The CM, however, said he would abide by the high command's decision.
'We can deal with defeat but what is upsetting is that there seems to be no roadmap for the future.' 'What one can say when the high command itself is not appearing to be concerned.' Congress leaders complaining about the lack of vision and the path ahead can heave a sigh of relief after sources said that party president Sonia Gandhi has planned a special brainstorming session next month in order to galvanise the beleaguered party and help reposition it. Anita Katyal in New Delhi reports.
Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav, his party colleague Pawan K Verma in Bihar and senior Congress leaders B K Hariprasad and Rajiv Gowda of Karnataka were among the 12 candidates who filed their nominations on Monday on the last day for June 19 elections for Rajya Sabha berths in 4 states.
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ajit Jogi on Monday made a formal announcement to float a new political outfit.
Will Sonia Gandhi finally take a decision she has put off for so long, asks Rajeev Sharma.
The elections are not only a means for TMC to prove its wide, unopposed mass allegiance but also a way to bargain for national leadership among regional political parties in the road to New Delhi.
Veering towards conceding the demand for a separate Telangana, the Congress has convened a meeting of its working committee, the party's highest policy-making body, on Tuesday after deliberations on the issue in the United Progressive Alliance coordination committee.
With the Congress leadership reportedly inching towards a favourable decision on Telangana statehood demand, a party member of Legislative Assembly and several YSR Congress legislators from non-Telangana regions on Thursday said they have "resigned" in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party waiting to pull down the Congress-led state government, the new chief minister's duration of service will all depend on the results of the Lok Sabha elections, says Anita Katyal.
When asked if he would be the CM candidate, Amarinder said, "I don't know, that is Congress president's decision."
Andhra Pradesh, which has lately been a hotbed of activity following the decision on Telangana will continue to see more drama in the days to come. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy appears to have made his peace with the decision to bifurcate the state, but is weighing his options heavily in order to launch a new party. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Rahul Gandhi has not erred by not engaging with Muslim conservatives. After all, they had misled his father in 1986 to legislate a misogynistic law after the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case, which helped the BJP rise at the cost of the Congress, says Mohammad Sajjad.
However, the Telangana statehood was not even on the agenda of the assembly which reconvened on Thursday morning.
Siddaramaiah seems overwhelmed by problems coming at him from every direction, reports Aditi Phadnis.
'The Congress's allies won't be left behind in looking out for their own interests. Some will demand a bigger share of the ministerial or electoral pie, others will simply jump ship,' says T V R Shenoy.
The Congress demand for being accorded the status of Leader of Opposition to its group chief in Lok Sabha was on Tuesday rejected by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Even if the formation of a new state is announced, it is unlikely that the bill on it will be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament, reports Vicky Nanjappa
The Palaniswami camp on Friday got a jolt when one of its MLAs R Natraj, a former state DGP, said that he would vote against the chief minister's motion of confidence.
The BJP leadership is understandably mulling all options on the roll-out of the GST.
'It will be a mistake to imagine that Sidhu will be a permanent feature of the Congress' Punjab scene,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The All Assam Students Union on Wednesday launched statewide protests against Assam Congress' decision to field a candidate from outside the state, Sanjay Singh in Rajya Sabha election in Assam bowing to the dictate of party high command.
Adopting an aggressive stance and seeking to push the Centre on the defencive, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday questioned the very validity of AP Reorganisation Bill-2013 saying it was violative not only of parliamentary procedures but also the Constitution of India.
Toughening his stance against the Congress high command, former Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan gave ample indications of breaking away from the party and reviving the erstwhile Tamil Maanila Congress.
Elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will see the BJP and Congress in direct contest.
Seeking to put a lid on speculation, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday said the bill for creation of the new state of Telangana, bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament starting on December five.
'Some false information was carried to Delhi, these negative bits seemed to have played heavily.' Union Textiles Minister KS on why he opposes the Telangana decision.
Rumblings within Congress over its decision to form Telangana grew on Friday with its seven MPs, a state minister and seven MLAs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions quitting amid indications that some more are likely to follow suit.
Legislators from the Andhra-Seema belt say that Kiran Kumar Reddy ready knew about the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh since December. Vicky Nanjappa reports
In a three-page complaint submitted to the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kochi, second accused Saritha Nair put the blame for the fraudulent dealings on the first accused Biju Radhakrishnan and actress Shalu Menon while stating that associating her name with politicians and ministers was incorrect.
Discussions to evolve a consensus on separate Telangana state is on and the Congress high command will take a final decision on it but it will take time, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Tuesday.
Rahul Gandhi has asked the Karnataka Government to explain the incident and send the report immediately.
Lagadapati Rajagopal, now being referred to as the 'pepper spray member of Parliament', is holding talks with Andhra Pradesh's caretaker Chief Minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy about floating a new political party.
Close aides say Rawat does not give in easily and uses all political tools to marginalise his adversaries.
For Stalin and the DMK, the declaration was the essence of the commencement of seat-sharing talks with the Congress, and even more, the launch of their combined campaign for the LS polls. That meant the DMK had to send out a message also to the 'minorities' in the state, who had deserted the DMK and very badly at that in the critical, post-Jaya R K Nagar assembly bypolls last year, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sources reveal that the Assam chief minister may be on his way out even as it seems that his Haryana and Maharashtra counterparts will survive the crisis. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
The thumping victory for the Congress in the by-elections in Karnataka has renewed their hope of winning 25 seats in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
In the clearest indication that the Congress leadership is moving towards the formation of a separate state of Telangana, the party organised a massive show of strength in Hyderabad on Sunday giving a clarion call in favour of the new state.
'The win in Assam is likely to have a ripple effect in other north-eastern states like Manipur and Nagaland which have been reluctant to embrace the BJP in the past,' says Nitin A Gokhale, the distinguished commentator on strategic affairs, who lived and reported from Assam between 1983 and 2006.
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his Maharashtra counterpart Prithviraj Chavan held talks with Congress central leadership in New Delhi amid indications that decision on replacement of chief ministers will be made soon starting with Assam.
The Congress' fortune in Odisha has been on the slide ever since it lost power to the Biju Janata Dal in the 2000 elections. Party loyalist Giridhar Gamang's resignation has only added to its problems, says Dillip Satapathy
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