Page 5 - Sonia Gandhi

Wayanad or Rae Bareli? Cong to hold discussions to decide on Rahul's seat

Congress' top leadership on Monday held discussions on Monday at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence here to decide whether Rahul Gandhi should vacate his Wayanad or Rae Bareli seat. The meeting also discussed whether Rahul Gandhi would take up the post of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, sources said. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former party president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretaries K C Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were present during the discussions. Sources said the leaders are learnt to have held crucial discussions on which seat should Rahul Gandhi vacate or keep, and whether he should take up the position of Leader of Opposition. Rahul Gandhi had won both from Wayanad and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies and he has to vacate one of the seats within 14 days of the Lok Sabha results, which came out on June 4. The Congress Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party, has also urged Rahul Gandhi to tak

EVMs in India are 'black box', nobody allowed to scrutinise them: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said EVMs in India are a "black box" which nobody is allowed to scrutinise, and asserted that "serious concerns" are being raised about transparency in India's electoral process. "Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability," Gandhi said and tagged a media report which claimed that a relative of Shiv Sena's candidate, who won the polls from Mumbai's north west by 48 votes, had a phone that unlocks an EVM. The former Congress president also tagged the post on X by Elon Musk in which he talked about eliminating EVMs. "We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high," Musk had said in his post. The opposition parties have been raising concerns over EVMs for some time now and had demanded a 100 per cent count of the VVPAT slips which was not allowed.

Former PM Indira Gandhi 'mother of India': Union Minister Suresh Gopi

Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Wednesday described former PM Indira Gandhi as the "mother of India" and late Congress Chief Minister K Karunakaran as a "courageous administrator". The BJP leader also called Karnuakaran and Marxist veteran E K Nayanar as his "political gurus". Gopi was speaking to reporters after visiting the memorial of Karunakaran, "Murali Mandiram" located in Punkunnam here. Interestingly, Suresh Gopi had won Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency by dashing the hopes of Karunakaran's son and Congress leader K Muraleedharan who finished third in a triangular contest in the April 26 polls. Urging mediapersons not to add any political connotation to his visit to Karunakaran memorial, the BJP leader said he came here to pay his respects to his "guru". He said like Nayanar and his wife Sarada Teacher, he had close relations with Karunakaran and his wife Kalyanikutty Amma also. He had visited Nayanar's home in Kannur and renewed his relationship with his family members on .

In dilemma on whether to retain Wayanad or Rae Bareli LS seat: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who won from Wayand and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general elections said on Wednesday that he was in a dilemma as to which constituency he should relinquish. Gandhi, however, said that whatever decision he takes, both constituencies will be happy with it. He thanked the people of Wayanad for electing him for a second term in Lok Sabha and said, "I look forward to seeing you soon." "I have a dilemma before me, whether I should be the MP of Wayanad or of Rae Bareli. What I will commit to you is that both Wayand and Rae Bareli will be happy with my decision," the Congress leader said while speaking at a public meeting here. It is his first appearance in the state after winning the Wayanad LS seat by a huge margin for the second consecutive time. Gandhi took a dig at Narendra Modi by saying that he does not receive any directions from God on what has to be done the way the PM does. Mocking at Modi, the Congress leader said God directs the PM

Sonia Gandhi re-elected as chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party

At a meeting of party MPs, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge proposed Sonia Gandhi's name as the chairperson of the parliamentary party

Senior Congress leaders begin deliberations on poll results at CWC meet

The Congress' top leadership on Saturday began crucial deliberations on the Lok Sabha election results to chalk out its future strategy at a meeting of the party's working committee here. The extended meeting of the party's top decision-making body -- the Congress Working Committee (CWC) -- started at Hotel Ashok here. Senior party leaders and members of the CWC, along with Congress Legislature Party leaders and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents from various states, will analyse the party's performance and suggest measures to strengthen the organisation. The Congress' top brass, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, besides other leaders will participate in the deliberations. Kharge, who has convened the meeting, will also host a dinner for all extended CWC members and party MPs at the hotel. A meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party comprising all newly-elected MPs of the Lok Sabha and those of the Rajya Sabha will

Exit polls 2024: How political leaders reacted to pollsters' predictions

Exit polls for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections project a big victory for the BJP-led NDA. BJP leaders welcomed the predictions, while Opposition dismissed them as a 'psychological and corporate game'

Hopeful results will be totally opposite to exit polls, says Sonia

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said Monday her party is very hopeful that the results of the Lok Sabha election will be totally opposite to what has been shown in the exit polls. "We have to wait, just wait and see," Gandhi told PTI when asked about her expectations from the results scheduled to be announced on Tuesday. "We are very hopeful that our results are completely opposite to what the exit polls are showing," she added. Most exit polls have predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls. While some exit polls have given the NDA more than 400 seats, most have predicted that it will win over 350, which is way above the majority mark of 272 seats needed to form the government. The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties have trashed the exit polls, claiming that these surveys were a work of "fantasy" and asserting that the opposition alliance will form the next ...

Cong to leave no stone unturned to fulfil guarantees in Telangana: Sonia

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said the party's government in Telangana led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will leave no stone unturned to fulfil the 'guarantees' made to people. Gandhi's video message was played at the 10th Telangana state formation day celebrations organised by the state government at the Parade Grounds here. The former Congress president, who began her speech by paying homage to those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of statehood to Telangana, recalled that she had promised at Karimnagar in the state in 2004 that the grand old party would fulfil the people's demand for a separate state. There was dissent within the party after the announcement, with many people quitting the party. However, the people's resolve gave her the strength towards fulfilling the statehood demand, she said. Telangana people have given her a lot of love and respect during the past 10 years, she observed. The former Congress president said she considers it her duty to .

