'Rahul Gandhi might not be holding any post as of now but everyone knows that he is the "captain of the ship'
As Madhya Pradesh goes to polls, all eyes will be on 29 key assembly seats, out of the total 230, where the contest will be keenly watched.
'Priyanka did draw huge crowds and eventually all of those ended up voting for the Samajwadi Party.' 'The voters today are smart enough to vote for the party which they know is going to win or they know this party will come second, but no way will they vote for a party which will come third or fourth.'
The Congress will hold a chintan shivir immediately after the Budget session of Parliament and the CWC will meet again before that, he told reporters
Sharma claimed he has received complaints that neither any virtual nor any physical meeting was held to finalise the electoral rolls, the sources said.
As Mallikarjun Kharge won the Congress president poll, his electoral rival Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said the 'democratic contest' has galvanised vibrancy at all levels and has prompted a healthy and constructive discussion on change, which will serve the party in good stead in the future.
A day after senior Congress leader Anand Sharma resigned from the chairmanship of the party's Steering Committee for Himachal Pradesh, interim party president Sonia Gandhi on Monday asked All India Congress Committee in charge of the Himachal Pradesh, Rajeev Shukla to pacify the issue.
Earlier, only Azad was scheduled to meet Sonia Gandhi.
The meeting of the Congress' top decision-making body has been convened after demands from some quarters within the party to discuss important issues, including some defections in the recent past.
Rahul Gandhi would be pursued to return as Congress president as there is none in the party other than him who has a pan-India appeal, veteran leader M Mallikarjun Kharge has said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the restoration of statehood and democratic process is a very important step in Jammu and Kashmir as he avoided a question on whether his party would be part of an Opposition alliance in the Union Territory.
'I would like to see Kharge include Shashi in the Congress Working Committee.' 'The other alternative is that the Congress will marginalise him.'
The Congress president had left on August 23 to visit her ailing mother, who was in her 90s.
One of the G-23 leaders also pointed out that "we are not political tourists" and said the party leadership has to be conscious of "rumour-mongers and naradmunis".
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.
Tharoor's campaign team has also raised 'serious issues' in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.
Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Salman Khurshid on Wednesday hit back at their party colleague Kapil Sibal and other leaders of the G-23, alleging that they were trying to break the party by continuing to hold meetings even after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had discussed 'all' issues during its recent meeting.
Just before the Congress Working Committee meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, an internal dispute had emerged regarding "leadership" issues in the party.
The Congress on Sunday announced that elections for its president will be held on October 17 with the winner being declared two days later, asserting that it is the only party in the country which undertakes such a democratic exercise.
The UP Congress reportedly passed a resolution demanding action against Prasada, a leader from Uttar Pradesh, and has accused his family of being against the Gandhi family.
While Tharoor declined to comment on whether he would throw his hat into the ring, he has written an article for Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi calling for a "free and fair" election.
With the deepening political crisis in Rajasthan over the appointment of Ashok Gehlot's successor, Congress Working Committee members have demanded from Sonia Gandhi to pull the state chief minister out of the race for the party chief and select another candidate for the top post, sources said on Monday.
'It was Maulana Azad's foresight which created the IITs, UGC, science academies across the country.'
The plenary session in Chhattisgarh's Nava Raipur will start from February 24 and is expected to be attended by around 15,000 delegates.
The meeting of the Congress Parliamentary strategy group was held at the residence of party President Sonia Gandhi.
The party, the sources said, has also approved 50 per cent representation to SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities at all levels of the organisation, as part of its social engineering efforts to win the confidence of the weaker and oppressed sections of society.
Gandhi, then a newly appointed Congress chief, had staked claim to form the government at the Centre after the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had lost the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 1999.
Sidhu, who had been attacking the AAP-led government in the state over various issues including the law and order situation, said Punjab's resurrection was possible only with a collective effort.
Sources said the process was stuck since Rahul Gandhi is not willing to contest the election for the post of Congress president, although all the efforts to convince him are still going on.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the shock resignation of party veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday and his letter to party president Sonia Gandhi in which he lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for 'demolishing the party's entire consultative mechanism'.
Sources said besides giving approval to the polls schedule, the members of the CWC, the party's highest decision-making body, could also express confidence in the leadership provided by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
At the same time, Sonia Gandhi does not want to hold the post due to health reasons and Rahul wants a non-Gandhi should hold the post in place of Sonia.
A day after he cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls, Bishnoi also said that he listened to his soul and acted on his conscience.
After its resounding defeat in the assembly polls in five states, the Congress on Thursday said the results are contrary to its expectations, but it accepts the people's mandate.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday virtually ruled out contesting CWC polls if the party decides to hold them, saying he is not considering any further elections after having fought the AICC presidential polls and it is "for others to step forward".
'When did Mr. Sibal fight an election to get into any position in the party'
Rawat through his tweets on Wednesday had expressed anguish at the factionalism in the state unit and noted that thought has been crossing his mind that "it is time to rest".
Gandhi said around 400 Congress members will be attending the Chintan Shivir in Udaipur from May 13 to 15 and stressed on the message of every leader holding one party post.
'Dr Shashi Tharoor by far is a much better choice.'
After Congress president Sonia Gandhi met leaders of the G-23 grouping to resolve internal party issues, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday said "indulging the dissenters too much" will encourage more dissent.
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