In West Bengal's assembly elections, fish has become a potent symbol of Bengali identity, with the Trinamool Congress and BJP clashing over food habits and cultural representation.
However, the national party count has gone down to six from 14 in over seven decades.
"We (Congress and NCP leaders) discussed the nitty gritty of a (possible) common minimum programme to ensure the government functions smoothly," Pawar said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addressed questions about advertisements featuring only CM Fadnavis, asserting that there is no race for credit among Mahayuti allies and that they are working as a team. He also commented on the Maratha reservation issue and the government's efforts to address it.
With Nationalist Congress Party leader Chagan Bhujbal floating the idea of rotating the post of chief minister, senior Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh said on Thursday there was no doubt about his party getting the Chief Ministership in Maharashtra.
This is to enable Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to reduce the size of his cabinet as per a Constitutional amendment.
The Congress on Monday refused to read any political overtures in the meeting between its ally Nationalist Congress Party's chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in Mumbai, saying it was to ensure the conduct of a hassle-free IPL. Asked whether Pawar's meeting with Thackeray was a snub to the Congress, party spokesperson Abhishekh Manu Singhvi said, "Pawar has met Thackeray to prevent the politics of disruption in cricketing matters."
Senior congress leaders are underplaying the nationalist Congress Party-Congress face off saying all is well between the two parties and that the Pawar-Praful duo are merely positioning themselves and that there are really no real problems which need to be addressed. Renu Mittal reports.
He further said that he believes Ajit Pawar will play a key role as a "kingmaker" after the elections.
Congress candidates were leading over their Nationalist Congress Party rivals in two assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh.
Sulking ally Nationalist Congress Party on Monday kept the Congress guessing on its pullout plans from the government but made it clear that it will not rock the United Progressive Alliance boat and continue its support "till the end".
Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil came down heavily upon the Congress on Sunday and said the party has become "a pain" for the NCP.
Speculation is rife in political circles over the past few days that he is likely to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of India's diplomatic mission abroad, on Monday said it is 'distressing' that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is 'so difficult to be patriotic'.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday refuted the allegation that the Nationalist Congress Party ditched the Congress in recent elections to the posts of Zilla Parishad chairman and vice-chairman in the state, saying it was the Congress which had failed to honour the `dharma' of coalition.
The two parties have agreed to contest 26 and 22 seats respectively.
Now, the state has an unprecedented situation where there are six major political players with three on each side.
Pawar was amenable to increasing the height of the boundary walls of his house in Delhi as part of the enhanced security measures.
Democratic Indira Congress (K) state vice president and former Kerala minister P Sankaran on Wednesday announced that he was quitting the party and returning to the Congress.
Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with pro-Hindutva BJP and the Shiv Sena, noted Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Nitish Kumar (Bihar) -- all secular politicians -- aligned with the BJP for the sake of development of their respective states.
Senior Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge is not averse to running for the AICC president's election if party chief Sonia Gandhi asks him to contest, sources close to the veteran leader said on Wednesday.
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Wednesday alleged the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party of collusion with Raj Thackeray and sought to remind the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president that Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan had made immense contribution to Maharashtra.
"The decision has been taken. The ropes of retreat have been cut," Mushrif said
The 15-year-old Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance in Maharashtra broke up on Thursday with the regional party deciding to contest next month's assembly polls on its own and pulling out of the government, setting the stage for its fall.
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik faces criticism after Rapido, the bike taxi aggregator he exposed for illegal operations, became the lead sponsor for a 'Dahi Handi' event organized by his family.
Stepping up the heat on Justice Yashwant Varma, parliamentarians on Monday submitted notices to the presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for the removal of the Allahabad high court judge from whose residence in New Delhi burnt wads of currency notes were found.
'Life in India is better only for those who have reservations.'
The team, comprising Vayalar Ravi, Pranab Mukherjee and Ghulam Nabi Azad, is right now meeting party legislators at Sahyadri Guesthouse at Malabar Hills.
Nationalist Congress Party in Goa on Friday took strong cognisance of a statement by a Congress leader that the Sharad Pawar-led party was colluding with Bharatiya Janata Party to destabilise the Congress-led government in the state.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said all the party rebels contesting against the official candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have been suspended for six years.
The grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
The talks will cover issues like the number of seats to be contested by each party, the formula for seat-sharing, and the seats to be offered to other allies
'I not only came back, but returned after breaking two parties'
The Bharatiya Janata Party has opted not to grant tickets to eight MLAs, followed by Congress which replaced five MLAs.
In a veiled attack on 'Team Rahul' over Congress' poll debacle, a section of party leaders on Thursday said only those having experience of field work should be given "leadership posts" and wanted a "ruthless introspection" to help it bounce back.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's announcement -- that his government may grant second capital status to Belgaum -- has evoked sharp reactions from political parties in Maharashtra. Maharashtra has been demanding that Marathi speaking areas of Karnataka, including Belgaum, be merged with the state. Leaders of Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP flayed the statement. Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan said Yeddyurappa had spoken out of turn.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar's remarks on Monday virtually declaring new entrant Harshavardhan Patil's candidature for the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra has irked a section of party leaders that was eyeing ticket from the Indapur seat.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
The next meeting of opposition parties will be held in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18, the Congress announced on Monday, and asserted their resolve to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party has been strengthened by the 'Mumbai operations' of the 'BJP washing machine'.
The Nationalist Congress Party has claimed all the 28 Congress corporators in Malegaon city in Maharashtra's Nashik district, including the mayor, crossed over to the party on Thursday.
