With reports suggesting a rift between the Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday dubbed the United Progressive Alliance as a "sinking ship" which is being deserted by its allies.
'The Sena has lived with the BJP long enough to know its vulnerabilities and how to hit where it hurts the most,' points out Amulya Ganguli.
The Congress on Thursday secured a seat in the present Bengal assembly as its candidate Bayron Biswas won the Sagardighi bypoll, defeating the nearest rival of the Trinamool Congress by 22,980 votes.
Former Lok Sabha speaker and Nationalist Congress Party leader Purno A Sangma on Thursday flayed the Centre's decision to impose President's rule in Nagaland and termed it as a ploy to rig the ensuing assembly election.
'The Congress's allies won't be left behind in looking out for their own interests. Some will demand a bigger share of the ministerial or electoral pie, others will simply jump ship,' says T V R Shenoy.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said his party should get more seats to contest in the assembly elections in Maharashtra as the position of its ally the Congress has weakened in the state, as evident from the Lok Sabha results.
The past three weeks have demonstrated that the Congress is still to recover from the drubbing it received in Lok Sabha elections, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal
He served as an effective link between the party and government during the two terms of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) between 2004 and 2014. As political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he had access to leadership that no other leader in the party had and worked the channels to work out various issues.
Veering towards conceding the demand for a separate Telangana, the Congress has convened a meeting of its working committee, the party's highest policy-making body, on Tuesday after deliberations on the issue in the United Progressive Alliance coordination committee.
Several legislators in states on Monday said they have cross-voted in favour of National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu by not following their respective party lines in the presidential election.
In 1999, Sharad Pawar, along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from Congress. The same year, Pawar founded the NCP.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam is set to get a fresh extension beyond September 6 with the Lok Sabha on Wednesday unanimously adopting a resolution to this effect.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday rubbished reports that it was cosying up to BJP ahead of formation of the next government, a day after its senior leader Praful Patel's "stable" government remark triggered speculation of a BJP-NCP pact.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance were ranged against each other both inside and outside the Parliament on the opening day of the budget session on Monday.
Most political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, ruling National Conference, People's Democratic Party and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party are all set to go it alone in the five phased electoral battle for 87 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
Anwar's move came a day after media reports quoted Pawar having told a Marathi news channel that he did not think people had doubts over the prime minister's intentions in the Rafale fighter plane deal.
Mounting an assault on the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday asked the voters in Maharashtra not to be swayed by the party which "spreads hatred in society". She said BJP and Shiv Sena might have parted ways but in reality they are one.
Modi's NDA is good enough to give a psychological boost to the once 'untouchable' BJP and Modi but if the NDA doesn't get a majority on its own, then walking the last mile will be the greatest challenge of this election for Modi, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Rahul Gandhi's birthday greeting to the DMDK supremo signifies that the Congress vice president is expanding his ambit of functioning and graduating from handling just organisational affairs, reports Anita Katyal.
On its own or with allies the Congress has a strong presence in states that account for a total of 253 LS seats, or 20 short of the magic figure of 272 required to form a government at the Centre. So what is Mamata Banerjee talking about, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The finance minister is "reasonably confident" that when it comes to the crunch, "it would be extremely difficult even for the Congress party to take a contrarian view" on the GST Bill.
"In this context the example of Indira Gandhi can be given. She used to implement decisions with vigour," he said. "That is why, during her tenure, this "jhola" class (people with NGO background) which offers free advice, were not there."
As part of the efforts to bring several opposition parties together on a common platform to defeat the BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Pawar met Kharge on Thursday evening.
Banerjee said the two leaders discussed the current political scenario and strategies to oust the BJP in assembly and Lok Sabha elections at the 20-minute meeting at Gandhi's residence.
The Congress and the NCP are not comfortable with the name Maha Shiv Aghadi (a grand alliance comprising the Shiv Sena)
The National Democratic Alliance government's parliamentary managers have a busy weekend ahead, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday conceded the words he had chosen to trash the ordinance on convicted lawmakers might have been wrong but not his sentiment.
The BJP believes that the only party still capable of leading a credible challenge against it is the Congress. Please note how BJP campaigners in states where the Congress may count for a cipher or thereabouts, mostly attack the Congress, observes Shekhar Gupta.
With the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party seat-sharing talks deadlocked over the latter's insistence on getting more seats to contest the assembly polls, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said he is against breaking the alliance but party workers feel the ally's "body language is anti-Congress".
CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury was in Chennai on Saturday and AIADMK sources said Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa could be sounded as convenor for the proposed Third Front. Aditi Phadnis reports
Kumar had sought central university status for it in keeping with public sentiments.
Rahul's time is not now, only Sonia Gandhi can lead the Congress into the 2014 final, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress insists on sending legislation to select committee, says will support it in winter session.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced in the House that the election will be held at 11 am on August 9.
It won't be a surprise if Raju Shetti, the first to part ways with the National Democratic Alliance, citing agrarian distress, joins hands with the Congress and becomes part of the UPA.
'In mocking him, Modi and Shah went horribly wrong.'
'It made Gandhi determined to fight to the finish, which now has the entire Sangh Parivar rattled,' says a Congress leader, privy to the repeated RSS outreach for a rapproachment.
How Modi retrieves the situation and how he enlists new allies in the next two years will show if the BJP is fighting fit, report Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
The road for the Opposition is full of 'ifs' and 'buts', reports Sunil Gatade.
A tally of less than 45 seats in the Lok Sabha reduces Congress to a regional party, just a shade better than the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's 33 seats, making it vulnerable to a split if the party leadership does not get its act together, warns Neerja Chowdhury.
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