The coming year will be one that will test sabka vishwas to the utmost, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
The opposition party termed the defection by eight out of its 11 MLAs in Goa only seven months after the assembly elections as the "height of betrayal and shamelessness."
After publication and broadcast of the news, the district administration constituted a committee of revenue and health officials for an inquiry into the news report, the FIR said.
According to experts, Bishnoi had been sulking since the Congress ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.
Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the 'Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir' is also aimed at deliberating on challenges facing the country such as "freefall of the economy", increasing inequality of wealth, price rise of essential commodities, "deep-rooted conspiracy" to hand over farming sector to a select group of private corporates, "attack on India's territorial integrity by China, "attack" on rights of Dalits, SCs/STs, minorities and attempts to divide by using Hindu-Muslim rhetoric.
The ruling Democratic Party will retain majority control of the United States Senate as two of its candidates are projected to win their pivotal races against Republican rivals, in a major boost to President Joe Biden in the second half of his term, both for his legislative agenda and his ability to appoint judges and other key officials.
The Congress is likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming election cycle with some of its top leaders, including P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing another term.
Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar, who returns as Bihar chief minister for a record eighth time on Wednesday, is likely to retain the all-important home department, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal may get most of the departments that were previously with the Bharatiya Janata Party, a highly-placed source said.
Five-time MLA Parshottam Solanki, who is also known as 'Bhai' among his followers, has been winning Bhavnagar-Rural with a comfortable margin.
'It is creditable that the BJP builds the organisation set-up and then looks for leaders.' 'The Congress on the other hand has to care for the leaders more than the organisation.'
Congress insiders say that there was no financial impropriety in the National Herald case and that the party is waiting for Subramaniam Swamy to play all his cards. Renu Mittal reports
The Congress, however, distanced itself from the statement made at the party's 'Satyagraha' protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the Centre's Agnipath scheme, saying it does not endorse any indecent remarks against the prime minister.
Azad would be accorded a grand reception on his arrival from Delhi Sunday morning, and a procession would accompany him to the venue of the public meeting at the Sainik Colony.
A BJP spokesperson said the party is going to hold a training camp at the resort.
Sources said the Congress, which has 19 legislators in the Bihar assembly, will go by what the Rashtriya Janata Dal decides and its presence will help strengthen the coalition.
Some of the Congress's new-found enthusiasm for hitting the streets will show its result in the Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka elections. That is when we will know if the Congress will go to the regional parties or the parties will come to the Congress.
The Congress won 40 seats in the 68-member Himachal Pradesh assembly while the BJP got 25 seats.
Political analysts say the Congress appears on the backfoot this time after one of its senior tribal leaders from the region joined the BJP, which has a stronghold in urban areas where civic bodies, leaders and the network required to win the election are firmly with the saffron party.
The Congress will make it the main issue when its Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi reaches Jammu and Kashmir early next year.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Friday that China was preparing for war and the Indian government is sleeping over it and trying to ignore the threat.
As Congress president Sonia Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED), party MPs and Congress Working Committee (CWC) members 'courted mass arrest' outside the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday in a show of collective solidarity with her.
In his concluding remarks at the 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur, Gandhi had said that it is only the Congress that can fight the BJP at the national level and regional outfits cannot fight this battle of ideology.
While Kharge is considered the firm favourite with his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and a large number of senior leaders backing him, Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.
Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Wednesday claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party's 1990 rath yatra was for seeking "satta (power)", but the Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is for "satya (truth)".
The UPA government will follow an inclusive reforms agenda all the while keeping a check on India's fiscal health, says Manoj Vohra, research director at Economist Intelligence Unit.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a sister organisation of the Bajrang Dal, said its workers carried out the act to register their protest against Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor's recent statement regarding minorities.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Monday said that the Congress and Samajwadi Party are the main contenders in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, as the ruling "BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) is involved in corruption, while BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is nowhere in the picture."
The Congress on Friday promised that if the party is voted to power in Gujarat, where assembly elections are due by the yearend, it would waive farm loans of up to Rs 3 lakh and provide free electricity for 10 hours daily to farmers in the state.
Kharge said that while there are very responsible people in the party who were doing their duty, some people had assumed that lack of responsibility will be ignored.
The Insurance Laws Amendment Bill is likely to come up in the Rajya Sabha on March 12 for consideration and passage.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has made it clear that there was no proposal to recommend dissolution of the state assembly.
The former Union minister and Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma on Wednesday said that the party needs revival and which is possible with collective efforts.
Dr Singh's services are not going to be asked for in the electoral battle of 2009 as it wasn't used in the last five years. His presence in the Congress scheme of things was more of symbolic value than political. But, all said and done, he was a stable symbol that has now been shaken due to his absence from office.
The priority in ticket distribution will be given to youth, women, and those with a clean image, he said.
AAP has nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Punjab
'Dr Shashi Tharoor by far is a much better choice.'
Ahead of starting the much-hyped 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attended a prayer meeting at the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial in Sriperumbudur on Wednesday.
Kejriwal's announcement is a renewed push to counter the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat and attract Hindu voters, as per political experts.
While the 16 Congress legislators in the state favoured joining the Mulayam Singh government, a section of the central leadership strongly opposed any such move.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances