Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN reiterated that he is not going to contest the next Lok Sabha elections.
Fadnavis was sworn in on November 23 in an early morning hush hush ceremony, with the support of Ajit Pawar, who then headed the 54-member Nationalist Congress Party legislature party.
The impasse over government formation continued in Maharashtra on Friday, eight days after the state assembly poll results were announced, even as the Congress targeted the BJP for "cheating" the Sena.
Congress members don't want Rahul Gandhi back as party chief. But the problem is that Sonia Gandhi won't have anyone other than her son to take over the Family Firm, notes Virendra Kapoor.
Gandhi also took a potshot at the RSS, saying it was bent on changing the country's Constitution.
'NCP wants the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress to come together and provide a stable government.'
'This is a fascinating side to Sonia Gandhi, the way she disarms her opponents.'
"There was a meeting between Pawar and Gandhi, in which the issue of candidates for the post of president was also discussed. Pawar clearly informed Gandhi that she should consider somebody else's name," NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.
'Given that the RGF is a family-controlled trust, why would the Congress defend it every time someone accuses it of wrong-doing?' asks Virendra Kapoor.
Declaring that he has no ambition of becoming prime minister, Pawar is holding Rahul Gandhi's hand, reassuring Mayawati and reaching out to Mamata Banerjee, reports Aditi Phadnis.
The Election Commission has reduced maximum number of campaigners for the recognised parties to 30 while for the unrecognised parties it would be not more than 20 in view of coronavirus pandemic, Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO) Sanjay Kumar Singh said on Friday. The maximum number was earlier fixed at 40 for everybody.
Other members of the group are former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Communist Party of India-Marxist chief Sitaram Yechury.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who have extended support to the Congress to form the government in the state, were not present.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar condemned the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and said that it was a "disturbing and fascist strike" by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said there was no political angle to the meeting. "Raut wanted to interview Fadnavis for (the Sena mouthpiece) Saamana and this meeting was to discuss how to go about it," he tweeted.
On all key issues, Congress is MIA, sighs Shekhar Gupta.
Wishing him, President Droupadi Murmu said the work for nation-building under his incomparable hardwork, dedication and creativity continue to advance.
The Grand Old Party must bring widespread reforms across all levels of the organisation to show it is no longer in a state of inertia and to present itself as a viable political alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress veteran Kapil Sibal said.
Setting aside their bitterness, both within and outside Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi shook hands at a function to felicitate NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, who turned 75 on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi said the meeting was very productive and everyone decided to stop the BJP from further assault of institutions and the Constitution.
'Cultural nationalism or the victim card that you play is okay when people are well fed.' 'But if you are not well fed, then it puts a question mark (on your leadership).'
The Congress on Sunday named Baghel, a five-time MLA from Patan, to head the state Congress Legislature Party. Baghel, who took charge as Congress state president Congress after the 2013 assembly polls, was credited for the massive victory of the party in the recent assembly polls where Congress won 68 seats in the 90-member House.
"I am also quitting as member of Legislative Council," Thackeray said in a webcast.
'In the end, it was possibly Pawar's pow-wow with Modi that helped her to come to a decision,' says Amulya Ganguli.
A Jodhpur court, on April 25, 2018, had sentenced Asaram to life in prison after finding him guilty of raping a teenage girl in his ashram in 2013.
After a meeting in the Parliament Library, the leaders of these parties issued a joint statement, expressing concern over the prevailing security situation in the country.
'Mamata wanted the Congress in alliance with the BJP in Bengal against the Left Front government.' 'Pranab Mukherjee opposed it, stating it would amount to compromising on secularism.' 'In 2021, Mamata defeats the BJP and becomes a champion of secularism.'
Janata Dal-Secular's H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday took the oath of office at a mega-gathering, attended by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia and strong regional leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and Sharad Pawar. The event was planned in such a way that it would serve as a giant display of opposition unity against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Is the BJP watching?
Addressing a press conference, Pawar, a Rajya Sabha member, also bemoaned the conduct of Deputy Chairman Harivansh and the Modi government's decision of "bulldozing" the Opposition in the House.
The final phase of polling on Saturday will cover 78 constituencies spread across 19 north Bihar districts.
Yadav also called for firming up of an Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections, suggesting that the Congress must focus on over 200 seats on which it is in direct fight with the saffron party, while taking a 'backseat' in states where regional parties are a formidable force.
'We are fully capable of handling anti-India propaganda but it does pain when a former president of such a big political party does ochi rajiniti (shallow minded politics) at a time of problems. It is a matter of self-introspection for him and the Congress'
Providing official secret information to a journalist is a 'criminal act' and both the giver and the receiver will have to go to jail, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday referring to the purported WhatsApp chats of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami doing the rounds of social media.
The 84-year-old priest-activist Stan Swamy, arrested under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Elgar Parishad case, died at a Mumbai hospital Monday in the middle of his fight for bail on health grounds.
The assembly election results are likely to put a lid on the impending battle the old guard and young Turks, strengthen the hands of the veterans, and force the younger leaders to negotiate a truce. Archis Mohan reports.
Speculation is rife that Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United is likely to support the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance's choice for the upcoming Presidential poll. This ties in with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's refusal to attend the meeting of non-BJP parties called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on May 26. The meeting will discuss the presidential polls and the way ahead for the opposition to tackle the BJP.
They have already prepared a draft common minimum programme (CMP).
In a joint letter to the prime minister, the opposition leaders, including some chief ministers, have also demanded providing foodgrains to the needy, and giving Rs 6,000 per month to the unemployed.
"We are here together for people of Maharashtra. A government was formed in the state without a majority. Karnataka, Goa, and Manipur, BJP didn't have majority anywhere but formed a government," said the NCP chief.
Opposition leaders asked all secular forces to field a joint candidate for presidential elections and have common minimum programme to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party, reports Archis Mohan.
