Page 4 - Congress

Triangular contest continues in Kerala as BJP eyes next Assembly polls

BJP begins strategising for next Assembly polls; Modi says 'saffron sun' rising in Bengaluru. Archis Mohan writes

Karnataka Minister D Sudhakar passes away at 66, condolences pour in

Karnataka Minister D Sudhakar died in the early hours of Sunday after a prolonged illness, a medical bulletin said. He was 66. The planning and statistics minister breathed his last at the Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences here. He had been undergoing treatment for a lung infection for the past two months. "Honourable Minister Mr Sudhakar D, 66 yrs old, was declared dead at 3.15 am on 10.05.2026 in Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Electronic City," Dr R Chinnadurai, Medical Director of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, said in the bulletin. Sudhakar was a senior Congress leader and the MLA from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district. Mourning his demise, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he was saddened to hear about Sudhakar's death. He said when he met him in the hospital, he felt he would recover. "Sudhakar was a person with immense concern and commitment towards public service. Such a person should have remained among the people for many more years. Despite t

Venugopal factor looms as Congress huddles to pick Kerala's CM face

Days after the results of the Kerala Assembly election gave a decisive mandate to the Congress-led UDF, the party is yet to finalise its chief ministerial face, with its top brass in a huddle. The X-factor in the Kerala story is the powerful general secretary (organisation), K C Venugopal, the Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha who has thrown his hat in the ring even though he did not contest the assembly elections. Also in active contention are state Congress leaders V D Satheesan, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the outgoing assembly, and former LoP Ramesh Chennithala, considered close to former party president Sonia Gandhi. The senior leaders gathered at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in the national capital, where they discussed the report of central observers, who are learnt to have indicated that a majority of MLAs support Venugopal. Sources said around 43 MLAs and all party MPs from the state have supported Venugopal as chief minister, given his stature in t

TN Cong MLAs shift to Hyderabad as TVK seeks numbers to form govt

With uncertainty continuing over government formation in Tamil Nadu, five Congress MLAs from the state were camping in Hyderabad on Saturday in an apparent move by the party to prevent any poaching attempts. Congress MLA P Viswanathan from Melur, who was formerly the AICC in-charge of party affairs in Telangana, was leading the group of five MLAs during their stay in Hyderabad, party sources said. The Congress has already declared its support for TVK, and Viswanathan is likely to become a minister if a TVK government is formed, the sources added. Actor Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which won 108 seats-10 short of a majority-had earlier reached out to the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), and VCK parties that had been allied with the DMK, seeking their support to form the government after emerging as the single largest party in its maiden Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, held on April 23. The VCK, a long-time ally of the Left parties, is expected to formally announce its support for the

Decision on Kerala CM likely in 24 hours: Congress leader Muraleedharan

As lobbying intensifies among the three top contenders for the chief minister's post, senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan on Saturday said the party high command was likely to take a final decision on Kerala's next CM within 24 hours. The UDF's sweeping Assembly poll victory in Kerala has triggered a wave of lobbying and demonstrations by the supporters of senior leaders V D Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala and K C Venugopal, urging the Congress leadership to select the respective leaders as the new CM. "The information from Delhi is that discussions on the chief ministerial candidate will be completed within 24 hours," Muraleedharan told reporters. Acknowledging public fervour, he emphasised that flex boards and marches alone would not determine the leadership. He added that the views of MLAs and coalition partners would also be considered by the Congress leadership. "I will not publicly reveal what I told the high command representatives. I have conveyed the sentiments of the pe

Shashi Tharoor moves Delhi HC against publication of deepfake videos

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday moved the Delhi High Court against the publication of AI-generated deepfake videos purportedly showing him "praising Pakistan" and making statements on such "politically sensitive" issues. Justice Mini Pushkarna issued summons to social media platforms X and Meta Platforms as well as the Centre on the lawsuit by the Thiruvananthapuram MP and current chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, and indicated she would pass an interim order in his favour. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Tharoor, submitted that unknown entities were repeatedly publishing fake videos by misappropriating his face, voice and other attributes of his personality, which ought to be taken down. The senior counsel argued that the videos are detrimental to Tharoor's reputation as a patriot and chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. "India Today and PTI have put publicly that these are fake videos, yet t

