According to preliminary reports, Congress chief ministers Amarinder Singh, Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel are expected to join.

There are many Bharatiya Janata Party leaders who are secretly quite happy with the party’s defeat in the recent Assembly polls.

BJP leader Vasundhara Raje may have lost power in the recent Rajasthan Assembly election but the defeat has not put her down in any way.

Mr Singh is the proverbial power behind the throne.

Digvijay Singh had sufficient reason to smile when the results came in and the Congress edged out the three-term Shivraj Singh Chouhan govt.

The election in Rajasthan is a week away, but here again, the Congress is sure it will succeed in dethroning the Vasundhara Raje government.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the three-term chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, is battling hard to return to power for a record fourth time.

According to one story doing the rounds, the chief minister has a secret understanding with the Badals.

With elections around the corner, it is open season for political rivals to circulate stories and rumours about each other.

However, Shah may end up losing his Midas touch if reports from poll-bound Rajasthan are anything to go by.

Mediapersons are no longer hesitant about questioning ministers.

Despite the flak he received, Mr Tharoor is expected to travel abroad again — this time to England.

Mani Shankar Aiyar was suspended last December when he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “neech kisam ka insaan”.

The BJP and the Congress better watch out as they could well be outwitted by the newbie party once again.

Banerjee has announced plans to hold a federal rally in Kolkata next January for which she is inviting leaders of all regional parties.

The Prime Minister’s Office is also learnt to be stepping in when required.

In addition, Ms Banerjee has sent packets of the state’s special mangoes to leaders across the political spectrum.

The Rahul Gandhi-hosted iftar, on the other hand, bore his imprint and reflected the generational change in the Congress.

The word is out that the Congress in Rajasthan better beware as Mr Shah is arriving with his bag of tricks.

Mr Jogi has decided to identify 15-odd seats where his party has a presence and focus on winning these.