Under the agreement, RJD would contest 175 seats while leaving 51 for the Congress, 9 for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and 8 for the Nationalist Congress Party.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday said his party would contest the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar in alliance with the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Lok Janashakti Party, but ruled out conceding more than 13 seats given to the United Progressive Alliance allies in 2004 elections.
A day before the Cabinet considers issuing an ordinance to implement government's ambitious National Food Security Bill, Food Minister K V Thomas said all UPA allies, including Nationalist Congress Party, are on board and there was a consensus on issuing an ordinance.
Sonia held discussions with Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan in an effort to break the logjam over the issue that has created a face-off between the Congress and the Left parties. The leaders of the UPA constituents conveyed to Sonia that they back the nuclear deal, but do not favour early polls, particularly because of high inflation.
Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday talked to allies, informing them about the intent to withdraw the controversial Ordinance on convicted lawmakers.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday took potshots at the ruling Congress party over reports of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar offering to resign for not being given the number two position in the government, saying it is an old habit of the UPA to impose pressure on its allies and insult them.
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.
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the Centre's ruling coalition had become "vulnerable" after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's pullout and that elections were round the corner.
Neerja Chowdhury analyses why BSP supremo Mayawati is bargaining hard with the UPA government
Seeking to project a united picture of the ruling alliance, the UPA coordination committee headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi will hold its first meeting on Wednesday.
In an apparent attempt to act as a pressure group within the United Progressive Alliance, two constituents -- Rashtriya Janata Dal and Telangana Rashtra Samithi -- Thursday announced the formation of an informal group within to "review" UPA
A meeting of the United Progressive Alliance coordination committee is being held on Thursday against the backdrop of the political crisis in Maharashtra that has seen cracks widen in the ruling Congress-NCP coalition in the state.
It is unfortunate that the Congress has taken a decision of contesting the elections in alliance with the JMM without even consulting allies in the UPA government, he said.
With key UPA allies -- the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamul Congress and Nationalist Congress Party members -- clearly expressing their resentment to a new state, sources say the Congress is now looking to find a way out of the situation.
Predicting a hung Parliament post 2014 general elections, the Nationalist Congress party on Thursday said it will continue to be part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, which may possibly expand itself with additional allies, as none of the party combines will be able to form a government on its own.
Expecting the Bharatiya Janata Party to emerge as the single largest party, key United Progressive Alliance ally Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday aid the country should have a "stable" government which will "decisively govern" for the next five years.
Amidst reports of unease between Congress and its allies, Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said the party was a "sinking ship" which was being deserted by its passengers.
The Congress has also asked the prime minister's office to co-ordinate better with various ministries over the issue of inflation.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday did not rule out Sharad Pawar as prime minister after the coming Lok Sabha elections, as it sought to put pressure on Congress for convening an early meeting of the United Progressive Alliance to chalk out a common strategy and to finalise seat sharing with allies.
Despite United Progressive Alliance ally Nationalist Congress Party targetting him, the Congress on Saturday ruled out removal of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
As the UPA-II completes four years in office Wednesday, key ally Nationalist Congress Party Tuesday said the government needs a "huge course correction" and ensure that it gains confidence of people in terms of good governance.
Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday expressed grave disappointment over the railway budget with its chief Sharad Pawar telling a meeting of the United Progressive Alliance coordination committee that Mumbai has been neglected, which is "not acceptable".
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday asked the Congress to rethink on its decision of not having an alliance with United Progressive Alliance partners at the national level.
The preferred format would be for the top BJP leadership in the government to reach out to the alliance leaders on a case-to-case basis.
With the Left parties' withdrawal of support from the Manmohan Singh led United Progressive Alliance creating a political uncertainty at the Centre, some leaders have started efforts to woo Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhara Rao, to secure his support for the beleaguered coalition."I told him clearly that we will extend support to the UPA only if the government announces the formation of Telangana state," Rao told reporters in Hyderabad.
The United Progressive Alliance on Monday announced the constitution of a coordination committee under the chairpersonship of Sonia Gandhi to ensure cohesive functioning of the alliance, a demand that was placed by ally NCP during its recent stand-off with Congress.
All political parties were asked at the dinner meeting on Monday night to suggest names for the alliance and the same would be discussed and consensus would be arrived at during the deliberations.
The Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, have indicated that their party chiefs have better credentials for the post than the newly-elected Congress head, reports Archis Mohan
The Congress party's only hope now lies in its desperate wish that an unstable conglomerate of non-BJP, non-Congress parties comes to power with its support and collapses within a couple of years by which time the party hopes to salvage whatever it can from the debris of 10 years of the UPA's incumbency, says Saroj Nagi.
Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents -- the Congress, the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar -- are still struggling to resolve internal differences over certain seats and fix an agreeable formula for the assembly polls even though the deadline for filing nominations is closing on October 29.
Differences in United Progressive Alliance over the issue of an inquiry into 'snoopgate' allegedly involving Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi came to the fore with the Nationalist Congress Party and National Conference opposing such a probe at this juncture.
The United Progressive Alliance's first anniversary celebrations tomorrow are essentially going to be a Congress affair. Barring Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, no other top leader of any of the ally or supporting parties is expected to be present at the bash to mark six years in office of the Congress-led coalition.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that there was "no division" in the United Progressive Alliance over the Lokpal issue even as his party spokesperson criticised Anna Hazare's arrest.
The CMP could not be implemented properly in the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, said state Congress chief Nana Patole in the letter.
The two-day deliberations, which will be held at Grand Hyatt in the suburbs, will begin in the evening of August 31 and from 10am on September 1. The meeting will be followed by a press conference, Raut informed.
'Most leaders, from Lalu Yadav and Mamata to M K Stalin, respect and trust Sonia. She should continue unless she expressly declines.'
The coming weeks are sure to have a lot of drama unfolding in Maharashtra, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
After his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said there can be no opposition front without the Congress, in a clear message to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her 'no United Progressive Alliance' taunt, even as another ally Nationalist Congress Party asserted it will make every effort to form a broad-based alliance that will also include the Congress.
Mamata's 'there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA)' remark after a meeting in Mumbai with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of Congress in Maharashtra, evoked a strong response from the party, currently being led by interim president Sonia Gandhi.
Hot on the heels of stiff opposition from its allies, the Centre on Monday decided to drop its move to name a judge to head the commission set up to probe the snooping of a young woman by Gujarat police allegedly at the behest of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
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