P A Sangma, the Opposition candidate for the Presidential poll, on Thursday filed his nomination papers in the presence of leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party, some National Democratic Alliance allies, Biju Janata Dal, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, northeast states and tribal legislators in New Delhi.
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's aspirations to be prime minister seem entirely logical with more multi-cornered contests, uncertainty in Andhra Pradesh and the winner-takes-all history of elections in Tamil Nadu. Praveen Chakravarty explains.
An united opposition on Thursday forced the adjourned of Parliament, as the opposition raised slogans for a joint parliamentary committee probe in the controversial allocation of 2G spectrum. As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled, opposition members from Bharatiya Janata Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Shiv Sena and Samajwadi Party trooped into the well, waving photocopies of newspaper reports on alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum Congress mem
Opposition backed Presidential candidate P A Sangma will file his nomination on Thursday, the day when United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee will submit his papers.
The Madras High Court will on Thursday decide the political fortunes of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram when it delivers its verdict on the plea filed by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader R S Raja Kannappan challenging the former's election from the Sivaganga constituency in the May 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Stepping up her campaign for former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma's candidature for Presidency, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa on Sunday contacted top leaders of several non-Congress parties including Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani, seeking their support to the tribal leader.
By almost unilaterally announcing her party's support for the candidature of former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma for the President's post, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary J Jayalalithaa has queered the pitch and made it that much more difficult the search for a common opposition candidate.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa on Thursday joined hands with her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik in backing former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma for the President's post. However, the Nationalist Congress Party virtually disowned its party leader, Sangma, to enter the Presidential race.
Lok Sabha is set to witness a confrontation over Land Acquisition Bill on Tuesday when it is taken up for voting with opposition bent on opposing it even as the government again offered to make changes in the legislation in the "larger interest" of the farming community.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is expected to achieve a clear majority in Rajya Sabha after bye-elections for 12 seats scheduled next month, which would help the party get the nod for key legislations such as the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon on Friday when Opposition members disrupted the Question Hour for the 16th working day, demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2-G spectrum allocation scam. In the Lok Sabha, members from the Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance allies, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Samajwadi Party walked into the well.
A day after losing the battle with the United Progressive Alliance government in Parliament on the issue of allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the National Democratic Alliance has threatened to reject the Union government's notification if it is voted to power in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered issuance of notice to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on a petition from his All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rival challenging his election from Sivaganga constituency in the May Lok Sabha elections.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma on Tuesday met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa against the backdrop of him favouring a tribal candidate as the next President
Barely a month after All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa talked about a national role for her party in the Lok Sabha polls due in 2014, Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani on Saturday described her as a "natural ally," fuelling speculation that both parties could come together ahead of the polls. "We see in Jayalalithaa a natural ally," Advani said at the 42nd anniversary celebrations of Tamil weekly 'Thuglaq'.
Exuding confidence that United Progressive Alliance would retain power at the Centre, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad claimed on Friday the alliance would benefit hugely from the National Democratic Alliance's old allies like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Telugu Desam Party snapping ties with it.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is learnt to be interested in reviving a working relationship with the AIADMK's Jayalalithaa, with whom her relations have been far from cordial in the past.
A day after a chaotic meeting of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, its Chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi along with National Democratic Alliance, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal and Left members are exploring the possibility of submitting the draft report on 2G scam to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar before its term expires on Ffriday.
Principal opposition Congress too staged a walk out saying its members should have been the first ones to speak but were being denied a chance.
The government on Tuesday conceded the opposition demand for having 30 members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G spectrum issue, giving up its earlier plan for a 21-member panel to accommodate smaller parties like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, sources said.
The names of the candidates were announced by AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa soon after her return from Udhgamandalam on Sunday in a statement.
Opposition members said renaming of the new greenfield airport at Shamsbad after dropping the name of the late N T Rama Rao hurt "Telugu pride".
Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, who is being backed by the Biju Janata Dal and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the President's post, on Tuesday sought to reach out to political parties, saying he hoped they will respond "to the call of conscience of the tribal people of the nation."
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday came in the line of Opposition fire in Parliament over allegations that he had helped a Delhi hotelier which led to the disruption of both Houses. The Lok Sabha witnessed uproar during Zero Hour with Bharatiya Janata Party and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members rushing into the Well, demanding that Chidambaram be sacked. In the din, the House was adjourned till 2 pm.
"It is a historic day. We are making history today," Law Minister said.
After predicting a bigger role for her party at the national level in the Lok Sabha polls due in 2014, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa on Monday asked party workers to take a vow to determine the future of Indian politics.
Details of seat-sharing will be worked out between AIADMK and the BJP's state unit, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa and BJP president Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after a 45-minute meeting in Chennai.
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
Though her party has been sharing some views of the Sangh Parivar -- including its opposition to the demolition of Ram Sethu -- the time is not ripe for an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalaithaa said.
'The alliance was formed for the elections...The polls are over. You understand better,' he told reporters in Chennai.
A number of leaders from Tamil Nadu, including 15 former MLAs and an ex-MP, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Wednesday as the ruling party looks to strengthen its presence in the southern state in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
Can Vijay's strategy. vision outshine other TN parties?
The DMK has allocated 10 seats to Congress, 10 seats to other alliance partners and kept 20 seats for itself.
'We have to change the Dravidian influence on the people.'
The DMK party in Tamil Nadu has released its manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections, promising a range of welfare measures focused on women, education, and economic development, including financial assistance and job creation initiatives.
Tamil Nadu will elect a new government on April 23.
Will the DMK retain power? Can the AIADMK spring a surprise? And what about Vijay's TVK? A Ganesh Nadar surveys the election landscape a day after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be appointed Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha on Friday. Other key parliamentary posts like that of Leader of Opposition, deputy Speaker, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and head of the all-important standing committee on finance will be keenly contested.
As soon as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan took up the Question Hour, members from these parties trooped into the Well holding placards.
The path-breaking Land Acquisition Bill, which seeks to provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land can be acquired forcibly, was passed by the Lok Sabha with overwhelming majority on Thursday.