<p>By Iftikhar Gilani</p>

<p>India&#39;s oldest party the Congress is split between baying for former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit&#39;s blood after she was reported to have called Rahul Gandhi &quot;immature&quot; or blaming Gandhi himself for taking so long to take over the party. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p>Rahul is the vice president of the Congress party, while his mother Sonia holds the post of president.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sheila Dikshit meanwhile has said that she was misquoted by the media.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Feeling jittery about the BJP victory in Maharashtra civic body elections on Thursday despite demonetisation-induced&nbsp;hardships, Congress strategists are also mulling the need to change the party&#39;s campaign strategy in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh elections. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The party leaders feel that an over-emphasis on demonetisation has only worked in favour of the BJP, which may use it in the remaining three phases of the Assembly polls, pitting the poor against the rich.</p>

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<h5>A senior party leader also wondered that after the Congress Working Committee adopted a resolution last year asking Rahul to take over as president, why then was he shirking the responsibility</h5>
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<p>In a couple of tweets with hashtag #DontTwistMyWords, Dikshit on Friday afternoon went into&nbsp;damage-control mode saying the Congress vice-president has the &quot;sensitivity&quot; and &quot;concern of a mature leader&quot;. But not before it was used to the hilt by BJP president Amit Shah, who at a rally in Azamgarh said the entire nation agreed with Dikshit&#39;s &#39;fact&#39;, and wondered why he was &#39;forced into&#39; the state by the Congress? &quot;Sheila ji, the whole country acknowledges the fact which you stated, that Rahul is immature, but I want to ask why are you enforcing him in Uttar Pradesh.&quot;</p>

<p>Earlier, a former minister in Maharashtra, Nitin Raut, in an open letter, blamed the Congress leaders for debacle in Maharashtra civic polls. &quot;The biggest opponents for the party were not the BJP or Shiv Sena, but an unscrupulous Congress leader. A complete washout of the party pains a hardcore Congressman in me, but what shames me is that this was done on purpose,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Raut said that with the BJP and the Sena at loggerheads and raising the pitch against each other, any experienced Congress leader could have inspired his party to put up a strong show. &quot;The results put a big question mark on the leadership in the state and its capability to prepare the party for the big test in 2019. It is of utmost importance to show party cadre and supporters that there is still hope, something which can happen only if we put people who can take party rank and file along at the top,&quot; he wrote.</p>

<p>Dikshit&#39;s detractors in the party cited her past remarks as well. She was quoted in interview as saying that Rahul was &quot;still not mature and should be given (more) time&quot;.</p>

<p>The statement came at the worst time as the party is engaged in a neck-to-neck fight in UP. It also gave ammunition to the BJP, which spares no chance of attacking Rahul. This even forced the party to cancel its daily briefing on Friday, as no leader had idea, how to tackle Dikshit comments.</p>

<p>But some leaders at the party headquarters were blaming Rahul himself. &quot;The decision to make him president is taking too long. The complete surgery needs to happen soon. We are still debating whether he is capable to take over or not. I fear time has already run out. BJP has begun preparing for the next Lok Sabha elections and here we are still trying to deal with the last one,&quot; said a party office-bearer.</p>

<p>A senior party leader also wondered that after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) adopted a resolution last year asking Rahul to take over as president, why then was he shirking the responsibility. Unofficially, party president Sonia Gandhi has more or less withdrawn and sends all the files to Rahul for clearance. In case of Mumbai also, leaders were shocked why Rahul didn&#39;t crack the whip despite open fight between Sanjay Nirupam and Gurudas Kamath.</p>

<p>(A version of this report first appeared in DNA)</p>


Some leaders are baying for her blood, others blame the party's current plight on delay in Rahul taking over the reins

