However, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, hosting a meeting of the leaders of the Third Front in Chennai on Sunday, said the Front would 'choose a nominee' for the presidential election.
The Samajwadi Party, which is supporting the United Progressive Alliance from the outside, on Tuesday saw "internal Congress politics" behind the disruptions by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Parliament, and wondered whether it was for replacing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Rahul Gandhi
Handing a warning to the United Progressive Alliance, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday said the Centre should immediately implement the Sachhar Committee recommendations for the welfare of Muslims, failing which it will have to go out of power.
Seeking to create a pressure group in the ruling United Progressive Alliance to take on the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday called up Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi.
A crucial meeting of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav along with Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh took place at 8.30 am on Thursday at the JD-U chief's residence at 7, Tughlaq Road in New Delhi.
A Constitution amendment bill providing for quota for SCs and STs in government job promotions was on Monday passed by Rajya Sabha with an overwhelming vote of 206 in the 245-member House.
The United Progressive Alliance government has made up its mind to move a resolution on Wednesday in Rajya Sabha to get nine Members of Parliament of the Samajwadi Party suspended for their misbehaviour and disruptions during the debate on the job quota bill for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
Even as Mukul Roy took the oath of office as railway minister in the presence of a sombre-looking Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, whose body language showed the discomfort of the Congress with its ally Trinamool Congress which has given them a run around, the United Progressive Alliance managers were sighing with relief on Tuesday, says Neerja Chowdhury.
Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati has decided to support the government on FDI as she does not want to destabilise the government, reports Renu Mittal
Charging the Centre with failing to take decisive action against Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai terror strikes as promised, Samajwadi Party on Wednesday threatened to "consider withdrawing support to the government".
The Samajwadi Party is ready for mid-term Lok Sabha polls but it is supporting the United Progressive Alliance government to keep communal forces at bay, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Sunday.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's talk of early Lok Sabha polls to his party cadres shocked Congress leaders engaged in backroom talks for the last two weeks to rope in his party to join the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre for giving it a stability to carry on till 2014.
Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari on Thursday expressed regret over his comments against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, claiming it was 'taken out of context'.On Wednesday, Gadkari reportedly said Lalu and Mulayam were 'like dogs who went back to (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi', referring to their decision to not vote against the United Progressive Alliance government during the cut motion in Parliament.
Ending months of speculation, the ruling coalition met on Friday evening at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh where its Chairperson Sonia Gandhi put forward the name of the 77-year-old veteran Congressman from West Bengal as its candidate, which was unanimously approved by the leaders of the constituent parties
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Tuesday night for consultations with United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday on the issue of the Presidential poll nominee of the UPA, amid intense speculation on Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's candidature for the post.
With the SP leadership already known to be looking for an opportunity to shake hands with Congress, Mayawati's decision was bound to propel the Congress leadership to respond at last -- even though the withdrawal was not likely to even remotely affect the fate of the UPA government. Political compulsions are bound to bring the two adversaries to a negotiating table since both have a tougher task ahead of them -- to tackle the visibly increasing might of the BSP.
After his threat of withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance government, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Monday met President Pratibha Patil and apprised her of his party's stand on the issue of the Women's Reservation Bill. Yadav, whose party, along with the Samajwadi Party, are strongly opposing the bill in its present form, told Patil that his party is not against the reservation for women.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday complained that Congress has not been treating his party well but despite that he ruled out withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance government.
Mulayam Singh joining the Cabinet will be good news for many who increasingly worried about the stability of the United Progressive Alliance government. Sheela Bhatt reports
As yoga guru Ramdev raised the pitch against Congress over the issue of black money, United Progressive Alliance ally Samajwadi Party on Monday said it will support anybody who fights for the cause.
With its ties with Congress under strain, the Samajwadi Party will elicit views of partymen on withdrawing support from the United Progressive Alliance and chalk out agitational programme against the Mayawati government at its special national conference beginning in Agra on Tuesday.
In a major relief to Dr Manmohan Singh-led government, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday ruled out the possibility of mid-term polls, adding that his party will support the United Progressive Alliance government as of now.
Mulayam Singh's bid to get a third front on his side is to get into a position where he can barter for the prime minister's job with the support of either the BJP or the Congress, says Seema Mustafa.
Attacking the United Progressive Alliance government on the issue of black money and price rise, Samajwadi Party on Tuesday alleged that the government indulged in corruption.
Amidst signs of ties warming up between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday sought to reach out to the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party which withdrew support to the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.
Terming the demolition of some structures in her flat in Bhopal as "attempts by the UPA government to tarnish the image of the Bachchan family," Indira Bhaduri, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in MP has also joined in conspiracy.
Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday pointedly accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the centre of attempting to grab Waqf properties across the country through an executive order.
Another CD on the cash-for-votes episode surfaced on Monday with three United Progressive Alliance parties claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party had stage managed the entire show for political gains.
Indications from the Congress are that the party is veering round to the view that it cannot allow any troublesome ally to dictate terms on an issue like presidential poll and that the party has to prepare for any eventuality
Playing the secular card like Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janta Dal on Tuesday helped the United Progressive Alliance government in comfortably shaking off the Opposition challenge of cut motions.
Suspense mounted on Monday over the stand of two crucial United Progressive Alliance allies -- Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party -- over the Presidential poll for which the Election Commission is expected to announce a date shortly. At the heart of the strategy of Trinamool and SP is their clamour for a financial package from the Centre, but the Congress dismissed any possibility of a quid pro quo between any help to states and the Presidential poll.
According to the latest head count by Congress's managers, the United Progressive Alliance has only 271 seats in the Lok Sabha, though the requisite majority in the 545-member House is 273. For the ruling party, the issue is not about saving the government, but about crossing the majority mark to send the decisive signal that the UPA enjoys a clear majority and has the moral right to continue in power, say sources.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said it will vote against the decision to introduce Foreign Direct Investment in retail sector in the Rajya Sabha, where the United Progressive Alliance does not have majority on its own. "We will vote against FDI in Rajya Sabha if the government brings it there," said SP's leader in the Upper House Ramgopal Yadav.
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Friday dismissed criticism over his controversial remarks on Kashmir and said the Congress cannot shy away from answering why there was only one Muslim minister in the Union cabinet.
Senior leaders of the Samajwadi Party, which had on January 8 given a five-day ultimatum to the United Progressive Alliance government to act against Pakistan, on Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and general secretary Amar Singh said they discussed ways to work together and keep the communal Bharatiya Janata Party from coming to power after the coming general election.
The Left parties, which hold the key to United Progressive Alliance's success in the Presidential election, appeared to be pushing for their own candidate for the polls.
The Liberhan Commission report on the demolition of Babri Masjid on Wednesday generated heat in the Rajya Sabha with the Congress and the Samajwadi Party squarely blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party for the demolition of the historic structure, while the main opposition debunked the report.
Following the fallout with the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and given the uneasy relationship with the Samajwadi Party, rumours are abound that the now-vulnerable UPA may very well go the general election way, says Sunita Moga
The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Congress-led regime of using the Central Bureau of Investigation as a "Damocles' sword" against vulnerable opposition leaders.
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