
New Delhi: Amid speculation that the Congress is exploring government formation in Jharkhand -- which is under President's rule -- party vice president Rahul Gandhi reviewed the political situation with state leaders on Friday. A section of the Congress has been in favour of exploring ways to form a government in the state with the support of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), said party sources in Delhi.
However, the opinion was divided on the formation of a government in Jharkhand and polls to the state assembly could well be announcedm, the sources said. Some state leaders are opposed to the alliance with the JMM, while others think it could be of help now and later in the 2014 general elections too, said the sources.
Jharkhand Congress legislators recently met party leaders in Delhi on the issue. Gandhi was instrumental in the recent appointment of Sukhdeo Bhagat as head of the party unit in the predominantly tribal state. Jharkhand was placed under President's rule in January 2013, which ends in July.
The central rule was imposed after BJP's Chief Minister Arjun Munda resigned and his government was reduced to a minority after JMM withdrew its support. Gandhi instructed state leaders to strengthen the party and gave them targets for political activity over the next three months....
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05:22 AM, May 25, 2013

Rudrapur: Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare on Friday concluded the second phase of his Jantantra Yatra in Rudrapur, asking people to "wake up" to change a system where power has gone into the hands of "tainted" people. As many as 163 of our MPs are tainted. This means that the system is corrupt and needs to be changes," Hazare said, adding, he will launch a major campaign from Delhi's Ramlila Maidan...

02:30 AM, May 25, 2013

Bhadohi: In a bid to plug possible note of dissent within the party over choice of candidates for the next General Elections, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Asrey Kushwaha on Friday said "unhappy" workers can approach party supremo to put forward their views. "If workers are unhappy they can put their views through the party forum, after which SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will take a decision," the party national general...

01:01 AM, May 25, 2013

Ranchi: A political alliance is on the cards again between the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) headed by Shibu Soren in Jharkhand. On July 18 the central rule in the state ends and the Congress will decide on Friday whether to tie up with JMM or not. CNN-IBN has learnt that the Congress is divided over the question. Sources said one section in the party feels they should call...

03:11 PM, May 24, 2013

Thiruvananthapuram: As the Congress led-UDF government completes three years in Kerala, there are more reasons to worry than cheer. The simmering rivalry between Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and state Congress President Ramesh Chennithala has now become an open conflict. An interview given to the New Indian Express has now openly pitted Chennithala against Chandy. A key bone of contention has been Chandy's failure to induct Chennithala into the Cabinet. After...

10:10 AM, May 24, 2013

New Delhi: Distancing himself from the UPA's falling fortunes, Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav may skip the dinner which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will host on Wednesday for its allies and supporting parties, according to sources. An invite has also gone to the BSP's Maywawati. However, sources say she may skip the dinner too, but the key aide Satish Mishra will be attending. Both SP and BSP support the...

10:08 AM, May 22, 2013

New Delhi: The BJP launched a blistering attack on the Congress after its Parliamentary Board meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday and said that the party was ready for the next Lok Sabha elections. BJP General Secretary Ananth Kumar accused the UPA government of failing on every front during the last nine years of its rule and claimed that his party would highlight the government's shortcoming and expose it during...

04:27 PM, May 21, 2013

New Delhi: With Jaganmohan Reddy completing a year in jail after his arrest in a disproportionate assets case, his wife Bharathi on Monday attacked CBI, alleging it was controlled by partisan interests and had delayed probe to keep him in prison. Bharathi shot off a letter to CBI chief Ranjit Sinha alleging the investigation is being conducted in a "possibly politically motivated" manner and said that she had reasons to...

01:30 PM, May 20, 2013

New Delhi: In a move that is being seen as Narendra Modi's clout growing within the BJP, the party president Rajnath Singh appointed the Gujarat Chief Minister's aide Amit Shah as general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh for 2014 elections. The indications are loud and clear as Uttar Pradesh with 80 Lok Sabha seats will be critical to the BJP's preparations for 2014 elections. The BJP in its prime has...

