Page 3 - Indian National Congress

We don't want EVMs, we want ballot paper': Kharge after losing Maharashtra

Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of fearing the caste census

Cong seeks to capitalise on BJP rift in Kerala, woos disgruntled leaders

Amidst the rift in Kerala BJP over the party's loss in the Palakkad Assembly by-poll, the Congress on Tuesday tried to cash in on the opportunity by inviting dissident leaders of the saffron party to its fold. The displeasure openly expressed by the Chairperson and many councillors of the BJP-ruled Palakkad Municipality over the selection of C Krishnakumar as the party candidate in the Assembly by-poll, prompted the grand old party to make the political move. The district leadership of the Congress made it clear that if the BJP councillors wish to renounce Hindutva and embrace the Congress ideology, they would be welcomed. Senior Congress leader and Palakkad MP, V K Sreekandan and DCC president A Thankappan extended the invitation through the media. However, they said they didn't hold any talks with any of the BJP councillors in this regard, and the matter would be taken up only after they expressed willingness to quit the saffron party. Thankappan said the BJP councillors are yet

Constitution is tool to protect poorest, it must be upheld: Rahul Gandhi

The Congress on Tuesday urged citizens to protect the ethos of the Constitution and said the struggle to defend India's inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited in the 75th year of its adoption. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Constitution is a powerful tool to protect the poorest and weakest sections of society, and the stronger it is, the stronger the country will be. In a swipe at the BJP, the opposition party also asserted that at a time when those out to destroy the Constitution are showing insincere commitment towards it, "our duty to protect it and fight for its true values becomes all the more relevant". Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the people of India should come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution. "The 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution has begun today. I extend my warmest wishes to all Indians on this historic occasion," the Congress president said in a post on X. "

INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul may attend Hemant Soren's oath-taking

Top leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Congress's Rahul Gandhi and RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, may attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Hemant Soren government here on November 28, a senior leader of the grand old party said on Monday. In a stunning comeback, Hemant Soren's JMM-led alliance on Saturday stormed to power in Jharkhand for a second consecutive term, winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, despite an all-out blitz by the BJP-led NDA, which managed only 24 seats. Soren retained Barhait seat by defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes. "All top leaders of the INDIA bloc are being invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony at Morabadi Ground here on November 28. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav are likely to attend the event," the Congress leader told PTI. As far as ministerial berths are concerned, in all likelihood, there may be four ministers from the grand

TMC MP urges Congress to set aside ego, backs Mamata as INDIA bloc leader

Bolstered by the TMC's clean sweep in the West Bengal assembly bypolls, senior party leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee asked the Congress to "set aside its ego" and recognise Mamata Banerjee as the leader of the INDIA bloc. He also criticised the Congress for its poll debacle in Maharashtra. Kalyan Banerjee emphasised the need for "unified and decisive" leadership to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, drawing confidence from the TMC's impressive performance in the recent by-elections, where the party retained five assembly seats in West Bengal and snatched Madarihat from the BJP. The TMC MP emphasised that Mamata Banerjee's "proven leadership and grassroots connect" made her the "most suitable" figurehead for the opposition alliance. "The Congress and other opposition parties should admit their failures in the recent elections and prioritise unity over individual ambition. They must set aside their ego and accept Mamata Banerjee as the leader of the INDIA bloc, he said

Maharashtra : Cong's Digvijaya Singh alleges BJP manipulated polls via EVM

Notably, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory in the Maharashtra assembly polls by winning 230 (BJP-132, Shiv Sena-57, NCP-41) out of a total of 288 seats

Congress MP Deepender Hooda calls Maharashtra polls outcome "astonishing"

Of 288 assembly constituencies, Mahayuti secured 230 seats in the recently concluded assembly polls in Maharashtra

Cong face with clean image, Prithviraj Chavan gets shock defeat in polls

The defeat of Congress veteran and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in the Maharashtra assembly polls in his home district Karad has come as a shock and big setback for him in his decades long political career. One of the most educated lawmakers in the state, Chavan's career saw him becoming the chief minister of the state and also a Union minister. Known for his clean and non-controversial image, Chavan, 78, took over as the state's chief minister when the Congress was battling allegations of corruption 2010. When Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently campaigned in Karad South assembly seat, he quipped that Chavan was a politician of international standard and a misfit in the state Vidhan Sabha. To the shock and surprise of even Chavan's critics, the senior leader lost the seat to BJP's Atul Bhosale by nearly 40,000 votes in the state poll results announced on Saturday. The defeat is a new low for Chavan personally as well as the Congress, which suff

Cong's Maharashtra poll performance shocking, worst-ever: Prithviraj Chavan

Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said his party's defeat was "shocking" and dubbed it as the "worst-ever" loss in the state assembly polls. Talking to PTI, Chavan said the Mahayuti government's Ladki Bahin Yojana, for providing financial assistance to women, clicked with voters in rural areas while polarisation hit the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) prospects in urban parts of the state. "It is difficult to say whether there was a wave or tampering," said Chavan, who lost from his Karad South seat. The results of the November 20 polls to the 288-member state assembly were announced on Saturday. Several bigwigs from the MVA, including Chavan, were defeated. The Congress, which contested 101 seats as part of the MVA, posted its worst-ever defeat by managing to win only 16 seats. Chavan said he was expecting to win his Karad South seat in Satara district by 5,000 to 6,000 votes. But, all MVA nominees in the district lost

