state of Himachal Pradesh as the Congress is in power there.
Chouhan and Raje were overlooked by the BJP for the chief minister posts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively despite ensuring the party's return to power in the assembly polls held recently.
Former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, who was shot dead in Mumbai, was a popular figure in Bollywood circles and had earned praise for supplying life-saving medicines to patients during the Covid pandemic.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
The ceremony to inaugurate the new Parliament building will begin with an early morning havan and a multi-religion prayer on Sunday followed by a formal opening in the Lok Sabha chamber by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sharma's letter comes at a time the Congress has intensified its demand for a nationwide caste census and promised to carry out the exercise if elected to power in the Lok Sabha elections.
Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said a decision on whether to oppose the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi would be taken before the Parliament session.
Gandhi answers several such light-hearted questions in a more than two-minute video released by the Congress on its social media channels.
Approximately 80 leaders from more than 26 political parties are expected to attend the third meeting of the INDIA alliance in the country's financial capital, they said.
With six children of Karnataka ministers in the Lok Sabha poll arena, the campaign scene is getting spiced up in the high-stakes elections for the ruling Congress in the state.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday held discussions with his cabinet colleagues in the wake of the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot reportedly issuing him a 'show-cause notice', seen as a precursor to sanctioning his prosecution in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam'.
Only in the event of the RSS managing to force Modi into accepting a consensual candidate, will the party not continue to 'being' the 'next Congress', observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Opposition hit out at the government over the absence of Rajya Sabha Chairman, Lok Sabha Speaker and ministers from the traditional event marking the birth anniversary of those whose portraits adorn Parliament's Central Hall.
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