<p>Senior Congress leader and former Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Sunday denied the rumours of him joining BJP and said that he went to Delhi for some personal work.</p>

<p>''News about my entry in BJP is being planted by vested interests, it is bogus,'' he said.</p>

<p>''I will return to Goa tonight and attend the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Monday. I had gone to Delhi for personal work,'' news agency ANI quoted former Goa CM as saying.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Congress MLA &amp; former Goa CM Digambar Kamat to ANI: News about my entry in BJP is being planted by vested interests, it is bogus. I will return to Goa tonight &amp; attend the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Monday. I had gone to Delhi for personal work. (File pic) <a href="https://t.co/sxytHWUcLg">pic.twitter.com/sxytHWUcLg</a></p>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1107270353863303168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Speculations were rife that Kamat may be inducted into the BJP and given a major position in the state government, considering current Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's deteriorating health.</p>

<p>Kamat was second in command in the BJP till 2005 when he switched over to the Congress.</p>

<p>The senior Congress leader held the reigns of the state from 2007 to 2012.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from PTI)</em></p>


Senior Congress leader and former Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Sunday denied the rumours of him joining BJP and said that he went to Delhi for some personal work.

Senior Congress leader and former Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Sunday denied the rumours of him joining BJP and said that he went to Delhi for some personal work. ''News about my entry in BJP is being planted by vested interests, it is bogus,'' he said. ''I will return to Goa tonight and attend the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Monday. I had gone to Delhi for personal work,'' news agency ANI quoted former Goa CM as saying. Congress MLA & former Goa CM Digambar Kamat to ANI: News about my entry in BJP is being planted by vested interests, it is bogus. I will return to Goa tonight & attend the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Monday. I had gone to Delhi for personal work. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/sxytHWUcLg — ANI (@ANI) March 17, 2019 × Speculations were rife that Kamat may be inducted into the BJP and given a major position in the state government, considering current Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's deteriorating health. Kamat was second in command in the BJP till 2005 when he switched over to the Congress. The senior Congress leader held the reigns of the state from 2007 to 2012. (With inputs from PTI)

'News about me joining BJP is not true': Former Goa CM Digambar Kamat

<p>Karnataka BJP MLAs who are cooped up in a resort in Haryana will take a call on returning to the state after the Congress legislature party (CLP) meeting on Friday, according to sources.</p>

<p>State BJP President BS Yeddyurappa and former chief minister Jagadish Shettar are among a dozen legislators who have gone back to Bengaluru to see a prominent Lingayat seer, Sri Shivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur, who has taken ill, they said.</p>

<p>The sources said that at present, about 75 BJP MLAs including Shobha Karandlaje are in the Gurgaon resort and will stay put till top party leaders give their nod to return to Karnataka.</p>

<p><strong>Also read</strong>: 2 MLAs withdraw support to Congress-JDS govt in Karnataka</p>

<p>The BJP will "wait and watch" for the outcome of the Congress legislature party meeting scheduled Friday to demonstrate unity among the party MLAs, they added.</p>

<p>"Congress Legislature Party meeting presided by CLP leader Siddaramaiah is scheduled for 3:30 pm on January 18 at the Conference Hall of Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat)," Siddaramaiah's office had said in a statement on Wednesday.</p>

<p>The meeting assumes significance following attempts by the Congress to reach out to its disgruntled MLAs, who are allegedly ready to jump ship to the BJP side.</p>

<p>According to Congress sources, few ministers from the party have even offered to step down in the larger interest and to keep the coalition intact. The party leadership is also looking into the option, they added.</p>

<p>There are reports that a few of the MLAs have gone incommunicado, with at least three to five of them camped in Mumbai along with a couple of BJP leaders</p>

<p>A political crisis is brewing in Karnataka, where two Independent MLAs Tuesday withdrew support to the seven-month-old ministry amid trading of poaching charges by the ruling coalition and BJP.</p>

<p>Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda had said on Tuesday that the BJP would stake claim to power in Karnataka if the Congress-JDS coalition government falls.</p>

<p>Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, however, reiterated he enjoyed the support of 120 MLAs and alleged that Yeddyurappa was making "futile attempts" to destabilise his government.</p>

<p>In the 224-member Assembly, BJP has 104 members, Congress-79, JDS 37, BSP, KPJP and Independent one each, besides Speaker.&nbsp;</p>


Karnataka BJP MLAs who are cooped up in a resort in Haryana will take a call on returning to the state after the Congress legislature party (CLP) meeting on Friday, according to sources.

