Under SPG protection, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were using Range Rovers.
Congress leaders told Rediff.com that if Sonia or Rahul Gandhi do not take up the leader of opposition's post in Lok Sabha, it would lead to factionalism and internal dissension, something that the party can ill-afford at this juncture. "Kamal Nath is undoubtedly a senior MP but his candidature is bound to be opposed by the MPs from southern states as they have won more seats," remarked a senior Congress functionary, adding that senior ministers like Veerappa Moily and Mallikarjun Kharge can be expected to push their candidature for this post. Anita Katyal reports.
Sonia Gandhi's prime ministerial ambition for her son has been a major factor in the Congress's internal politics since 2004, points out Amulya Ganguli.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier talked to the MLAs over the phone ahead of the meeting of the AICC panel on Punjab.
The meeting of the Congress Parliamentary strategy group was held at the residence of party President Sonia Gandhi.
Those responsible for protecting MPs have failed in their constitutional duties, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Congress slammed Ravi Shankar Prasad, accusing him of distorting, twisting and lying "with a straight face".
Congress leader K C Venugopal on Friday gave Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar a breach of privilege notice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on why former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's family did not use his surname.
No one else filed papers till Sunday, according to Mullapally Ramachandran, the chairman of the party's Central Election Authority.
Congress is riven by four different approaches to an issue: the Sonia Gandhi way, the Rahul Gandhi method, Lok Sabha MPs' tactic, and Rajya Sabha MPs' style, reports R Rajagopalan.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi told party workers in UP to be ready to go to jail to make the Mayawati government accountable adding that Rahul Gandhi will join them if needed. Gandhi asked the party workers to unitedly strengthen the organisation, and seek an account of the central schemes from the state government.
The Congress' backfiring brainstorming sessions Sonia Gandhi's retirement date Ajit Jogi robotic legs and new ambitions All this and more in this week's Dilli Gupshup.
For Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who continues the Gandhi family legacy of active politics that began several generations ago, the formal entry into politics was two decades in the making.
'That would be very bad for them and suicidal for both the Gandhis and the Congress party.'
When he turned 53 last year, celebrations were rather subdued. Two weeks after the Congress won 99 seats (including a personal double victory in Wayanad and Raebareli), hoardings and banners wishing Rahul Gandhi on his 54th birthday appeared around 10 Janpath (where his mama and Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi lives) and the Congress HQ in Delhi.
In the event that like in the 17th Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi again gets locked out of the House, the Congress needs a second-in-command who will keep the momentum going inside Parliament, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'It is mind-boggling that a party can be in rigor mortis even after numerous electoral defeats,' observes Ramesh Menon.
'Where is the remote control in the BJP? When I become president, the remote control will stay with me'
Gehlot's meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi led to the buzz that the two may have discussed the possibility of him being the next party president.
A party without a 'high command' would be 'anarchy,' he said.
The party last saw a contest for the post in November 2000 when Jitendra Prasada had lost to Sonia Gandhi.
The Delhi high court on issued notice to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on a batch of petitions filed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and others in the case of alleged cheating and misappropriation of funds in acquiring ownership of the now-defunct daily National Herald.
Making a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday warned that the country faced the biggest threat from communal forces and their ideology even as the AICC resolution called upon "like-minded political and social forces to come together at this critical juncture".
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice President Rahul will represent the party at the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as the prime minister on Monday.
Some commentators said Gandhi's decision will augur well for a party that needs to reinvent itself and present a clear vision to again emerge as a credible alternative.
During 2023-24, while the BJP received over Rs 723 crore worth of donations from Prudent Electoral Trust, it also got over Rs 127 crore from Triumph Electoral Trust and over Rs 17 lakh from Einzigartig Electoral Trust.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Vadra will not contest in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, a senior and influential Congress leader told rediff.com. Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Vadra will not contest in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, a senior and influential Congress leader told rediff.com. Rahul spending time with Dalit families is also part of the Congress's poll strategy to link the future face of the Congress with the common man
The Congress leader was first arrested by the CBI on August 21.