Congress govt in Telangana to mark first anniversary from Dec 1-9

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has directed officials to make arrangements on a grand scale for the Congress government's first anniversary celebrations from December 1 to 9. During a meeting with ministers and officials on Saturday, Reddy instructed ministers to present a progress report on their respective department's work and explain the future plans by holding press conferences. The CM will inaugurate a statue of 'Telangana Thalli' (mother) at the Secretariat complex on December 9 (coinciding with the birthday of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi). About one lakh women from across the state would be invited for the event, an official release said. As part of the celebrations, a public meeting of unemployed youth would be held in Peddapalli district on December 4. As many as 9,000 youth, newly recruited for government jobs, would be handed over appointment letters at the venue. A 'farmers convention' would be organised at Mahabubnagar on November 30. Reddy also ordered t

Big names that fell short: Shockers from Jharkhand & Maha poll results

The Maharashtra Assembly elections witnessed some surprising results, with seasoned politicians and prominent leaders failing to secure their seats

Maharashtra results: NDA leads comfortably in 229 seats - show 4 pm trends

At 9 am, counting trends showed the Mahayuti-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leading on more than 153 of the 288 seats. Meanwhile, the Opposition was ahead on 86 seats

Need to learn from results: Robert Vadra on MVA's show in Maharashtra polls

Regarding the Jharkhand elections, Robert Vadra expressed his happiness in the JMM-led mahagathbandhan and said that he hopes the BJP will not 'disturb the ruling party' using ED

Cong hits back at Nadda's letter to Kharge on Manipur, calls it '4d'

The Congress on Friday slammed BJP president J P Nadda over his allegation that the opposition party was pushing a politically motivated narrative on the issue of Manipur, saying his letter to Mallikarjun Kharge is a "4D exercise -- denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation". Nadda on Friday accused the Congress of pushing an "incorrect, false and politically" motivated narrative on the issue of Manipur unrest, as he hit back at Kharge for seeking President Droupadi Murmu's intervention and alleging the Centre's complete failure in defusing the crisis. In a rejoinder to Kharge, Nadda claimed the repercussions of the Congress's "abject failure" in dealing with local issues in Manipur when it was in power are being felt even today. Hitting back at Nadda, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Congress President Kharge ji wrote to the President of India on Manipur. Apparently to counter that letter, the BJP President has now written to the Congre

Maharashtra polls: Pilot says MVA will decide on CM's name within a day

Confident of an MVA win in Maharashtra, Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot on Friday said there would not be any issue among alliance constituents in deciding on the CM post after getting a majority and it would not take more than a day to "figure out who will get what position". Pilot, who was given the charge by the party in the Marathwada region and campaigned extensively in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and in constituencies where bypolls are taking place, dismissed indications by exit polls that the BJP alliance in the two states would get a majority. In an interview with PTI a day before the results, Pilot said the results of the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand as well as to the bypolls in various states will provide a "reality check" to the BJP and the NDA. On the party's prospects in the recent round of assembly polls after the Haryana defeat, the Congress general secretary said Haryana was a setback and a very surprising one but Maharashtra and Jharkhand were

Unreliable, chronic liar: BJP's CR Kesavan lashes out at Rahul Gandhi

Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, BJP's Kesavan said that Rahul Gandhi was exposed in the HAL matter that he raised during the previous Lok Sabha elections as the company's revenue has been increased

JP Nadda accuses Congress of failure in Manipur, hits back at Kharge

BJP president J P Nadda on Friday accused the Congress of pushing an "incorrect, false and politically" motivated narrative on the issue of Manipur unrest, as he hit back at Mallikarjun Kharge for seeking President Droupadi Murmu's intervention and alleging the Centre's complete failure in defusing the crisis. In a rejoinder to Kharge, Nadda claimed the repercussions of the Congress's "abject failure" in dealing with local issues in Manipur when it was in power are being felt even today. What is shocking is how repeated attempts are being made by the Congress party to sensationalise the situation in Manipur, he told Kharge. He said Kharge seemed to have forgotten that not only did his government legitimise the illegal migration of foreign militants to India, the then home minister P Chidambaram had signed treaties with them. These known militant leaders fleeing their country to avoid arrest were wholeheartedly endorsed and encouraged to carry on their destabilising efforts, Nadda .

Vindicates demand for JPC probe: Congress on charges against Adani in US

With billionaire Gautam Adani charged in the US with alleged bribery and fraud, the Congress on Thursday said it "vindicates" its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the various "scams" involving his conglomerate. The opposition party also called for "a new and credible" SEBI head to be appointed to complete the securities law investigations into the "Adani Mega Scam". Adani has been charged by US prosecutors over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay USD 250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts. US prosecutors charged Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over USD 250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts on terms that could potentially bring in more than USD 2 billion in profit. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the US Securities and Exchange Commission's actions also c

Congress workers attack car transporting EVM after polling in Nagpur

Congress workers ransacked a car transporting an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to a strong room in Nagpur after polling concluded for the Maharashtra assembly elections, police said. The police clarified that the EVM in question, which escaped damage in the attack, was not used in polling and it was kept on standby. The incident took place in the Killa area of Central Nagpur constituency on Wednesday when polling officials were transporting the EVM from booth number 268 to the designated strong room in a car. Workers of the opposition Congress claimed the EVM was being taken to a photocopy shop to print a document and they started questioning poll party officials over violation of protocols in handling the machines. According to the police, the vehicle was intercepted by a group of individuals, who raised concerns that EVM protocols were being violated. Tensions escalated when Congress workers began pelting stones at the car. Reports suggested officials inside the car were ...

Maharashtra polls: From vandalism to cash seizures, key highlights of the day

Exit polls present a mixed picture, with some predicting a win for the Shinde-led Mahayuti alliance and others favouring a majority for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)