09:12 AM, May 20, 2013

Dharamsala: Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh on Sunday asked party workers to start preparations for 2014 Lok Sabha elections, saying they should reach out to people and help solve their grievances. The Congress state chief told party members to work as a unified unit to help achieve desired results in the next Lok Sabha polls. Singh presided over the first meeting of Kangra District Congress Committe in Dharamsala to...

03:41 AM, May 20, 2013

Pudukottai: With the break-up of UPA in Tamil Nadu, Congress leader and former Union minister EVKS Elangovan on Sunday said there was a possibility of his party heading a new alliance sans the two major Dravidian parties - DMK and AIADMK - for the next Lok Sabha elections. Rejecting the charges against Congress over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, he said people were not aware of the party's good work...

01:27 AM, May 20, 2013

New Delhi: In a run up to the Lok Sabha elections, BJP President Rajnath Singh on Sunday reorganised the party's poll machinery. Rajnath made Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah in charge of the party's affairs in key state Uttar Pradesh. Shah will be assisted by party members Trivendra Singh Rawat, Rameshwer Chaurasiya and Satyendra Kushwaha. The BJP President also made Varun Gandhi in charge of the...

07:41 PM, May 19, 2013

New Delhi: With the image of his government in tatters, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will present the last Report Card of UPA-II on May 22 in which he is expected to list the positives such as Direct Benefit Transfer and FDI in retail in a bid to boost the sagging morale of Congressmen with elections less than a year away. Battered by series of scams and the recent sacking of...

12:58 PM, May 19, 2013

Mumbai: The Congress party is debating holding a General Election in November, six months ahead of schedule, senior party leaders said, reflecting an internal discussion over whether to pull the plug on the shaky ruling coalition or have it serve a full term. Officially, the Congress party says the government - which has been battered by a series of corruption scandals and now governs as a minority after two allies...

11:45 AM, May 19, 2013

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday ruled out change of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the run up to next Lok Sabha elections but steered clear of questions whether he would again be at the helm if the UPA-III comes to power. In reply to questions about change of the Prime Minister soon and holding of early Lok Sabha elections, Congress spokesman PC Chacko said "please do not think of...

07:50 PM, May 18, 2013

Jammu: BJP on Friday said the Congress-led UPA should declare its Prime Ministerial candidate first and whether Rahul Gandhi is a stakeholder for the top job or not. While insisting that BJP Parliamentary Board will take a decision regarding its PM candidate at an appropriate time BJP national general secretary and former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah said, since UPA was in power, it should first take a decision in...

07:28 PM, May 17, 2013

Guwahati: The Assam government might take up the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) throughout the state, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Thursday. Meeting a delegation of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), which made the request, Gogoi said this will be considered subject to approval from the central government. The AASU delegation had also sought the updating be completed before the Lok Sabha elections in...

05:30 AM, May 17, 2013

Sultanpur: Amid speculations of him contesting the next Lok Sabha elections from Sultanpur, BJP MP Varun Gandhi today said his visit to the district is like a homecoming and a new politics should start in the region. "Today I have come home. I was blessed with a daughter on March 19 but God took her away on April 19. She was my first child. Only I can feel the pain...

09:30 PM, May 16, 2013

Jaipur: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi met party workers and office bearers here on Thursday while continuing his task of collecting feedback over the party's prospects in the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, party sources said. Rahul arrived in Rajasthan's Bikaner district on Wednesday to hold "feedback meetings" with the party's workers. He left for Jaipur in the evening. Assembly polls are scheduled in Congress-ruled Rajasthan at the year-end....

07:33 PM, May 16, 2013

Lucknow: Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Tuesday accused Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of conniving with BJP leader LK Advani to bring down the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Congress leader Verma said in Lucknow that after detaining BJP leaders like Advani and Vinay Katiyar at a guest house in Faizabad, Mulayam Singh Yadav, the then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, had met them discreetly and it was...

03:26 AM, May 15, 2013