The Congress' "Vision Document 2020" for Uttar Pradesh lays out the roadmap for all round development by bringing in key changes in the sectors education, employment and economy in the state where it has been out of power for more than two decades.
Having burnt the fingers in the Uttar Pradesh elections due to over dependence on central leaders and a weak state organizational set up, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has told party men in Karnataka in clear terms that "assembly elections are not won from national capital".
Sudhir Bisht recalls the battle of 1984, in which UP's strongman H N Bahuguna was felled by Bollywood superstar turned political novice Amitabh Bachchan.
In an obvious bid to settle her scores with the Centre, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday got FIRs lodged against two Union ministers and two Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders for bashing up activists of Samajwadi Party near the venue of Rahul Gandhi's campaign rally in Phoolpur on Monday.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday assured the 20 crore-odd members of the Muslim community in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh that a new reservation policy would soon be in place for them. "We will keep our commitment of providing reservation to minorities in the state," Rahul told a gathering of party office-bearers at the UP Congress headquarters in Lucknow on Saturday evening. "We will do it soon," he declared amidst applause.
The SP-Congress campaign will see Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi criss-cross the seats held by either party.
The Congress and the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for her proposed move to split Uttar Pradesh into four smaller states.
Asked whether he will join the BJP, he said, "Why not? Whatever Maharaj ji tells me, I will do."
PAC Chairman K V Thomas, however, remained non-committal over these demands.
Ramesh, however, dismissed suggestions that Priyanka taking centrestage in campaigning in Uttar Pradesh showed poorly on the leadership of Rahul.
Some eyewitnesses said the driver, who is among the injured, tried to speed across the level crossing even when onlookers tried to draw his attention to the approaching train.
Seventeen children died in the neo-natal ward, five in the acute encephalitis syndrome ward and eight in the general ward.
The roadshow will begin from Kachahari at 12 noon after party leaders garland the statue of BR Ambedkar and will cover a distance of around eight kilometers in three hours.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi may hold a public rally in Banda, to mark the party's protest against what they perceive as "total breakdown of law and order", reflected in the rape of a minor OBC girl by a BSP MLA in his own constituency in that district."
Priyanka Gandhi will strike a deal with Mayawati and not Akhilesh, says Nazarwala.
The Congress leader is trying his best to end his party's 27-year exile from power in UP.
While Azad, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, has been made in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Nath will look after Punjab and Haryana, party General Secretary Janaradan Dwivedi said.
With its back against the wall, the Congress party has channelised its resources to a strategically picked 32 constituencies in the national capital, though it is contesting on all 70 seats. The party, which was almost decimated in the 2013 Assembly election, thinks the worst is over. The Congress hopes to bag at least 12 seats, where it believes it is in a strong position.
Smelling a major scam in the recent sale of four sugar mills by the Uttar Pradesh government, the Congress on Thursday accused Chief Minister Mayawati of large-scale bungling and manipulation in palming off the mills to handpicked buyers.
This is going to be the first such exercise of its kind in the 27 years that Congress has been out of power in the state, which it had earlier ruled for four long decades.
In what was seen as a huge surprise for his constituents, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will visit his parliamentary constituency of Amethi with Microsoft chief Bill Gates. The visit was kept a closely guarded secret until the news broke out late on Monday evening.
The Haryana 'incident is a manifestation of a far greater malady -- mobocracy -- that continues to afflict our society,' says Vivek Gumaste.
The SP candidates in these seats include Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav and three ministers, one of whom was recently sacked.
Forget India, UP won't accept Rahul's leadership, says Rita Bahuguna Joshi while joining the BJP
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Thursday demanded that the Centre book UP Congress Committee president Ritu Bahuguna Joshi, for her alleged inflammatory comments against the Bahujan Samaj Party chief, under the Prevention of Atrocities Act against Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.Mayawati condemned the language used by the Congress' state unit chief and said that BSP workers were so upset that they wanted to take to the streets.
The Congress party may not give a walkover to Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav and his chief minister son Akhilesh Yadav in their respective constituencies at the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Bollywood actor and suspended Samajwadi Party MP Raj Babbar would formally join the Congress in New Delhi on October 5. Babbar, who had snapped ties with former Prime Minister V P Singh-led Jan Morcha after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, has invited Congress General Secretary and in-charge of UP Digvijay Singh and UP Congress President Rita Bahuguna Joshi for a public rally in Agra on Sunday. The MP's representative Upendra Singh confirmed the rally on October 5.
The situation is worse in the Gandhi family pocket borough -- Amethi and Raebareli.
The Congress, which wanted to contest as many as 121 seats, has reportedly now settled for 105 seats.
The BSP-Congress tie-up is a done deal. Only the formalities need to be gone through and announced.
Releasing a 16-page chargesheet Ek Saal Mein Badhaal Pradesh Bana Uttar Pradesh, UP Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi told media persons that it was a compilation of election promises made by Mayawati and ground realities. She alleged law and order in the state had become bad to worse under Bahujan Samaj Party's rule and atrocities against women, Dalit and poor have gone up drastically.
In an obvious reference to the allegations made by UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi who had earlier in the day charged the UP chief minister of amassing huge amounts of wealth and property, UP Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told a press conference in Lucknow on Tuesday, "The UP chief minister does not own an inch of land anywhere."
Police took the pilot Colonel K Mehta and co-pilot Colonel S M Sehgal into custody when they landed the helicopter for picking up Congress leader R K Dhawan even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was about to take off for Palampur to address an election rally, Additional Superintendent of Police Bimal Bupta said. The make-shift helipad already had three helicopters lined for the VVIP take off, sources said, adding that the Deccan Aviation crew virtually force-landed.
Even as the BJP dithers over what it needs to do, the Congress has stolen a lead by projecting its chief ministerial candidate -- Priyanka Vadra nee Gandhi, says Nazarwala, the man who called the 2012 UP assembly elections right.
The Congress president inaugurated a photo exhibition commemorating the birth centenary of Indira Gandhi, with more than 200 pictures depicting various events from her life at the historic Swaraj Bhavan where the former prime minister was born.
The move that comes in the backdrop of the massive controversy over alleged anti-India protests in the JNU.
However, the withdrawal of support would not make any difference to the state government. The Congress has only 15 members in the UP state assembly out of 403, while RLD has 15.
Sonia's comment on foreign policy not aimed at Left: Congress
Karunanidhi made the announcement in his concluding remarks at the meeting of the party's key decision-making body, the general council, on Sunday to rapturous applause from members, reflecting the anti-Congress mood in the party ranks.
Akhilesh was always seen as someone working under the shadow of his father and uncles. However, overtime, he started asserting his authority.
