Key United Progressive Alliance ally Mamata Banerjee, who kept up the suspense till the last moment before backing Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential elections, on Wednesday attended Mukherjee's oath taking ceremony while no Chief Minister from Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states were present.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced his support for the contentious Women's Reservation Bill that will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.His stance has taken those leaders fighting against the bill, including Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Mulauyam Singh and his own party chief Janata Dal - United president Sharad Yadav, by surprise."I am in support of the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form," Nitish said.
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
The Janata Dal - United, which had backed United Progressive Alliance's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee, on Monday supported the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate Jaswant Singh for the vice presidential election.
Opposing the steep hike in petrol prices and spiralling prices of commodities, National Democratic Alliance has called for a nation-wide bandh on May 31.
Kumar, who visited Pawar at the latter's residence in south Mumbai along with deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, told reporters that what the ruling BJP is doing not in the interest of the country.
Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar convened the meeting of leaders of opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, which was attended by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, independent Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) member Anil Desai and Bharat Rashtra Samithi member K Keshav Rao among others.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi held a virtual meeting on Friday evening with leaders of 19 Opposition parties, including the chief ministers of some Opposition-ruled states, amid efforts to boost Opposition unity and evolve a common strategy against the National Democratic Alliance government.
Former Army chief V K Singh will attend the rally organised by Haryana's main opposition party Indian National Lok Dal in Rewari on Thursday, the party's President Om Prakash Chautala has said.
Women politicians bring to politics and policy a sensitivity that most of their male counterparts, at least until a generation back, lacked.
As he snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar's caretaker chief minister Nitish Kumar has once again been pitched as a prime ministerial candidate for the 2024 elections by some, but a majority of the Opposition still view the Janata Dal-United leader with suspicion citing his numerous 'U-turns'.
The Samajwadi Party today opposed the proposed Women's Reservation Bill, terming it as a "conspiracy" against the leaders who have reached the Lok Sabha through "hard struggles" and warned of people's movement if the UPA pushes the legislation.
Sharing the dais with Ramdev, Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari on Monday pledged his party's "full support" to the yoga guru's agitation against black money and launched a blistering attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government on issues like corruption and black money.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani was on Sunday elected unopposed the working chairman of the National Democratic Alliance till incumbent Atal Bihari Vajpayee recovers from ill-health while acting NDA convenor Sharad Yadav has been elected as the convenor.
The Act deals with automatic disqualification of MPs and state legislators upon being convicted and sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case.
Sharad Yadav, JDU chief and NDA convener, tells Gyan Varma if the UPA had discussed Pranab Mukherjee's nomination for Presidential election before announcing his name, the NDA would not have put up its candidate against the former finance minister
United Progressive Alliance's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee will file his nomination papers on Thursday at 11 am in the midst of changing political alignments, with the UPA largely intact while the National Democratic Alliance in considerable disarray as its trusted allies have openly sided with the 'master troubleshooter,' saying Pranab is the best candidate for the country's top job.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Most leaders agreed for early finalisation of poll plans for 2024 stressing that there was no time left with them and mere meetings would not help.
Janata Dal-United, a key constituent of the National Democratic Alliance, on Friday voiced concern over the Opposition alliance "deviating" from its national agenda but said it has not given any ultimatum to Bharatiya Janata Party over walking out of the coalition.
Janata Dal-United on Monday gave first indications of parting ways with the National Democratic Alliance, saying it is "difficult" to remain in the alliance which is on "ventilator support" in the wake of resignation of L K Advani from top BJP posts and anointment of Narendra Modi as party's campaign committee chief for next Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress is "not a factor" in the Assembly polls in Bihar as the situation in the state is vastly different from that in Uttar Pradesh, which had seen the revival of the ruling party at the Centre, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said.
Mamata Banerjee's plans for a no-confidence motion against the United Progressive Alliance government on FDI and other issues on Tuesday appeared to be running out of steam with clear indications from opposition Janata Dal-United that it is not inclined to the idea.
With the assembly poll results in three states being a disappointment for the Congress, some rumblings have begun among the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) ahead of their meeting on December 6, with many leaders alleging that the grand old party ignored others, but was unable to win elections on its own.
He will retain Chhapra, where he trounced BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
Attacking the government on FDI in retail and prise rise, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday indicated that her party may bring a 'no-confidence motion' against it in the next Parliament Session and appealed to various political parties to support it.
An uproar over the opposition's demand for an immediate discussion on the drought situation in the country on Tuesday led to a brief adjournment of the Lok Sabha.
Several leaders from the Congress and its alliance partners from across the country attended the event.
Janata Dal-United had not yet decided on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's visit to Gujarat for campaigning for the Assembly polls, the party said.
The alliance adopted a resolution to this effect and said its theme for the elections will be "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India, (India will unite, India will win)".
Modi did not have the guts to face the students of the country and so he crushed them using the police, he alleged. "I challenge the prime minister to go to any of the universities, stand over there without his police, without his infrastructure and tell the people what is he going to do with this country," the Congress leader said.
After threatening to consume poison if the Women's Reservation Bill is passed by the Parliament in its current form, Janata Dal - United chief Sharad Yadav on Saturday demanded separate quota for those belonging to the backward castes. "I am not asking for a reservation of 33 per cent (for women), it could be even 50 per cent. But ground realities should not be overlooked. Weaker sections among women face more difficulty," he said.
Terming as 'shocking' the home ministry statement that elements in Pakistan are behind creating panic among people from the north-east, the Janata Dal-United) on Sunday alleged that it was an 'excuse' by the government to 'cover up' its 'inept' handling of situation.
Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav on Saturday advocated temporary ban on social networking sites to check rumour mongering in view of exodus of people hailing from the northeast from various parts of the country.
74-year-old Singh, whose candidature was declared by NDA on July 16, filed his papers before Returning Officer T K Viswanathan, who is the Lok Sabha Secretary General.
Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance on Monday accused the government of allowing foreign direct investment in retail with an aim of distracting and disrupting Parliament that was set to discuss crucial issues of price rise and black money.
With party leader Shivanand Tiwari's remark on United Progressive Alliance's handling of the economy creating unease in ally Bharatiya Janata Party, senior Janata Dal-United leaders on Saturday got into fire-fighting mode and advised its spokespersons to consult them before speaking out.
United Progressive Alliance Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee on Friday telephoned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and is understood to have expressed his gratitude for extending support to him in the July 19 Presidential poll.
The National Democratic Alliance on Thursday got another jolt in the Presidential race with the Janata Dal-United becoming the second NDA ally after Shiv Sena to break ranks with Bharatiya Janata Party to support United Progressive Alliance candidate Pranab Mukherjee.
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