By Iftikhar Gilani India's oldest party the Congress is split between baying for former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit's blood after she was reported to have called Rahul Gandhi "immature" or blaming Gandhi himself for taking so long to take over the party. Rahul is the vice president of the Congress party, while his mother Sonia holds the post of president. Sheila Dikshit meanwhile has said that she was misquoted by the media. Feeling jittery about the BJP victory in Maharashtra civic body elections on Thursday despite demonetisation-induced hardships, Congress strategists are also mulling the need to change the party's campaign strategy in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh elections. The party leaders feel that an over-emphasis on demonetisation has only worked in favour of the BJP, which may use it in the remaining three phases of the Assembly polls, pitting the poor against the rich. A senior party leader also wondered that after the Congress Working Committee adopted a resolution last year asking Rahul to take over as president, why then was he shirking the responsibility × In a couple of tweets with hashtag #DontTwistMyWords, Dikshit on Friday afternoon went into damage-control mode saying the Congress vice-president has the "sensitivity" and "concern of a mature leader". But not before it was used to the hilt by BJP president Amit Shah, who at a rally in Azamgarh said the entire nation agreed with Dikshit's 'fact', and wondered why he was 'forced into' the state by the Congress? "Sheila ji, the whole country acknowledges the fact which you stated, that Rahul is immature, but I want to ask why are you enforcing him in Uttar Pradesh." Earlier, a former minister in Maharashtra, Nitin Raut, in an open letter, blamed the Congress leaders for debacle in Maharashtra civic polls. "The biggest opponents for the party were not the BJP or Shiv Sena, but an unscrupulous Congress leader. A complete washout of the party pains a hardcore Congressman in me, but what shames me is that this was done on purpose," he said. Raut said that with the BJP and the Sena at loggerheads and raising the pitch against each other, any experienced Congress leader could have inspired his party to put up a strong show. "The results put a big question mark on the leadership in the state and its capability to prepare the party for the big test in 2019. It is of utmost importance to show party cadre and supporters that there is still hope, something which can happen only if we put people who can take party rank and file along at the top," he wrote. Dikshit's detractors in the party cited her past remarks as well. She was quoted in interview as saying that Rahul was "still not mature and should be given (more) time". The statement came at the worst time as the party is engaged in a neck-to-neck fight in UP. It also gave ammunition to the BJP, which spares no chance of attacking Rahul. This even forced the party to cancel its daily briefing on Friday, as no leader had idea, how to tackle Dikshit comments. But some leaders at the party headquarters were blaming Rahul himself. "The decision to make him president is taking too long. The complete surgery needs to happen soon. We are still debating whether he is capable to take over or not. I fear time has already run out. BJP has begun preparing for the next Lok Sabha elections and here we are still trying to deal with the last one," said a party office-bearer. A senior party leader also wondered that after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) adopted a resolution last year asking Rahul to take over as president, why then was he shirking the responsibility. Unofficially, party president Sonia Gandhi has more or less withdrawn and sends all the files to Rahul for clearance. In case of Mumbai also, leaders were shocked why Rahul didn't crack the whip despite open fight between Sanjay Nirupam and Gurudas Kamath. (A version of this report first appeared in DNA)

India: Congress divided between blaming Rahul or Sheila after she calls him 'immature'

<p>Maharashtra&#39;s regional party, the Shiv Sena, which has an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra, ruled out a tie-up with the party in the upcoming civil polls in the state. The Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray&nbsp;also ruled out future alliance&nbsp;with any party in the future, calling the last 25 years of alliance with political parties a &quot;waste&quot;.</p>

<p>Soon after, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that his party, the BJP, would &quot;take along those who come with us and leave aside those who don&#39;t&quot;.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Power aint our ultimate goal but a medium of devpt.We&#39;ll take along those who come with us &amp;leave aside who dont.Transformatn is inevitable!</p>
&mdash; Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dev_Fadnavis/status/824634080096555008">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="mr">We pledge to walk on the path of transparency!<br />
???????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ??????!<br />
????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?????????? ?? ?? ??!</p>
&mdash; Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dev_Fadnavis/status/824643407771430912">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;In future, the Shiv Sena will furl its flag in Maharashtra alone, it will not knock on anyone&#39;s doors for a coalition,&quot; the Shiv Sena chief had said earlier.<br />
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<p dir="ltr" lang="hi">Shiv Sena iske aage akele Maharashtra mei bhagva lehrayegi,kisi ke darwaaze par gathbandhan ke liye nhi jaaegi: Shiv Sena&#39;s Uddhav Thackeray</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/824623518008561665">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">In 50 yrs of Sena, 25 years were wasted because of alliance. We&#39;re not greedy for power: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/824623113442729984">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>He also clarified that the current alliance would stay but the parties would face-off in the municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai polls (MCGM).</p>

<p>Uddhav Thackeray also accused the BJP of harbouring &quot;goons&quot; (gundas) in the party and said they didn&#39;t have the capacity to fight with the Shiv Sena&#39;s &quot;foot-soldiers&quot; (sainiks). BJP hit back by saying that talks had failed because the party was firm about keeping the civic body &#39;&#39;corruption-free&quot;.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">They (BJP) have many gundas in their party but we don&#39;t have gundas, we have mawlas (sainik): Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray <a href="https://t.co/AtAMjbGFlN">pic.twitter.com/AtAMjbGFlN</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/824622478668374016">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">If someone is sad about our wish to make BMC corruption free,then no compromise from our side. We&#39;ll bring in transparency:Kirit Somaiya,BJP <a href="https://t.co/Oz3b52sfDB">pic.twitter.com/Oz3b52sfDB</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/824624605851639810">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;I am ready to go solo, the Shiv Sainiks are ready to go solo. I want strong foot soldiers with me who have the courage to launch a frontal attack and not back-stab. Once I have taken my decision, I do not want anybody to question it,&quot; Udhav Thackeray had said while addressing party workers in Mumbai today.<br />
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<p dir="ltr" lang="hi">Shiv Sena iske aage akele Maharashtra mei bhagva lehrayegi,kisi ke darwaaze par gathbandhan ke liye nhi jaaegi: Shiv Sena&#39;s Uddhav Thackeray</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/824623518008561665">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Talks between the ruling alliance partners for the tie-up for the civic polls in Mumbai and other parts of the state had reached a dead-end in the last few days.</p>

