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.
Pranab Mukherjee and P A Sangma will file their nominations on Thursday, setting off the presidential race between the United Progressive Alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed opposition candidate in which the ruling alliance is set for a runaway victory.
Polling began at 1000 hours in Parliament and 30 capitals of states and Union Territories amidst tight security and strict vigil by the Election Commission, which issued a series of stringent instructions for voters.
With the Biju Janata Dal and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam indicating their preference for P A Sangma as presidential candidate, the Nationalist Congress Party leader on Thursday thanked them saying they have been responsive to the aspirations of tribals and appealed to other parties to support a candidate from the community.
Is Mamata Banerjee's decision to support United Progressive Alliance's presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee going to change the dynamics of opposition politics in West Bengal? Both Congress and Communist Party of India Marxist rule out that possibility and insist that instead the heat would be more and more on the ruling Trinamool Congress in the coming days.
United Progressive Alliance's vice presidential candidate Hamid Ansari filed his nomination papers in Delhi on Wednesday for the poll, to be held on August 7, in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and leaders of the ruling UPA.
The Shiv Sena on Sunday announced that it will support the National Democratic Alliance nominee for the post of Vice President of India.
Reaching out to the Trinamool Congress which has till now remained silent on backing his candidature, United Progressive Alliance Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee has written to Trinamool MPs appealing for their support.
A day before United Progressive Alliance Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee's Jharkhand visit, the Congress on Wednesday said chances of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha President Shibu Soren supporting him are positive, though he has chosen to defer the date of announcement of his choice for the July 19 election.
Stating that both the CPI and RSP would not vote, CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy asserted, "the author of the economic policies was Pranab Mukherjee. The wide chasm created between the rich and poor is the handiwork of Mukherjee as a Finance Minister".
As Bharatiya Janata Party backed P A Sangma in the Presidential race, Congress on Thursday rejected as "childish" the Opposition party's complaint that it was not consulted before UPA zeroed in on Pranab Mukherjee as its candidate.
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.
Terming as "appropriate" the decision by her favoured candidate A P J Abdul Kalam to pull out of the Presidential race, Congress renewed its appeal to Mamata Banerjee to back UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a banner political party formed by several minority organisations in Assam, led by perfume mogul Badaruddin Ajmal, has extended support to the UPA's candidate for the Presidential election.
Soon after United Progressive Alliance announced Pranab Mukherjee as its candidate for the Presidential election, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj to seek BJP's support for him.
Pranabda hasn't given us any indication of the tough period when he realised Sonia Gandhi had decided to give the presidency not to him, but to then vice-president Hamid Ansari. He wrested the presidency from her, and handed her the biggest defeat of her UPA years, observes Shekhar Gupta.
With Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee falling in line to back UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee in the July 19 Presidential election, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has sent out an invite to her to join the lunch she is hosting at Hotel Ashoka in New Delhi on Wednesday at 1230 hours for MPs of all parties supporting his candidature.
In a complete U-turn and ending a month-long suspense, Trinamool Congress announced its decision to vote for United Progressive Alliance's presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee 'in the interest of coalition'.
There's a method in the Samajwadi Party supremo's serial flip-flops.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday declined to disclose who will be Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's successor and whether the United Progressive Alliance government will have new partners. "I have been churning it in my mind," said Dr Singh when asked whether he has thought of Mukherjee's successor after his nomination as UPA's candidate for the Presidential elections.
Apparently toeing the central party leadership's move to keep Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in good humour ahead of the Presidential poll, the West Bengal Congress, which had threatened to pull out of the state government, on Wednesday changed its track and said it wanted to work in harmony with the ally.
Former speaker of Lok Sabha P A Sangma, who is in the fray for the Presidential poll, on Wednesday resigned from the Nationalist Congress Party.NCP chief Sharad Pawar had urged Sangma to withdraw from the contest, after the ruling United Progressive Alliance unanimously nominated senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee as it its candidate for the President's post.
TMC leaders say party may do a rethink on UPA's choice for President. Kavita Chowdhury reports
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Besides the UPA and its four supporting parties -- SP, BSP, RJD, JD(S) -- NDA members JD-U and Shiv Sena as also the CPI-M and Forward Bloc have declared their support for Mukherjee.
Before leaving to tender his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mukherjee said, " I stand ready to embark on a new journey".
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
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Finalisation of the candidate is expected only next week after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi holds consults UPA leaders in New Delhi, said the sources.
The beginning of the month-long session will coincide with the vice presidential election, in which the victory of United Progressive Alliance-Left nominee Hamid Ansari appears to be certain.
Party sources revealed some half-a-dozen more legislators faced suspension for their outbursts against Modi.
He criticised the ruling UPA for its failure to bring in the Women's Reservation bill aimed at reserving seats for women in the Parliament and state legislature.
The presidential poll is fast becoming a race for posturing by political parties, all of who are keeping an eye on the general election scheduled for 2009
UPA-Left candidate Hamid Ansari who was also present at the dinner interacted with the members.
The UNPA's decision clearly reflects no change in its earlier stand of maintaining equal distance from the Congress and the BJP.
Patil said that it was a 'distinct honour' to be a candidate to occupy the highest office of the world's largest democracy.
After its decision to back Patil evoked allegations of betrayal from BJP, the Sena has gone on the offensive, saying 'nobody need teach us Hindutva'.
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