As the Bharatiya Janata Party looks set to retain Haryana, the Congress' poll campaign, which was built around various issues including unemployment, farmers' plight and Agnipath scheme, appeared to have failed to click with a majority of the voters.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asserted that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will return to power with a two-thirds majority in the 2026 Assembly elections in the state and ruled out the possibility of stitching any alliance with the Congress. Banerjee's statement comes amidst speculation over a possible Congress-TMC understanding in West Bengal, following the removal of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as state Congress president and the appointment of Subhankar Sarkar. However, Banerjee has categorically stated that the TMC will fight alone and secure a historic victory. The Congress, on the other hand, has responded by saying that regional parties are bothered about the Congress because they have realised their mistake in ignoring the party during the Delhi polls. The BJP has downplayed Banerjee's remarks, stating that the TMC's defeat in the upcoming elections is inevitable. The West Bengal Assembly elections are likely to be held in April-May next year.
'The Congress will have to go deep into it and find the reasons for its defeat'
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday asserted that West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee should be allowed to lead the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
Exit polls, which had given a clear majority to the Congress in Haryana and an edge to National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, appear to have failed to feel the pulse of the voters once again.
The results of the assembly elections will be announced on October 8.
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
Bucking anti-incumbency, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party pulled off a hat-trick of wins in Haryana to retain power and halt Congress' comeback attempt in the assembly elections, results of which were announced on Tuesday.
With Atishi at the helm it will not be easy for the BJP to continue using the LG's office and the bureaucracy as political instruments to hinder governance and thereby provoke the electorate's ire against the AAP, expects Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Several BJP-backed state governments have unveiled schemes targeting the poor, women, farmers and students, following the party's setback in the Lok Sabha polls.
Their joining is likely to come as a big boost to the BJP in Haryana with a few months remaining for the polls.
There was a quarrel between Dharmendra and Raja on the polling day. Dharmendra was asking Raja to vote in favour of the BJP but Raja did not listen to him.
In the midst of crucial assembly elections in five states, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda organised a huge rally in Haryana on November 10 in what is being seen as muscle flexing at the party leadership in terms of showing his following in the state. Renu Mittal reports.
All 40-odd rooms at the resort have been booked for the guests from Jharkhand for the next two days, Congress sources said.
The MLAs of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition in Jharkhand on Tuesday arrived in Raipur by a chartered flight in a bid to thwart the Bharatiya Janata Party's possible attempt to poach them, and moved into a nearby luxurious resort.
AAP is working on its new strategy to build a strong organisational set-up with leaders from all sections of society, reports Nitin Kumar.
He said a tie-up between the two parties could have caused a 'damage' to the BJP-led NDA on the 23 seats.
Rebel Congress leader Chaudhary Birender Singh on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of its chief Amit Shah at a rally, ending his over four-decade association with the party in poll-bound Haryana.
'I hope that the day has not yet come to say good bye to party. But the way leadership is behaving with me, it doesn't seem far away,' Nirupam said in a tweet.
The ruling Congress on Wednesday promised a loan waiver scheme for non-farmer loan seekers -- like the landless, craftsmen and small shopkeepers -- setting up of a farmers' commission, construction of two lakh cheap houses for the urban poor and making the state power surplus in Haryana.
The AAP said the tie-up can only be done on 33 Lok Sabha seats across four states and one Union Territory.
Indian National Lok Dal leader Om Prakash Chautala today said his party is the "only alternative" to the Congress in Haryana and claimed that success of a recent rally is an indication of wave in favour of INLD.
Former chief minister Bhajan Lal of the newly-floated Haryana Janhit Congress won the Adampur seat for a record 10th time while the Congress retained both the Indri and Gohana seats.
'The people who were assigned the role to look after the affairs of the Congress in Maharashtra have failed.'
'The voter is cautioning the BJP not to take them for granted.'
'You have to work for the development of the people; stay connected with them; be available for your voters so they can come to you for redressal of their problems and don't rely on the brand equity of the central government.'
After a series of desertions in the election year, the ruling Congress in Haryana may face another jolt as its senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh, who has openly revolted against the chief minister, appears set to dump the party and join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Trouble is brewing for the Congress in Haryana with its Gurgaon Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Rao Inderjit Singh making a statement that Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra must be punished if he is found guilty of 'sham land deals' in Haryana. Reenu Mittal reports
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