<p>&quot;If you promise to stand by me, I have taken the decision to go solo in Maharashtra. I will not go to anybody&#39;s door with a begging bowl for an alliance and won&#39;t be at anybody&#39;s mercy. I have decided that there will be no alliance for any of the municipal corporation or zilla parishad polls,&quot; Thackeray said.<br />
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The decision came a day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar&#39;s name was announced in the list of Padma awardees. He will be honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the country&#39;s second-highest civilian award after the Bharat Ratna.&nbsp;<br />
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<strong>Civilian honour for NCP leader,&nbsp;Sena reads alliance</strong></p>

<p>Shiv Sena sources told NDTV the party read it as an intention of the BJP to form an alliance with the NCP.</p>

<p>&quot;One of the Padma awards was probably &#39;gurudakshina&#39; (a gift for a teacher)... today the nation wants to know what I have to say but what the Shiv Sena has to say (to it),&quot; Thackeray said in his address to party workers today.<br />
<br />
The Sena and the BJP&nbsp;fought the assembly elections separately but later joined hands after the BJP fell short of a majority.<br />
<br />
Elections to MCGM and other municipal corporations in the state including Nashik, Pune, Kolhapur and Nagpur will be held on February 21.&nbsp;<br />
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(WION with inputs from agencies)<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Talks between the ruling alliance partners for tie-up in the civic polls in Mumbai have reached a dead end

Maharashtra's regional party, the Shiv Sena, which has an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra, ruled out a tie-up with the party in the upcoming civil polls in the state. The Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray also ruled out future alliance with any party in the future, calling the last 25 years of alliance with political parties a "waste". Soon after, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that his party, the BJP, would "take along those who come with us and leave aside those who don't". Power aint our ultimate goal but a medium of devpt.We'll take along those who come with us &leave aside who dont.Transformatn is inevitable! — Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) January 26, 2017 × We pledge to walk on the path of transparency! ???????? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ??????! ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?????????? ?? ?? ??! — Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) January 26, 2017 × "In future, the Shiv Sena will furl its flag in Maharashtra alone, it will not knock on anyone's doors for a coalition," the Shiv Sena chief had said earlier. Shiv Sena iske aage akele Maharashtra mei bhagva lehrayegi,kisi ke darwaaze par gathbandhan ke liye nhi jaaegi: Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray — ANI (@ANI_news) January 26, 2017 × In 50 yrs of Sena, 25 years were wasted because of alliance. We're not greedy for power: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray — ANI (@ANI_news) January 26, 2017 × He also clarified that the current alliance would stay but the parties would face-off in the municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai polls (MCGM). Uddhav Thackeray also accused the BJP of harbouring "goons" (gundas) in the party and said they didn't have the capacity to fight with the Shiv Sena's "foot-soldiers" (sainiks). BJP hit back by saying that talks had failed because the party was firm about keeping the civic body ''corruption-free". They (BJP) have many gundas in their party but we don't have gundas, we have mawlas (sainik): Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray pic.twitter.com/AtAMjbGFlN — ANI (@ANI_news) January 26, 2017 × If someone is sad about our wish to make BMC corruption free,then no compromise from our side. We'll bring in transparency:Kirit Somaiya,BJP pic.twitter.com/Oz3b52sfDB — ANI (@ANI_news) January 26, 2017 × "I am ready to go solo, the Shiv Sainiks are ready to go solo. I want strong foot soldiers with me who have the courage to launch a frontal attack and not back-stab. Once I have taken my decision, I do not want anybody to question it," Udhav Thackeray had said while addressing party workers in Mumbai today. Shiv Sena iske aage akele Maharashtra mei bhagva lehrayegi,kisi ke darwaaze par gathbandhan ke liye nhi jaaegi: Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray — ANI (@ANI_news) January 26, 2017 × Talks between the ruling alliance partners for the tie-up for the civic polls in Mumbai and other parts of the state had reached a dead-end in the last few days. "If you promise to stand by me, I have taken the decision to go solo in Maharashtra. I will not go to anybody's door with a begging bowl for an alliance and won't be at anybody's mercy. I have decided that there will be no alliance for any of the municipal corporation or zilla parishad polls," Thackeray said. The decision came a day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's name was announced in the list of Padma awardees. He will be honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian award after the Bharat Ratna. Civilian honour for NCP leader, Sena reads alliance Shiv Sena sources told NDTV the party read it as an intention of the BJP to form an alliance with the NCP. "One of the Padma awards was probably 'gurudakshina' (a gift for a teacher)... today the nation wants to know what I have to say but what the Shiv Sena has to say (to it)," Thackeray said in his address to party workers today. The Sena and the BJP fought the assembly elections separately but later joined hands after the BJP fell short of a majority. Elections to MCGM and other municipal corporations in the state including Nashik, Pune, Kolhapur and Nagpur will be held on February 21. (WION with inputs from agencies)

India: Shiv Sena says no tie-up with BJP for civic body polls, rules out future alliance

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India: Congress divided between blaming Rahul or Sheila after she calls him 'immature'

India: Shiv Sena says no tie-up with BJP for civic body polls, rules out future alliance