Left with just three MLAs, the Congress does not have the required one tenth of the legislative strength in the 40-member House to claim the Cabinet minister-level post.
Speaking to the media persons in Delhi on Sunday, the Rajya Sabha member said: "I have declined the offer to be the next Punjab CM. I believe Punjab CM face should be a Sikh."
The MLAs -- Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumtalli, Umesh Jadhav, and Nagendra -- did not ascribe any reason for not attending the opening day's session.
Going for status quo, the Congress named Ashok Chavan and Bhupinder Singh Hooda as leaders of its legislature parties in Maharashtra and Haryana, clearing the decks for their return as chief ministers even as Arunachal strongman Dorjee Khandu was on Sunday sworn in for a second consecutive term in the state's top post.
The former chief minister noted that he had worked with Pawar in his cabinet and knew his style of functioning. Pawar was Thackeray's deputy in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Both Sawant and Rane are being seen as top contenders for the post of chief minister in the state.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's speech in Dholpur reflects that his leader is Vasundhara Raje and not Sonia Gandhi, Sachin Pilot said in a no holds barred attack against his party colleague on Tuesday.
Seeking clarification, Karnataka Governor has sent back to the government a bill that sought to collect funds from temples with over Rs 10 lakh annual income, citing that a case concerning the earlier related act and amendments made to it is still pending in Supreme Court.
Members from the Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal too were part of the group, their participation seen as another indication that the party is all set to switch sides from the SP to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
'If you do not attend the meeting, it would be presumed that you have a clear intention of leaving the party'
The demand for a fresh caste census has stirred the political atmosphere in Bihar for some time.
Creating a positive reform that does away with an official who constitutes a flawed aspect of Indian democracy will allow the BJP to rightfully claim this as one of its positive legacies, suggests Karan P Shah.
Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot arrived in the national capital on Tuesday amid a buzz of a likely meeting with the party high command that is grappling with the high political drama in the state.
Hectic parleys were on between Bommai and central leaders in Delhi during the last couple of days, to finalise the cabinet expansion.
With Sonia Gandhi putting her seal of approval on his name, Harish Rawat was elected on Saturday the Congress Legislature Party leader in Uttarakhand, paving the way for Haridwar MP's swearing in as new chief minister of the hill state.
A central BJP minister claimed that the split in the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra will also have an impact in the Lok Sabha as at least a dozen Lok Sabha members of the outfit, out of the total 19, were ready to switch sides.
Hemant Soren was also formally elected as the JMM legislature party leader.
The decision was taken in a BJP legislature party meeting held here on Thursday. After the meeting, Kataria told reporters that the motion of no confidence will be moved in the assembly session beginning Friday. He said the proposal was being finalised.
The 67-year-old gave the example of two neighbouring states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to buttress his point on why seat-sharing pattern of the INDIA bloc will vary from state to state.
Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on Monday, became the first-ever woman chief minister of a province in Pakistan when she was elected to head the Punjab province, describing it as an 'honour' for every woman in the country.
The Congress refrained from commenting on any peace formula between Gehlot and Pilot.
Dinakaran has been re-inducted and elevated to the position of deputy general secretary.
The bill was defeated by a voice vote on February 23 in the upper house, where the Opposition has a majority, after it was passed by the assembly on February 21.
Congress leader V Narayanasamy on Monday called on Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and formally staked claim to form government in the Union Territory.
Notably, Yadav, the younger son of Rashtriya Janata Dal's founding president Lalu Prasad, had steered the 'Mahagathbandhan', which then did not have the chief minister on its side, to an impressive electoral performance in 2020 assembly polls in which the National Democratic Alliance could barely scrape through.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked whether Parliament could have enacted the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which divided the erstwhile state into two Union territories, during the subsistence of President's rule in 2018-2019.
A huge contingent of police personnel, including a Rapid Action Force (RAF) team, was deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident.
The Congress fielded former Governor Margaret Alva's son Nivedit Alva from the Kumta assembly seat.
Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Tuesday reiterated that upcoming assembly elections will be his last electoral battle, but he will remain active in Karnataka politics.
Forest Minister Chaudhary Lal Singh and Industries Minister Chander Prakash had attended the rally.
As per a letter sent to the MLAs by the assembly secretariat, the chief minister has expressed his willingness to move a motion of confidence to prove his majority.
In a landmark judgment that delivered a big blow to the government, the Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the electoral bonds scheme, saying it violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information.
Deriving from Narendra Modi's continuing charisma, the proposed scheme, if and when implemented, can cut both ways. That is to say, if Modi can win, he can lose. Or, someone else in his place, later on, could lose as much as he could win in his time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress chief had accepted the resignation of Punjab PCC chief Shamsher Singh Dullo, but had asked him to continue on the post till the appointment of the next PCC president.
While Shivakumar is as usual contesting from Kanakapura, Siddaramaiah is returning to his home turf of Varuna in Mysuru district, which is currently represented by his son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah.
The Congress on Monday appointed the party's Punjab unit chief Navjot Sidhu as chairman of the state election committee.
There was no official word on the number of MLAs who attended the meeting at Gehlot's home, but party leaders claimed 106 legislators were there.
Despite a warning issued to him by the Congress, former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot sat on a daylong fast at the Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur on Tuesday, demanding action in cases of alleged corruption related to the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state led by Vasundhara Raje.
The rift within former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's family over the Hassan ticket for the May 10 assembly polls widened on Tuesday, with Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy invoking the battle of 'Kurukshetra' in the epic Mahabharata to allege that some 'Shakunis' were trying to brainwash his brother H D Revanna.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will take the final call on Wednesday on who will be the chief minister.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances