The lure of the17 Lok Sabha seats in the new Telangana state is driving Sonia Gandhi and her party to make every effort be made to push it through Parliament at the earliest.
Seen by political watchers as the favourite to retain power for a third straight term, the Bharatiya Janata Party has set itself an ambitious target of winning 370 Lok Sabha seats, a goal aimed as much at projecting its strength as at diminishing the opposition in popular imagination.
All the major parties seem to be waiting for their rivals to blink first as forging alliances has apparently become a tricky affair in the newly-born state of Telangana, which has 17 parliamentary and 119 assembly constituencies that will go to polls on April 30.
The Congress Core Committee met in New Delhi on Friday to deliberate on the delicate Telangana issue on which party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad submitted a report amid indications that a decision on it will take some more time. Amid mounting pressure from pro-Telangana groups whose agitation for a separate state continued for the 18th day on Friday, Congress' top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, met in Delhi.
Under fire from pro-statehood forces, Congress leaders from Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh are taking divergent stands on their future course of action for forcing the Centre's hand on the contentious issue.
The total number of those who have quit the Congress and embraced parties like the YSR Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi stands at 75 today. To make matters worse, another wave of defections are expected to hit the party in the days to come.
Madhu Yashki Goud, senior Congress Member of Parliament from Telangana, who has been instrumental in the decision making on Tuesday, says these misconceptions are being spread by uncouth MPs from Rayalseema and Andhra.
On Friday, October 20, 2023, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi stopped by a roadside eatery at Kondagattu town in Jagital and cooked a dosa.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is leading the party's pan-India Bharat Jodo Yatra on Sunday gave some exciting moments during the foot march as he suddenly started to sprint along with some school children, forcing others to run.
Bandh demanding statehood for Telangana, protests on streets and shutdown in the state is what Andhra has been witnessing for years now. But what is it that makes Tuesday's agitation different? Vicky Nanjappa analyses
The Telangana Rashtriya Samiti, spearheading the Telangana statehood movement, rejected a fresh appeal by Home Minister P Chidambaram to participate in Thursday's meeting to discuss the Justice Srikrishna report, even as Congress held hectic parleys with its leaders from Andhra Pradesh on ways to deal with the situation.
Members belonging to the ruling Congress and Telugu Desam Party tried to disrupt the customary address by the Governor to the joint session of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature on Monday by raising slogans for and against the bifurcation of the state.
The Governor of Andhra Pradesh accepted the resignation of Infrastructure Minister K Venkat Reddy on Wednesday. Reddy who is a member of Legislative Assembly from the Telangana region had submitted his resignation to Governor, Narasimhan on October 2.
About 40 per cent of sitting MPs have criminal cases registered against them out of which 25 per cent have declared serious criminal cases under charges of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and crimes against women, according to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
In a major embarrassment for the Congress party, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's resolution to reject the bill was passed unanimously.
The minorities and Dalits, who constitute 40 per cent of the Telangana population, are now saying that they will prefer to remain in a united Andhra Pradesh rather than have a Telangana which is controlled by "communal forces", reports Vicky Nanjappa
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
A day after tendering their resignations, Congress ministers, members of Parliament and members of Legislative Assembly from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday met senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and are understood to have demanded an early decision by the Centre on the separate state issue.
Gandhi also said the idea of 'One Nation, One Election' was aimed at distracting from real issues of the people.
With Telangana nearly at the doorsteps of attaining statehood, there are many questions floating around. Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, who has extensively covered the Telangana statehood struggle, will answer these queries
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
Lok Sabha on Tuesday looked like a virtual battle-ground during the consideration of the controversial Telangana Bill with Congress members seen protecting Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and other top leaders from protesting members.
The MLAs of the ruling JMM-led alliance exuded confidence of winning the floor test, while the opposition BJP asserted that the coalition would be defeated.
Seat sharing and campaign is likely to be top of the agenda, they added.
The Election Commission on Saturday announced the dates for the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram assembly polls.
Hitting out at the ruling Congress for not coming out with a favourable decision on the separate Telangana demand, Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao Monday alleged that the Centre lacked even the basic concern for the people of the region.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
