The Congress may have reviewed its poll debacle in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, but unease is growing in the party in crucial states such as Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which had returned spectacular results in the last two Lok Sabha elections.
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.
Top Congress leadership led by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held marathon discussions with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot joined them later in the evening.
If elected to the post, 53-year-old Khader will be the first Muslim leader to serve as Speaker of Karnataka assembly.
'The Congress government is on its way out in Himachal Pradesh.'
As part of efforts to mollify the dissatisfied ministers, the chief minister has despatched ministers Aanam Ramanarayana Reddy and Kasu Venkata Krishna Reddy for talks with the rebellious ministers.
Amid speculation that he has been asked to come to the national capital by the high command, he said: "I have not received any call yet. Let's see."
The swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers would take place at the Raj Bhavan in Shimla on January 8 at 10 am, the sources said on Saturday.
The decision was taken to foil the attempts made by Chief Minister Mayawati to further split the party.
Later, Pratibha Singh said she and her son Vikramaditya Singh have received a joint invitation and she is yet to take a call on attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya on January 22.
Chief minister-designate Omar Abdullah met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to present letters of support from coalition partners, shortly after the Congress officially extended its backing to the party.
As the son of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy, Jaganmohan Reddy enjoyed tremendous clout in the state and a good amount of respect in New Delhi. But only nine months after his father's sudden demise, young MP from Kadapa is fast becoming a man with no friends.
The Bharatiya Janata Party announced on Saturday that Navya Haridas, a two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, will be the National Democratic Alliance candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election.
The chief minister said nobody should make political calculations, based on this crisis.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Tuesday said his party did not 'surrender' but took a step back in the seat-sharing negotiations with its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partners as the talks could not go on indefinitely.
Congress sources said internal surveys indicate that the party is likely to get a majority in Himachal polls leading to increasing the number of contenders for the chief minister's post.
Sports stars in Haryana stepped out to cast their vote on Saturday.
Karnataka Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar on Tuesday met party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi separately and discussed the modalities of government formation in the southern state.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel reached the national capital on Saturday and is likely to raise with the Congress leadership the issue of his differences with state minister T S Singh Deo, sources said.
'If Rahul Gandhi's authority was absolute, he could have picked his man.' 'Compare this with the ease with which outsiders like Adityanath, Khattar and Fadnavis were picked.'
The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh said.
Union minister Manish Tewari on Saturday appealed to the leaders in Andhra Pradesh to "observe forbearance" till the Congress high command was going to come out with a decision on the Telangana issue soon. The statement from Tewari came as state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana left for New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the Telangana statehood issue with the party high command.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'Elections in Madhya Pradesh have so far largely avoided freebies.' 'But this time both the Congress and BJP are making such announcements.'
Opinion polls by a section of the media channels have stated that Harish Rawat is the most liked politician for the post of chief minister, way ahead of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
Expressing displeasure over the Gujarat Congress's "style of functioning", party leader Hardik Patel on Wednesday claimed that he was sidelined in the state unit and the leadership is not willing to utilise his skills.
'It is high time that the 'war on terror' is removed from our diplomatic toolbox.' 'Certainly, our parliamentarians have no role in it,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Reddy slams the leadership of the Congress leadrship, saying they believe they are correct and all others, including the people of India, are wrong.
The voter turnout recorded in the 2019 assembly polls was around 68 per cent.
In a veiled reference to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish him politically and his party in the state.
He also asserted that everything has gone smoothly for the party in the assembly polls and the government will be formed soon.
In his letter to the Congress National President, Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely said that all unanimous decisions taken by the senior Delhi Congress leaders have been unilaterally vetoed by the AICC general secretary (Delhi in-charge).
With this, the Cabinet will reach its full strength of 34.
"If the high command wants, I am ready to take up the responsibility," the former deputy chief minister told reporters while demanding that a Dalit should become CM.
Agriculture Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal says she will return to Punjab only when Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is removed.
