With A P J Abdul Kalam deciding not to contest the Presidential poll, BJP appeared set to back P A Sangma's candidature and convince its dithering NDA allies like Janata Dal (United) and Shiv Sena to fall in line and give up plans of a consensus on Pranab Mukherjee.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, who is considered an underdog in the Presidential race, on Saturday pinned his hopes on the "big number of hidden votes". "We have (the case of) Barack Obama. Nobody thought a black man would ever occupy the White House. If a black man can become the President of America, why can't an Adivasi become the President of India," said the Nationalist Congress Party leader, whose party has refused to back him for the Presidential race.
'His contagious smile and peal of laughter, his affirmative approach to national challenges, his faith and conviction in India's future and his profound attachment to the welfare of the northeast attracted anyone who came in touch with him,' says Dr Anirban Ganguly.
In contrast, NCP president Sharad Pawar has indicated that he was ready for a pre-poll tie-up with the Congress.
Nationalist Congress Party general secretary P A Sangma said that there was no question of supporting Congress chief Sonia for the post. "We are not opposed to Rahul as the prime minister as he is an Indian. However, there was no question of supporting Sonia Gandhi for the top post," he said.
The two discussed the possibility of the Nationalist Congress Party joining the National Democratic Alliance.
Security personnel deployed outside the Transport Bhavan, metres away from the Parliament complex, did not allow anyone to go beyond the barricades they had put up before checking their identity cards and entry passes.
The Uniform Civil Code is a common set of laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance that would be applicable to all Indian citizens irrespective of religion, tribe or other local customs.
First to back P A Sangma, a tribal and minority leader for the Presidential contest, the ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha on Thursday hoped for a miracle in his favour as polling for the top post ended at the state assembly.
Voting to elect 60 members of the state assembly in Meghalaya is scheduled for Monday, February 27. The results will be declared on Thursday, March 2.
Political parties may be backing P A Sangma to mount pressure on the Congress high command to pick Pranab Mukherjee for the top post, says Neeraja Chowdhury
In the morning, he offered prayers at the Dashashwamedh Ghat and the Kaal Bhairav temple in Varanasi.
Charging the United Progressive Alliance with lacking "political decency" in evolving a consensus candidate for the Presidential poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said its decision to back former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma was in keeping with "anti-Congress, anti- UPA mood" in the country.
With P A Sangma staying in the Presidential fray, the Congress on Wednesday said the contest was part of democracy but it would not pose a problem for Pranab Mukherjee who is sure to become the President.
With A P J Abdul Kalam deciding not to join the Presidential race, the Bharatiya Janata Party core group met in New Delhi on Monday night to discuss its strategy including support to P A Sangma and reluctance of allies like the Janata Dal-United to go for a contest against United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee.
A delegation of Meghalaya ministers led by CM Conrad K Sangma will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 24 to demand a CBI or NIA probe into the violence that left six people dead on the state's border with Assam.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
"I'm not worried about numbers. The conscience vote will be in my favour," said Presidential candidate P A Sangma in an interview to CNN-IBN's editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai.
Sangma said finding the solution was not an easy decision, but for the political will of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies are well on the way to power in two north-eastern states, and is almost certain to be part of the ruling dispensation in the third.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sharad Pawar, said that on March 19, this court passed a reasoned order in which they (Ajit Pawar group) were asked to issue advertisements that the allocation of 'clock' symbol is sub judice before this court and they were permitted to use the same subject to final outcome of these proceedings.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Wednesday that he along with Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma will meet Union home minister Amit Shah to submit the recommendation of the two Northeastern states for resolving the boundary dispute in six areas.
He furnished an undertaking before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan pursuant to a March 14 order by the apex court.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma will also visit the disputed areas later as a goodwill gesture.
Days before the first vote for the Lok Sabha polls is cast, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions led by party founder Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to abide by its directions on the use of symbols, party names and disclaimers in publicity material for the elections.
At least five police personnel were injured when an agitated crowd attacked the chief minister's secretariat in western Meghalaya's Tura town on Monday, officials said.
The director general of police said that all conspirators will be taken to task and put behind bars.
A person was also arrested in connection with the blast that took place on Sunday evening at the entrance of one of the shops at Police Bazaar, he said.
It asked the Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led faction to issue a public notice in newspapers in English, Hindi and Marathi saying that the 'clock' symbol is sub-judice and its use is subject to adjudication.
Observing that the name and photographs of Sharad Pawar cannot be used by the Ajit Pawar faction for political gains, the Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister on a plea of the veteran Maratha leader alleging misuse of his popularity by the rival camp.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Dentist for a gynaecological problem! This bizarre incident took place at a private hospital in Gurugram, resulting in the death of an airhostess from Nagaland on June 24 last year, prompting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to launch an inquiry.
Exit polls by various channels predicted a hung house in Meghalaya, a win for the NDPP backed by the BJP in Nagaland, the two states that went to polls on Monday, and seemed to oscillate between predicting a clean sweep for the BJP to a hung house in the state of Tripura, where a new party the Tipra Motha may emerge as a potential king-maker in the polls, held a week back.
Post-poll violence that erupted in at least three assembly constituencies in Meghalaya left several people injured, while one person was found dead in a mysterious circumstance, officials said on Friday.
In 1999, Sharad Pawar, along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from Congress. The same year, Pawar founded the NCP.
The attack, resulting in arson and vandalism, took place when Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma was holding a meeting with leaders of Achik Conscious Holistically Integrated Krima (ACHIK) and Garo Hills State Movement Committee (GHSMC), who were fasting to press for their demand to make Tura the winter capital of the northeastern state. The CM, who was inside the building, was not injured in the violence.
'Had the BJP gone along with the NPP, that would have eased the task of the Congress of winning more seats.' 'That was a great strategy of the BJP.' 'It helped the NPP get more seats than perhaps if it had gone as a pre-alliance partner with the BJP.'