LS polls: China encroached on our land but PM Modi is silent, says Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday alleged that China has encroached on India's land and is constructing houses and roads but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent. Where is the 56-inch chest, Kharge asked, taking a dig at the prime minister in his address at a rally in Himachal Pradesh's Rohru. The Congress leader said his party is fighting to save the people of the country and the Constitution and will fill 30 lakh government vacancies if it is voted to power in the Lok Sabha elections. Kharge said, "We fought against Pakistan and got independence for Bangladesh. China encroached on our land and is constructing houses and roads and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent. Where is the 56-inch chest?" The Congress chief also hit out at the Centre for allegedly not providing aid to the Himachal Pradesh government in the aftermath of the 2023 floods. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had sought Rs 10,000 crore aid from the Centre after the floods

Sonia, Kharge pay homage to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on death anniversary

Other Congress leaders like P Chidambaram and Sachin Pilot also paid their respects to the former prime minister in the national capital

Congress leaders pay homage to Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary

Top Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and others on Tuesday morning paid tribute to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Vir Bhumi in New Delhi

Rajiv's life was short but 'impactful', liberalisation his legacy: Ramesh

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's political life was very short but "hugely impactful" and he left behind numerous legacies, including the 1991 manifesto which promised liberalisation, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday. Ramesh remembered the contributions made by Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary. "His political life was very short but hugely impactful. He left behind numerous legacies that we take for granted now," he said. "These include the right of 18 year olds to vote; Constitutional empowerment of panchayats and nagarpalikas, including reservations for women in elections to them; peace in Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Punjab; India's entry into the IT, computer and telecom era as a major power; the use of science & technology to address societal concerns and challenges; strengthening of India's space and nuclear programmes. And much more," he said. One legacy, however, that is often overlooked is the Congress' 1991 manifesto that was released by him on April

PM Modi pays tributes to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid tributes to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary. India's Prime Minister between 1984 and 1989, Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE cadres at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu in 1991 during an election campaign. "On his death anniversary, my tributes to our former PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji," Modi said in a post on X.

LS polls: Voters cast their votes early in Phase 5 to avoid scorching heat

Monday's phase has the least number of seats being contested, with 89.5 million voters set to choose representatives for 49 seats

LS polls Phase 5: Mumbai heads to vote today as Oppn gets renewed boost

Elections in Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is located, have been fairly predictable until 2019 with the regional Shiv Sena party dominating in alliance with the BJP

LS polls: Cong to distribute over 4 mn pamphlets on 'Mahalakshmi' scheme

The Congress is set to step up its outreach to women ahead of the sixth and seventh phases of the Lok Sabha polls with plans in place to distribute more than 40 lakh pamphlets focused on its proposed "Mahalakshmi" scheme under which Rs 1 lakh will be given every year to a woman from a poor family, sources said. In a video message, Sonia Gandhi had said last week that women of the country are facing tough times in the wake of a "severe crisis" and the party's proposed 'Mahalakshmi scheme' for them will help change their lives. "The Congress' 'Mahalakshmi' scheme guarantees that we will give Rs 1 lakh every year to a woman from a poor family," she had said in her video message. Sources said the Congress is all set to distribute more than 40 lakh pamphlets with key focus on "Mahalakshmi" scheme in poll-bound constituencies across the country ahead of the sixth and seventh phases. Addressing a rally here on Saturday, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi spoke about the Mahalakshmi ..

Giving son Rahul to Rae Bareli people, he won't disappoint you: Sonia

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said on Friday that she is giving her son to the people of Rae Bareli and "Rahul will not disappoint you". She also thanked the people for giving her an opportunity to serve them as an MP for 20 years. "My everything is all given by you. So, brothers and sisters, I am giving you my son. You consider me yours," she said. Trying to strike an emotional chord with the voters, Sonia asked the people to consider Rahul Gandhi too as their own. Rahul will not disappoint you, said Sonia Gandhi, as Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi stood by her side on the stage at a joint election rally here. "I taught the same lessons to Rahul and Priyanka which Indira Gandhi and the people of Rae Bareli had taught me. To respect all, protect the weak, fight against injustice for the rights of people. Don't be afraid, because your roots of struggle and traditions are very deep," she said. Sonia Gandhi was first elected as an MP from Rae Bareli in 2004 and represented the seat t

WATCH: Sonia Gandhi's appeal to women days after BJP's 'mangalsutra' row

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Monday made a special video appeal to the women voters, urging them to support the party in the ongoing elections

Sonia Gandhi spent more than 70% of MP funds on minorities: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched a blistering attack on senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, accusing her of "spending more than 70 per cent of her MP funds on minorities" and the Gandhi family of being experts in lying. Rahul Gandhi is fighting the Lok Sabha elections from Raebareli the seat held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades. She recently moved to the Rajya Sabha. Rahul Gandhi has also been fielded from Wayanad in Kerala. Raebareli will vote in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20. Shah also addressed an election rally in Pratapgarh where he said that Rahul Gandhi can be scared of Pakistan's "atom bomb" but the BJP is not, and that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir belongs to India and "we will take it". He was referring to Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan having the atom bomb. At an election rally in Raebareli, Shah said, "You gave the Gandhi family a chance for years, but no development work has been done ...