Karnataka BJP MLAs who are cooped up in a resort in Haryana will take a call on returning to the state after the Congress legislature party (CLP) meeting on Friday, according to sources. State BJP President BS Yeddyurappa and former chief minister Jagadish Shettar are among a dozen legislators who have gone back to Bengaluru to see a prominent Lingayat seer, Sri Shivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur, who has taken ill, they said. The sources said that at present, about 75 BJP MLAs including Shobha Karandlaje are in the Gurgaon resort and will stay put till top party leaders give their nod to return to Karnataka. Also read: 2 MLAs withdraw support to Congress-JDS govt in Karnataka The BJP will "wait and watch" for the outcome of the Congress legislature party meeting scheduled Friday to demonstrate unity among the party MLAs, they added. "Congress Legislature Party meeting presided by CLP leader Siddaramaiah is scheduled for 3:30 pm on January 18 at the Conference Hall of Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat)," Siddaramaiah's office had said in a statement on Wednesday. The meeting assumes significance following attempts by the Congress to reach out to its disgruntled MLAs, who are allegedly ready to jump ship to the BJP side. According to Congress sources, few ministers from the party have even offered to step down in the larger interest and to keep the coalition intact. The party leadership is also looking into the option, they added. There are reports that a few of the MLAs have gone incommunicado, with at least three to five of them camped in Mumbai along with a couple of BJP leaders A political crisis is brewing in Karnataka, where two Independent MLAs Tuesday withdrew support to the seven-month-old ministry amid trading of poaching charges by the ruling coalition and BJP. Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda had said on Tuesday that the BJP would stake claim to power in Karnataka if the Congress-JDS coalition government falls. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, however, reiterated he enjoyed the support of 120 MLAs and alleged that Yeddyurappa was making "futile attempts" to destabilise his government. In the 224-member Assembly, BJP has 104 members, Congress-79, JDS 37, BSP, KPJP and Independent one each, besides Speaker.

Karnataka BJP MLAs to take call on returning to state after Congress legislature party meeting

<p>Senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel will be the new Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The decision was announced at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party on Sunday.</p>

<p>Bhupesh Baghel is Congress party chief for Chattisgarh and also an MLA from Patan, he is credited for bringing the party back to power after 15 years in oblivion.</p>

<p>Apart from Baghel, TS Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu and Charan Das Mahant were the top contenders for the post.</p>

<p>After mulling over various options for the past four days, Rahul Gandhi led Congress decided on Baghel, said sources.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Gandhi scion held discussions with senior state leaders&nbsp;for the top post&nbsp;in New Delhi.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Chhattisgarh Chief Minister designate Bhupesh Baghel with Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and PL Punia in Raipur <a href="https://t.co/Des7A6fhFZ">pic.twitter.com/Des7A6fhFZ</a></p>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1074227486521769984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Sources said the process of consultation on who will be the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh was marked by flip-flop throughout the day.</p>

<p><img alt="Congress Legislature Party" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bb6a1779-4a63-4bdb-9f08-9dcf8eee5a46" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/WhatsApp%20Image%202018-12-16%20at%2013.09.54.jpeg" /></p>

<p>Yesterday, the Congress president tweeted a smiling picture of all the four aspirants for the Chhattisgarh CM's post along with a quote by Reid Hoffman.</p>

<p>"No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you're playing a solo game, you'll always lose out to a team. - Reid Hoffman," he tweeted.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.<br />
<br />
– Reid Hoffman <a href="https://t.co/TL5rPwiCDX">pic.twitter.com/TL5rPwiCDX</a></p>
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) <a href="https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1073898465938300928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Congress had romped home to power in Chhattisgarh after 15 years with a two-third majority.</p>

<p>The Congress had on Friday named Ashok Gehlot Rajasthan's next chief minister after several rounds of discussions lasting more than two days.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Kamal Nath was announced as chief minister-designate on December 13.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
<em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel will be the new Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The decision was announced at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party on Sunday.

Senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel will be the new Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The decision was announced at the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party on Sunday. Bhupesh Baghel is Congress party chief for Chattisgarh and also an MLA from Patan, he is credited for bringing the party back to power after 15 years in oblivion. Apart from Baghel, TS Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu and Charan Das Mahant were the top contenders for the post. After mulling over various options for the past four days, Rahul Gandhi led Congress decided on Baghel, said sources. The Gandhi scion held discussions with senior state leaders for the top post in New Delhi. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister designate Bhupesh Baghel with Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and PL Punia in Raipur pic.twitter.com/Des7A6fhFZ — ANI (@ANI) December 16, 2018 × Sources said the process of consultation on who will be the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh was marked by flip-flop throughout the day. Yesterday, the Congress president tweeted a smiling picture of all the four aspirants for the Chhattisgarh CM's post along with a quote by Reid Hoffman. "No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you're playing a solo game, you'll always lose out to a team. - Reid Hoffman," he tweeted. No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team. – Reid Hoffman pic.twitter.com/TL5rPwiCDX — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 15, 2018 × Congress had romped home to power in Chhattisgarh after 15 years with a two-third majority. The Congress had on Friday named Ashok Gehlot Rajasthan's next chief minister after several rounds of discussions lasting more than two days. In Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Kamal Nath was announced as chief minister-designate on December 13. (With inputs from agencies)

Congress picks Bhupesh Baghel as chief minister of Chhattisgarh