Singh, who had dropped Sidhu from the Punjab government during his tenure as the state's chief minister, never had smooth relations with the cricketer-turned-politician and was against appointing him as the Punjab unit chief of the Congress.
With the election campaign in Karnataka witnessing a bitter war of words between the BJP and the Congress, both the parties rushed to the Election Commission, seeking ban on electioneering by top leaders of the other side.
Top Opposition leaders, including Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for "doing nothing other than 'show-baazi'" by slashing allocations to all major social security schemes like MGNREGA.
It is not unlikely that ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP government comes up with more imaginative schemes aimed at constituency-building. The party under Modi's leadership has a more modern thinking in such matters unlike its rivals, which are still steeped only in ideology, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The first President born after Independence takes office.
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."
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
Already, there is a feeling even within the BJP's AIADMK ally that the BJP is overdoing things on the ED/I-T front, as corruption is not an election issue in the state -- as long as the people are otherwise not excessively unhappy with the governing party, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Allies since the 1990s, the JD-U and the BJP have in the recent past squabbled on issues ranging from Agnipath, caste census, population law and ban on loudspeakers.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appears to have shed the maximum sweat among top leaders for over the last 45 days in the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections campaign.
The BJP is focusing on 160 seats 'we have never won, seats where we have reasonable support, and those we lost narrowly.'
Mallikarjun Kharge has the stature, maturity and gravitas to lead a national party like the Congress with its rich history of struggle and myriad achievements, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
State deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya among 692 candidates are contesting on 61 seats spread across 12 districts in the fifth phase.
The new chief minister, if from the Congress, will have little or no time for political administration, to ensure that he does not lose the voter's goodwill even before the Lok Sabha polls. He can count only on one thing. That the BJP may not want to upset him too early lest an early failure should become an added problem for the party in all the polls to follow, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The 33-year-old, who steered his party to an impressive show in the Bihar assembly polls last year thereby emerging out of the shadow of his father Lalu Prasad, underscored that the opposition needed to bring in "dhaar" (edge) and "nayaapan" (novelty) in its electoral issues.
Shafali Verma is by far the most decorated of the lot having already played in three World Cup finals at senior level.
Janata Dal-Secular's H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday took the oath of office at a mega-gathering, attended by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia and strong regional leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and Sharad Pawar. The event was planned in such a way that it would serve as a giant display of opposition unity against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Is the BJP watching?
If her mother anoints her as the Congress's chief ministerial candidate for the UP assembly election, it could be Game On! in Lucknow.
It was curtains down on the high-decibel campaigning for the fourth phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls as sparring among political rivals intensified during the last-minute canvassing on Monday.
With their high-decibel campaigns so far, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party may appear to be locked in a direct fight in Uttar Pradesh.
Campaigning for the fifth phase ended on Friday evening, and all necessary arrangements have been completed, state Chief Election Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said in Lucknow on Saturday.
State RJD president Jagadanand Singh on Saturday announced its candidates for two seats, having done the same for 21 others a week ago, and declared that it was leaving one for the Left parties.
Batting sensation Shafali Verma will chase history when she leads India against England in the first-ever ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup final on Sunday.
'Dr Shashi Tharoor by far is a much better choice.'
On Monday, when Rahul Gandhi missed the party's 136th Foundation Day celebration event as he is travelling abroad to see his grandmother, and Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi couldn't attend the event due Covid-19 pandemic, Priyanka Gandhi took charge.
'He is a key fulcrum point in the pan-Indian creation of an effective Opposition to the BJP.'
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.
Leaders of 13 Opposition parties Sunday urged the Centre to launch a free mass vaccination drive across the country in view of the unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases.
However, the Congress asserted that its coalition government led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morchais "completely secure and stable'' and would complete its term.
The 'Group of 23' leaders who participated included Ghulam Nabi Azad, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, besides Sibal who hosted the post-birthday dinner for them.
Gaurav Solanki (57kg), Prayag Chouhan (75kg) and Brijesh Yadav (81kg) tested positive for the virus
Parliamentarians and legislators across the country voted on Monday to elect India's 15th president, choosing between opposition pick Yashwant Sinha and National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu who is favoured to win the battle to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Farmers from various parts of the country are protesting at Delhi borders against the three farm laws brought by the Centre, alleging that the legislations will hamper farming.
Dhankar wins vice presidential election by bagging more than 500 votes.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday called for a "main front" of all non-BJP parties to take on the ruling alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and asserted that the decision on its leadership can be taken later.
Asking that if all these leaders and actors accompanying the Pakistani journalists are Inter-Services Intelligence's contacts, Singh asserted that he would have invited her again had there been no visa restrictions between India and Pakistan.
Zareen caused a major upset on the second day of the tournament on Wednesday when she out-punched the Russian boxer 5-0.
A day after Sonia Gandhi's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the Centre to ensure that suspended Indian Administrative Service officer Durga Shakti Nagpal is not "unfairly treated", the Samajwadi Party flexed its muscle over the Food Security Bill.
'People of the state who bless me will give a befitting replay to the Congress.'
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