Was Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi unaware of the unlocking of Babri?

January 24, 2024

Wajahat Habibullah, who was in PMO, in his forthcoming book offers a fascinating account of what happened among Rajiv, Arun Nehru and Vir Bahadur Singh over the unlocking of Babri masjid-Ramjanmbhoomi site. Contrary to a popular perception, Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was not aware of the unlocking of Babri Masjid...

Doctrine of necessity and compulsion driving Congress towards seat-sharing arrangement

January 5, 2024

Amid differences, disquiet and one-upmanship, INDIA alliance is hopeful to thrash out a seat sharing formula. But the prospects of a one-one-one contest against Narendra Modi-led BJP-NDA is not liked by a section of Congress, particularly its in-house veterans. The reason being, for the first time in post-independence India, the...

Congress shifts from historic 24 Akbar Road to Indira Bhawan

December 28, 2023

It has been nearly 45 years that 24, Akbar Road has served as headquarters of the Indian National Congress. With three days to go for a new decade, the grand old party is all set to shift out of 24, Akbar anytime early next year to Indira Bhawan at the...

Defeat sparks challenges for Congress within I.N.D.I.A alliance

December 14, 2023

Following an unexpected and humiliating defeat in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the Congress is facing a stiff challenge from within the INDIA alliance. There is no indication whether, in less than six months to go, INDIA alliance would announce its prime ministerial face or...

Pranab Mukherjee’s diaries reveal struggles, discontent during ministerial tenure

December 7, 2023

Between 2004 to 2012 when Pranab Mukherjee was union defence, external affairs and finance minister, there were at least a dozen occasions when had contemplated stepping down as a minister, reveals a book written by Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmishta. The book is based upon Mukherjee’s hand written diary entries and his...

1971 conflict: Indira Gandhi led India to victory, Bangladesh’s liberation

November 30, 2023

On the eve of December 3, 1971, Pakistani dictator-cum President Yahya Khan and his army General Tikka Khan lost patience launching airstrikes on eight air-fields from Srinagar to Barmer. This ensured that Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi did not have to initiate a war. The war last for barely 13...

Telangana polls: Congress’ fate decides national political landscape in 2024

November 23, 2023

Telangana is going to be the central piece of ongoing assembly polls in five states. The outcome of the 2014 carved out state from erstwhile Andhra Pradesh is going to have a serious and far-reaching impact on the national politics and in the run up for 2024 general elections. A...

Priyanka and Jyotiraditya revisit ancestral feud with heated exchange

November 17, 2023

On the last day of the campaign in Madhya Pradesh, the sudden burst of harsh words between Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiradtiya Scindia has brought back memories of a bitter feud between Indira Gandhi and Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, grandmothers of Priyanka and Jyotiraditya Scindia respectively. Priyanka made an uncharacteristic personal jibe...

Congress faces slim chance in Rajasthan: Poll surveys

November 8, 2023

Going by poll surveys and political pundits’ prediction, the Congress has little or a slim chance to retain Rajasthan. But in the event of the grand old party managing to prove pollsters’ wrong, would Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi consider crowning Ashok Gehlot again? The prospects of ‘Gehlot dobara’...

Baghel’s political ascendancy in Chhattisgarh raises party tensions

November 1, 2023

In the Rajiv Gandhi era, Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot and Digvijaya have had the opportunity to serve as union ministers, state party chiefs and parliamentarians when Bhupesh Baghel, a district youth Congress leader from Durg used to raise “Kamal Nath Zindabad, Digvijaya Singh zindabad.” However, nearly four decades later, the...