After days of uncertainty and dragging, the seat-sharing issue between the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and left parties for the April 13 Tamil Nadu assembly polls was finally sealed on Monday with the Jayalalithaa-led party allotting 22 seats to Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Communist Party of India.
Expressing displeasure over government's reluctance to restore the EPF interest rate to 9.5 per cent, the Left parties and Samajwadi Party, both UPA supporters, on Thursday staged a walkout in Lok Sabha with a warning that it should "see the writing
Left parties on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Shashi Tharoor, saying it was 'highly inappropriate' for a minister in the Union government to be involved in 'murky dealings' with regard to the IPL. "It is incumbent upon Tharoor to step down from office till his name is cleared of any unethical or irregular behaviour," the CPI-M said in a statement. Tharoor is battling allegations that a beautician romantically linked to him had received Rs 70-crore free equity.
Pawar also said it is the moral responsibility of the major Opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect in the state assembly polls the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The preferred format would be for the top BJP leadership in the government to reach out to the alliance leaders on a case-to-case basis.
Left's role in formation of next government seen crucial.
Because of the ''wrong policies'' of the UPA government, the BJP was gaining benefit and not the common man, Bardhan noted.
BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde sought to draw a parallel between Karnataka's handling of Neha Hiremath's killing to the way West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly shielded the Sandeshkhali case accused Shajahan Sheikh.
The first time the Election Commission has taken cognisance of a model code of conduct complaint against a sitting prime minister.
The Left parties and Telugu Desam Party jointly staged a protest at Indira Park in Hyderabad on Thursday in protest against the failure of Andhra Pradesh and Central governments in controlling the abnormal hike in the prices of essential commodities. The parties vowed to take up 'serious agitation' in future if the governments failed to act swiftly to control the price rise.
The Left parties on Monday boycotted Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien by staging a walkout to protest his presiding over the proceedings of the House when it was debating the gruesome rape of a five-year-old girl in Delhi.
Left parties on Monday decided to extend support to the 'Bharat Bandh' called by Confederation of All India Traders on December 1 to protest the Centre's decision to allow FDI in retail.
Pointing out that this is the first time that a complete alliance has been formed by the major Left parties in Bihar, the Communist Party of India state secretary Rajendra Prasad Singh said top Central leaders of the three parties will campaign together for the by-elections.
This assumes significance as it comes two days ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament when the Left allies of UPA will be raising the nuclear deal issue.
With the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and allies far ahead in all the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state and 1 in neighbouring Puducherry, it appears the outcome, for the Stalin-led Dravidian party will be similar to the success of the popular flick Baahubali.
The Mahagathbandhan's seat-sharing announcement comes a day after the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls was over.
Close to half of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats are bracing for multi-cornered fight this time, making the contest way more interesting and intense than it was in the 2019 elections.
Left parties on Sunday decided to suspend participation in the United Progressive Alliance-Left coordination committee\nmeetings to protest against the government's decision to go ahead with disinvestment .
It is a double century with a difference for the cricketer turned politician, who is the lead campaigner for the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in the state.
Four times more liquor has been seized in the 2024 election than during the 2019 polls.
Acharya will contest from Saran while Bharti will try her luck in the Patliputra LS constituency.
After being marginalised by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, the Left parties have appealed the prime minister to issue a commemorative stamp in the late leader's memory. Anita Katyal reports.
The issue of Foreign Direct Investment in retail is expected to generate a storm in the Winter Session of Parliament beginning next week, with the Left parties on Friday announcing their decision to move motions entailing voting to oppose the government's decision.
It is believed that the Left will go ahead with its threat to withdraw support to the alliance following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that he would meet the Nuclear Suppliers Group on Tuesday and seek their support for the civil nuclear cooperation with the US.
In a significant move, Dr Singh has expanded the political space for the Congress, which is being pushed to the wall on issue of secularism and is facing difficulties with his political allies on various other issues. Dr Singh confidently claimed he was not seeking an early election.
According to the Election Commission data, 30 out of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats went to the BJP-led coalition in the latest elections, a sharp drop compared with 39 in 2019 and lower than the tallies of 2014 (31) and 2009 (32).
The Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Friday said the Left parties were making efforts to form a Third Front as an alternative to both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party although he did not spell out a time frame.
'Lalu is Lalu. His presence in the election campaign will make a difference for the Mahagathbandhan.'
The RJD, which emerged as the single largest party in the 2020 assembly polls, ended up in the opposition since the Mahagathbandhan, which includes Congress and three Left parties, fell short of a majority.
The National People's Party, which rules Meghalaya, is another national party which received no donations through electoral bonds.
Ahead of their crucial meeting with the United Progressive Alliance on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Left parties will meet on Monday to chalk out their line of action on the issue. The government is likely to brief the Left parties on the over three-month long negotiations it held with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the safeguards agreement during the UPA-Left committee meet.
Ramesh alleged that through the "electoral bonds scam", the Bharatiya Janata Party has collected Rs 8,200 crore and used the route of "pre-paid, post-paid, post-raid bribes and shell companies".
The Left parties on Sunday announced a 12-hour all-India general strike on September 20 to protest against government's decision on diesel price, LPG cylinders and FDI in multi-brand retail, coinciding with the agitation by other opposition parties and United Progressive Alliance supporter Samajwadi Party.
'Rahul Gandhi has done nothing for the constituency'
Although the credit for acquiring the technological skill must be given to India's outstanding nuclear scientists, the decision to go nuclear was a political one that entailed clarity of vision, courage and resolve, points out Rup Narayan Das.
The West Bengal Congress unit issued a denial and said the state president meant "TMC and BJP are just the opposite sides of the same coin as both are venomous and spread lies".
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