Sheela Bhatt analyzes how Sonia Gandhi's leadership has failed her party, and how India has suffered
Union Health Minister and Congress in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said that the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance government is trying to resolve the separate Telangana state issue in the most amicable way.
The four Left parties may no longer be allies of the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance, but their concerns on the pension Bill will still be addressed by the government.
Just two more working days, August 6 and 7, and the Budget session of the Parliament comes to a close.
In a bid to woo youth in the state ahead of polls, the Gujarat Congress has decided to install stand-alone kiosks highlighting the achievements of the party-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.
'This will split the Marathi and Shiv Sena vote.' 'The BJP has conducted 3 surveys indicating they shall secure 109 seats in the BMC.' 'They do not wish for the Shinde Sena to demonstrate excessive strength in the BMC.' 'If the Thackerays secure 60-70 seats, that will affect Shinde's seats.'
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticizes the government's proposed bill to replace MGNREGA, arguing it weakens the guaranteed 100 days of employment for the poor and centralizes control over the scheme.
The Congress is showing a combative mood in defence of the party-led United Progressive Alliance's policy on coal allocation.
An aggressive Congress and the party-led United Progressive Alliance government worked in cohesion on Thursday to attack Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati from both the AICC as well as the newly-constituted Group of Ministers' platform, set up to bridge the 'information deficit.'
Reiterating his determination to wipe out the Congress, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday challenged the United Progressive Alliance to a direct debate on its performance at the Centre compared that of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In a country that depends on imports for more than 70 per cent of its oil and charges retail consumers of petrol and diesel less than half the global market price, the rise in crude this year above $140 a barrel has delivered an economic shock. India's cherished high rates of growth are under threat from soaring inflation and widening deficits on the fiscal and current accounts.
A section of the party, including some OBC leaders, feel that the Congress should give up this dilemma for its own good\nas it would not be politically wise to allow parties like DMK, PMK and RJD to run away with the credit.
Upping the ante, sulking Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday warned the Congress that if its demands like a coordination committee for the United Progressive Alliance coalition and better treatment of allies were not resolved by Wednesday, it would pull out from the government.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is not a threat to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance but a threat to the Bharatiya Janata Party led-National Democratic Alliance itself, as proved by the developments following his elevation as the BJP poll panel chief, his Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi said on Saturday. "Modi is not a threat to the UPA. Modi is a threat to NDA itself," he said.
'The Bloc was supporting the Congress party-led government to keep the 'communal Bharatiya Janata Party' away from power and if it felt the UPA was not implementing the CMP the party would review its support'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday pulled off a stunning performance in Maharashtra winning a record number of seats to propel the party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) stormed back to power in Jharkhand on the back of a spectacular showing by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is projected to get 227 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, while Congress will be reduced to 84 seats, according to an opinion poll.
Training his guns at the ruling United Progressive Alliance at the Centre, Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the Congress was going through a "bad time" and his party-led alliance will capture power in the next Lok Sabha elections. The country was suffering due to rising prices, growing unemployment, declining exports, corruption and poverty, Gadkari said.
An opinion poll on Monday night projected the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance securing majority with 275 out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats in the elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is poised to cross 220 seats, well ahead of the United Progressive Alliance and within striking distance of forming a government in 2014 if elections are held today.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is projected to form the government at the Centre with exit polls on Monday night giving between 249 and 290 seats to the Narendra Modi-led grouping, which is close to the half-way mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
The Central Bureau of Investigation got into an overdrive to complete the 2G scam investigations by February after the Prime Minister's office (PMO) wanted to shrug off the impression that the government is mired in corruption.
It is now an imperative need to find a third alternative at the Centre after the failure of the Congress-led UPA alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led combine's potential of being a threat to the country's secular fabric, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said. The issue would be vigorously deated at the CPI-M Congress beginning in Coimbatore on March 29, Bhattacharya, a party politbureau member, told a Left Front rally in Kolkata.
Even as the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition government in Maharashtra is drawing flak over the rising cases of farmers' suicides, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday promised crop loans at three per cent interest rate to overcome the agrarian crisis.Addressing her first election rally in the Vidarbha region, which has been rattled by a series of suicides by debt-ridden farmers, the Congress president tried to woo the farmers.
Most exit polls have predicted a majority for the BJP-led NDA, leaving the UPA far behind.
Declaring that the Prime Ministerial candidate of the Third Front would be decided after the elections, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati hosted a dinner for the leaders of the grouping and resolved to defeat the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Deomocratic Alliance.
The way things are going, India may have a no-limits free-for-all political contest rather than a three-horse race. Parties are approaching one another across the dividing lines of alliances, breaching conventional rules of the political game.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has convened an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday to ensure smooth functioning of the Budget Session of Parliament, which begins on February 21.
The government on Monday firmly rejected the Opposition's contention that the CAG had indicted the Prime Minister's Office on the Commonwealth Games issue and insisted that constitutional processes must be followed before blaming anyone.
Reacting sharply to the political and economic resolutions passed in the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee convention at Kanpur, she said the Centre has not taken any decision regarding the Rs 80,000 crore package demanded for removal of economic backwardness of the Purvanchal and Bundelkhand areas of the state. "It shows how Congress was serious regarding the problems of the state," she said.
Jharkhand was headed for a hung assembly on Wednesday as the Congress and its ally Jharkhand Vikas Morcha gained an edge by leading in 24 seats in the 81-member House. As the counting of votes progressed, Shibu Soren-led JMM emerged as the likely kingmaker, leading in 15 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party - Janata Dal-United combine gave the Congress tough competition by leading in 23 seats.The Congress is contesting the elections with Babulal Marandi-led JVM.
A national opinion poll conducted by a television channel has predicted 215 to 235 seats for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and 165 to 185 seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls. The poll, conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies for CNN-IBN, has predicted that the UPA alliance will have a vote share of 36.6 per cent while the NDA combine will cobble up 29.4 per cent votes.
Dubbing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance as a "sinking ship", the Congress claimed on Tuesday that the UPA would retain power at the Centre as it enjoys the support of people for its "impressive performance and charismatic leadership".
The Samajwadi Party also criticised the inclusion of tainted ministers in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet.
Pawar will not restrict himself to the Rashtrapati Bhavan," the minister from the NCP said.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
'Modiji has a vision for the country, not just to fight the elections but about achieving certain goals for the country.' 'Congress does not even have a vision for 25 days.'
