The Congress wants to show that it is Sonia Gandhi who will nominate the presidential candidate, to discard the impression that the party chief has been given a fait accompli if she does not want the Congress candidate to lose, says Renu Mittal
Members of Parliament will vote on Saturday to elect the next Vice President of India in an election where National Democraitc Alliance candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar is pitted against Opposition pick Margaret Alva.
'The more you challenge her, the more powerful she gets'
West Bengal minister and veteran Trinamool Congress leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay is all set to vacate the Bhabanipur assembly seat on Friday as party supremo Mamata Banerjee is likely to contest bypoll from the constituency, party sources said.
Asked how many seats INDIA bloc will get, Gandhi said, "Have you heard Sidhu Moose Wala's song '295'? So 295 (seats)."
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar Saturday stuck to his stand that a cabinet recommendation is required for him to consider the change in the timing of the assembly session from 2 am to 2 pm on March 7.
A fresh PIL was filed on Thursday in the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's decision to block a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots.
"I say I am a 'big donkey' (Ami ekta boro gadha) for having failed to recognise them. I dont know (about it), but people say their 'empire' is worth Rs 5,000 crore and they will use money to buy votes. But don't vote for them," Banerjee told the rally.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party managed to notch up a morale-boosting win on its 'Mission Northeast' on Thursday by retaining Tripura emphatically, despite anti-incumbency and newcomer Tipra Motha playing spoilers to its party, while also piggy-backing to power in Nagaland on Neiphiu Rio-led NDPP's shoulder.
Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has questioned his successor Mamata Banerjee's honesty, prompting an angry rebuttal Wednesday from Trinamool Congress which demanded an apology from the Communist Party of India-Marxist veteran.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee died while being treated for cardiac ailments at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
His native village in Haryana was flocked by political leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal.
Is anyone in the BJP listening -- to what Nitin Gadkari had to say, but possibly left unsaid? asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The meteoric rise of Shajahan Sheikh from a modest background of a helper in a local transport company to becoming the so-called 'tiger' of Sandeshkhali is what Bollywood film scripts are made of. And so does his fall.
Several prominent opposition leaders including Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah will share the dais at a rally being organised by Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana's Fatehabad on Sunday.
Apparently, Mithunda has shared with BJP leaders that becoming West Bengal's chief minister is his only motive for the political jump from the Trinamool Congress, which sent him to the Rajya Sabha, to the BJP.
Announcing the name of candidates for the West Bengal assembly polls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said she will be contesting from the Nandigram constituency as announced earlier.
His resignation has been accepted by the Ficci leadership, which said that it "wishes him all the very best for another historical role in the impending and hugely awaited economic transformation of West Bengal".
On Tuesday, when trends indicated she was going to win her election, the four-time National Award winner said, 'Heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Mandi for this love and trust... This victory belongs to all of you, this is the victory of your trust in Prime Minister Modi and the BJP, this is the victory of Sanatan and in the honour of Mandi.'
Both the BJP and the Congress said they will seek support of the MGP in case they fall short of the majority mark of 21.
"Tapas Paul was under tremendous pressure from central agencies and was a victim of the Centre's vendetta politics," she told reporters at Rabindra Sadan where Paul's mortal remains have been kept for people to pay homage.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's decision to skip the funeral of CPI-M veteran Jyoti Basu has snowballed into a major controversy.On Thursday, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury alleged that Banerjee has 'insulted' the people of West Bengal by not attending the state funeral of the former West Bengal chief minister.It was not the Bengal CM, but Sonia Gandhi's elite Special Protection Group, which made Banerjee stay away from the funeral.
In the turf war between the battered Communist Party of India-Marxist and its arch rival, Trinamool Congress, veteran Congressman and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has found a new place of prominence.
Alleging that the BBC has been biased against India and the Indian government, the plea alleged that its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a 'result of deep conspiracy against global rise of India and its prime minister'.
'The consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya has demoralised them.' 'And, now it is reflecting in their individual reactions as they are losing hope to take on the BJP in 2024.'
'Mamata wanted the Congress in alliance with the BJP in Bengal against the Left Front government.' 'Pranab Mukherjee opposed it, stating it would amount to compromising on secularism.' 'In 2021, Mamata defeats the BJP and becomes a champion of secularism.'
The Congress, notwithstanding its depleted bench strength, failed to corner the government on a range of crucial issues during the just-concluded Parliament session, says Kavita Chowdhury
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 former Union minister had suffered a stroke in 2008 and was hospitalised since then.
Veteran Communist Part of India-Marxist leader Mohammed Salim in an interview with Rediff.com's Indrani Roy speaks about volatile atmosphere in Bengal this election season, the prospects of the Left and more. Edited excerpts:
Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on Friday welcomed Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's readiness to sit with the Tatas to find a solution to the Singur small car factory controversy.
Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on Friday welcomed Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's readiness to sit with the Tatas for finding a solution to the Singur small car factory controversy.
Mamata, for her part, said, "I am happy that he listened to all the details from me about Nandigram and Singur. I will meet him again if he calls me after discussing the matter with the concerned people."
What would Parliament be without these nine ladies?
An inchoate anger is brewing within the party against the central leadership after the poor show in the assembly polls.
The Centre has issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question', sources said.
West Bengal's Left Front government is working on a proposal to find a solution to the stand-off over acquisition of land in Singur for Tata Motors' car plant, veteran CPI-M leader Jyoti Basu said on Friday.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election.
Shergill said the primary reason was that "the ideology and the vision of the current decision makers of the Congress is no longer in sync with the aspirations of the youth and modern India".
Earlier, only Azad was scheduled to meet Sonia Gandhi.