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam reaches out to Left, VCK to shore up numbers

TVK sought support to prove majority in Tamil Nadu, while Congress leaders in Kerala openly jockeyed for the chief minister's post after poll results

Pak not isolated like after Mumbai attack: Cong on Op Sindoor anniversary

Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress on Thursday said that in spite of extensive diplomatic outreach by India following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan did not get isolated as it had been after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, and has come in for praise from the US military establishment. On the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, the opposition party recalled that the first announcement of the ceasefire that halted the operation unexpectedly was made at 5:37 PM IST on May 10, 2025 by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "As we celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of Operation Sindoor and salute the achievements of our armed forces, it would be useful to recall the following: The first announcement of the cease fire that halted Operation Sindoor unexpectedly was made at 5:37 PM IST on May 10 2025 by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who claimed that it was intervention by President Trump that

Despite Cong support, Vijay-led TVK struggles to find more allies

Vijay's TVK falls short of majority in Tamil Nadu and struggles for allies, as political churn unfolds across Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry

DMK calls Congress "backstabbers" over alliance with Vijay's TVK in Tamil Nadu

DMK calls Congress "backstabbers" over alliance with Vijay's TVK in Tamil Nadu

Congress declares support to TVK, says alliance covers future polls as well

The Congress party, a long-time ally of the DMK, on Wednesday announced support to actor-politician Vijay's TVK to form the government in Tamil Nadu and severed ties with the Dravidian major. The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) have decided to extend its full support to the TVK to form the government, AICC Tamil Nadu incharge Girish Chodankar said in a statement citing TVK chief Vijay's request seeking support. He said: "Our support shall be conditional upon the TVK keeping out from this alliance any communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution of India. This alliance between the TVK and the Tamil Nadu Congress will strive to bring back Perunthalaivar Kamaraj's glory days of Tamil Nadu, with a strong commitment to Thanthai Periyar's social justice ideals and Dr BR Ambedkar's constitutional ideals in the years and decades to come. This alliance - founded on mutual respect, appropriate share, and shared responsibility between the two

Hung verdict in Tamil Nadu polls spark support talks for Vijay's TVK

In a changed political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu with no single political party having a simple majority to form the government post the Assembly election, opinion is divided among the allies led by the Dravidian majors in extending external support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation. Both the DMK and AIADMK are at unease as the Congress and also a section in the AIADMK express willingness to extend external support to Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagtam in forming the government. Post poll, the TVK's political prospects appear to impact alliances led by both the Dravidian majors in a different manner, triggering a speculation of a split. Leema Rose Martin, who won from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket, has stated that talks were underway on extending support to the TVK. Her son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, who won from Villivakkam is TVK's general secretary. On May 5, former AIADMK minister O S Manian, emerging from his meeting with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, stated

Congress likely to support Vijay's TVK for govt formation in Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said. The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night. AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu Affairs of the party Girish Chodankar had called the meeting of the Committee to decide on extending support to TVK. The meeting, the sources said, was convened on Zoom and senior members expressed their views in favour of supporting the actor-turned-politician. The PAC of Tamil Nadu Congress unanimously decided to support TVK leader Thiru Vijay to form a secular government in Tamil Nadu, the sources confirmed. Earlier during the day, the Congress claimed that Vijay had sought its support for government formation in the state and informed that its leadership has directed the state unit to take a final decision on the matter, keeping in view the state's sentiments. The party, which

Every 6th BJP MP in Lok Sabha won through 'vote chori': Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that every sixth BJP MP in the Lok Sabha secured his or her seat through "vote chori" and asked if they should be labelled "ghuspethiya" in that party's own parlance. Gandhi also claimed that the BJP would not be able to win even 140 seats today in the Lok Sabha if fair elections are held. "Through vote theft, sometimes individual seats are stolen, and at other times, an entire government. Of the 240 BJP MPs in the Lok Sabha, roughly every sixth MP secured seat through vote chori," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in a post in Hindi on X. "They are not hard to identify - should we, in the BJP's own parlance, label them 'ghuspethiya'? And what of Haryana? There, the entire government itself is an 'ghuspethiya'. The very institutions they keep in their pockets - the ones they manipulate to distort voter lists and the electoral process - are themselves 'remote-controlled'," Gandhi said, in a scathing attack on the ...

