The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Thursday termed as "unprecedented" the proposal to make Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a presidential candidate, saying it shows the lack of principles that ties the United Progressive Alliance coalition
United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi wants Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam M Karunanidhi to be present when the Congress nominee for the Presidential Polls presents his/her nomination papers on June 16 to Returning Officer V K Aghnihotri in Parliament House, say sources in New Delhi.
In a strongly-worded letter to Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari, eminent lawyer and MP Ram Jethmalani has alleged party leaders are "silent against the huge corruption" in United Progressive Alliance-II government and are instead engaged in infighting.
Refusing to spell out their preference, Left parties on Wednesday asked the United Progressive Alliance government to come up with a candidate with the "widest possible acceptance" for the Presidential election. After a meeting of the four Left parties in Delhi, the leaders said they did not discuss any names during the 90-minute-long deliberations though they mentioned that Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma approached them for support.
Rajya Sabha Secretary General Yogendra Narain is the returning officer for the vice presidential election.
Although the apex court's opinion on the Presidential reference comes at a time when the floppy bidding route for coal blocks is being criticised, it will not come in the way of allocation of natural resources through auctioning.
With A P J Abdul Kalam deciding not to join the Presidential race, the Bharatiya Janata Party core group met in New Delhi on Monday night to discuss its strategy including support to P A Sangma and reluctance of allies like the Janata Dal-United to go for a contest against United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee.
Celebrations have begun at United Progressive Alliance candidate Pranab Mukherjee native village Mirati in Birbhum district of West Bengal ahead of the formal declaration of the 2012 presidential poll results.
Abhijit Mukherjee is a proud man. By the time of filing this report, his father, United Progressive Alliance-nominated candidate Pranab Mukherjee, was leading the Presidential election with 438,502 votes against the Opposition-backed P A Sangma.
After many months the UPA leadership seemed to exude a sense of confidence that they could get the better of an adverse situation in which they have found themselves for the last two years, writes Neerja Chowdhury
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 National Conference on Saturday pledged support for Hamid Ansari who appears to be the Congress choice in the vice presidential poll scheduled next month.
The Returning Officer in the Presidential Election has rejected opposition candidate P A Sangma's contention that United Progressive Alliance's nominee Pranab Mukherjee's letter of resignation from the Indian Statistical Institute was forged, saying it had no merit.
A quintessential Congressman, Pranab Mukherjee embarked on a new journey dropping off his political affiliations as he filed the nomination for the Presidential election on Thursday capping his 45-year long inning in active politics.
The Congress on Monday bid a warm farewell to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, poised to become the country's President, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the veteran leader will be missed.
Pinning hopes on "conscience vote" and his tribal identity, P A Sangma on Friday virtually dared United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee for a debate ahead of Presidential polls, saying democracy needs debate.
Left parties were on Thursday divided on the Presidential election with the Communist Party of India-Marxist and Forward Bloc deciding to support United Progressive Alliance candidate Pranab Mukherjee while the Communist Party of India and Revolutionary Socialist Party opting to abstain from the voting.
Top leadership of the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Thursday met to firm up its strategy for the Presidential poll ahead of the Left parties meeting in New Delhi amidst indications that the party is mulling either to support United Progressive Alliance candidate Pranab Mukherjee or abstain from the July 19 poll.
Trinamool Congress strategy of opposing the United Progressive Alliance candidate has raised question mark over its continuance in the Congress-led coalition.
"We are firm on the candidature of Kalam. He is the fittest candidate. We are not shifting from our stand of what we have announced earlier," Banerjee told PTI at the state secretariat in Kolkata
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.
As the suspense over the much-anticipated name for the next President continues, veteran Communist Party of India leader AB Bardhan has said the left parties would meet on June 21 to devise their strategy for the upcoming presidential polls
Annoyed over Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's rejection of Pranab Mukherjee as one of the United Progressive Alliance's possible presidential candidates, the West Bengal Congress on Thursday said it would discuss pulling out of the TC-led government in the state.
Indications from the Congress are that the party is veering round to the view that it cannot allow any troublesome ally to dictate terms on an issue like presidential poll and that the party has to prepare for any eventuality
The Bihar Deputy Chief Minister urged the Centre to consider the state government's demand for assistance of Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) annually under the 12th five-year plan.
"The presidential elections have not been announced yet. There are no candidates. We will decide on whom to support after considering merits and de-merits (of candidates)," Mulayam Yadav said addressing a press conference in New Delhi after the party's parliamentary board meeting
They lodged their protest against the inclusion of 'tainted' ministers in the United Progressive Alliance government.
UPA-Left candidate Hamid Ansari who was also present at the dinner interacted with the members.
Hamid Ansari of United Progressive Alliance-Left, Najma Heptulla of National Democratic Alliance and Rasheed Masood of the Third Front are in the race for the second highest office.
Karat had on Thursday said the vice-president should be a person who has an exemplary record in some field and should have the widest acceptance.
The Third Front on Monday said it will support President A P J Abdul Kalam for a second term as President as he is the "universally accepted" candidate for the high office.
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.
United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee has secured a thumping victory in the presidential election surging ahead of NDA's candidate P A Sangma. Pranab Mukherjee becomes the 13th President of India.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India echoed similar views while criticising the United Progressive Alliance's economic and foreign policies, with CPI leader D Raja saying the Presidential address was the "Congress way of presenting a shining India".
The schedule to conduct the elections for the vice president's post is held up as the Election Commissioner H S Brahma is on a foreign jaunt. Moreover, the United Progressive Alliance-II is yet to appoint the third Election Commissioner.
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.
Charging the United Progressive Alliance with lacking "political decency" in evolving a consensus candidate for the Presidential poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said its decision to back former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma was in keeping with "anti-Congress, anti- UPA mood" in the country.
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.
The United Progressive Alliance government has by now acquired the notoriety of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Not only has it been shy of taking decisions to defuse the various economic and political crises that have affected its governance, it has also let go of many opportunities to bounce back from a setback.
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