Cong says TVK chief Vijay sought its support to form govt in Tamil Nadu

The Congress on Tuesday claimed that TVK chief Vijay has sought the party's support in government formation in Tamil Nadu and its leadership has directed the state unit to take a final decision on the matter. Top Congress leaders held a meeting at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Tuesday evening. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi and Congress in-charge for Tamil Nadu state unit Girish Chodankar were among those present. Addressing the media after the meeting, Congress general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal said the Tamil Nadu unit of the party has been directed to take a final decision keeping in view the sentiments of the state as reflected in the electoral verdict. "Today we had a meeting to discuss about the Tamil Nadu political situation. Basically, we discussed the post-election scenario in the meeting, which was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar. "The

UDF wins Kerala polls: Who are the Congress frontrunners for CM post?

The Congress-led UDF has returned to power in Kerala after 2016. The focus now shifts to who will be the party's CM choice

Kerala Assembly poll result rejection of polarisation, LDF rule: Venugopal

Congress general secretary and one of the contenders for the CM post, K C Venugopal, on Tuesday said that the Assembly poll results in Kerala were a repudiation of the communal polarisation attempts by some forces and a rejection of the decade-long "political arrogance and alleged misgovernance" by the LDF. Venugopal also termed the BJP's victories in West Bengal and Assam as not a genuine verdict, alleging that they were achieved through unfair practices that would prevent any opposition party from winning there. He claimed that the BJP wanted to do it in the entire country, and that is why it brought the Delimitation Bill, which was unitedly rejected by the opposition. Regarding the poll outcome in Kerala, Venugopal said that it was a big message to those attempting communal polarisation in the state that such efforts will not bear fruit. He said that the mature electorate of Kerala were adept at identifying suitable candidates and prioritised the state's welfare and party ...

Delimitation key factor for NDA's landslide win in Assam elections

The delimitation of constituencies to reduce the impact of minority candidates in their earlier strongholds is one among the many factors that led to the NDA's stupendous performance in the Assam polls, securing a record win of 102 seats in the 126-member assembly. The 2023 delimitation exercise, which redrew and realigned constituencies with some earlier Muslim-majority seats getting reserved for indigenous communities, played a significant role in the increase of seats for the BJP and its allies in the just-concluded assembly polls. The minority votebank played a key role, particularly for the Congress and AIUDF, in all previous assembly polls in 35 seats but delimitation reduced its influence to less than 25. The 24 seats that the opposition won, mostly in constituencies unaffected by delimitation, include 22 Muslim candidates with both the Congress and AIUDF showing a sharp decline in their erstwhile bastions. The realignment led to the fragmentation of Muslim-majority ...

Jitendra Singh resigns as Congress Assam in-charge after poll defeat

Senior Congress leader Jitendra Singh on Monday tendered his resignation as the party's general secretary in-charge of Assam with immediate effect, taking responsibility for the outcome of the assembly polls in which his party suffered a crushing defeat. In his resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Singh said it is in the best interest of the organization that he steps aside to allow for fresh leadership and renewed direction. "I write to tender my resignation as General Secretary In-Charge of Assam with immediate effect. The recent election results have been deeply disappointing, and I take full responsibility for my role in the outcome," Singh said. "Despite our best efforts, we were unable to meet the expectations of the people of Assam whom we sought to serve. It is in the best interest of the organization that I step aside to allow for fresh leadership and renewed direction," he said. Singh said he is grateful for the opportunity to have served and for t

Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi loses in Jorhat by 23,182 votes

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi lost to BJP's Hitendranath Goswami by 23,182 votes in the Jorhat assembly seat on Monday, according to the Election Commission. Gogoi, the sitting MP of Jorhat, polled 46,257 votes, while Goswami secured 69,439 votes, retaining the seat for a third consecutive term. Gogoi made his assembly election debut this time. On the other side, Goswami represented the constituency thrice as an AGP MLA and twice on a BJP ticket. The deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha won the Jorhat parliamentary seat in 2024, defeating the BJP's Topon Kumar Gogoi by 1,44,393 votes. Polling for all 126 assembly segments in Assam was held on April 9.