The Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party's formula to woo voters with laptops and tablet computers might work in some south Indian states but would not be of any help in Uttar Pradesh where the electorate is "much wiser", senior Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal has said. Exuding confidence that the issue of development would be the main issue in the UP elections, Jaiswal said there is a growing realisation that non-Congress governments have "hindered" growth.
Lashing out at non-Congress governments of Uttar Pradesh for "selling Ram, caste and religion" for the past 22 years, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asked voters to give five years to his party for development of the state.
However, he will continue to be in hospital till infection is controlled.
It won't be the Third Front, nor even a Federal Front. In case of a fractured verdict, a minority coalition comprising AIADMK, BJD and Trinamool Congress is the most likely outcome -- but it's the BJP that will call the shots, says Bharat Bhushan
If Muslims face trouble I will be the first person to raise voice for them, says the Tamil superstar.
For the third front to become a reality, it needs a party that has a pan-India presence and wins more Lok Sabha seats than all other parties in the front, say experts.
Launching a fresh attack on Press Council of India chairperson Markandey Katju, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said the former Supreme Court judge was expressing "unsolicited and bizarre" opinions against non-Congress ruled states and demanded that he step down.
A host of leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch at the hospital.
The ruling party seems in far better shape than the Congress, which is yet to finalise seat-sharing agreements in several states.
Indicating further closeness with the Mayawati-led party, the Communist Party of India-Marxist has asked its cadre to vote for "non-Congress secular parties like Bahujan Samaj Party" in the coming state elections where the party and the CPI are not contesting.
The July 5 'Bharat Bandh' to protest fuel price hike is unlikely to get the support of all non-Congress non-United Progressive Alliance parties with Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lok Janshakti Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal so far maintaining a silence on which side of the political divide they are.
'When economic policies were attacked by people on his own side, he went ahead despite all the criticisms in the coalition, within the party and the Sangh Parivar.'
The situation today is far more conducive for a third front than it was in 1996, says TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu. Mohammed Siddique reports
Rama Rao's appointment was necessitated as Chandrasekhar Rao will have to concentrate on national politics and also focus on various developmental activities in the state, a release from the chief minister's office said.
The government on Friday rejected allegation of phone tapping of the Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley and promised to get the full details of the "unauthorised" obtaining of call details of the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha.
While they are trying to unite different parties to form a non-Bharatiya Janata Party, non-Congress alliance at the Centre, the Communist Party of India - Marxist and the Communist Party of India on Monday intensified their tussle over the Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency in northern Kerala's Mallapuram district.After the CPI announced its intention two days earlier to field its own candidate from that seat, the CPI-M's Central Committee today put its foot down.
The BJP stalwart continues to be in the intensive care unit of the Cardio-thoracic Centre at the hospital.
The Third Front, which has a history of mutative existence, hops into the new year with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgham joining the group of disparate parties ganging up on a non-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party platform.
As the battle lines are drawn between the United Progressive Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance, the NDA is now beginning to smell power, says Neerja Chowdhury
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday made his prime ministerial ambitions known, saying he is more qualified and experienced than those "roaming around" for the top job.
India is mushrooming with Deve Gowda wannabes because being a former prime minister is better than being a former chief minister, says Shekhar Gupta.
The plan for the creation of the ambitious National Counter Terrorism Centre has come under attack from non-Congress chief ministers, including the party's ally Trinamool Congress. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee joined Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in opposing the setting up of the anti-terror body and wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking him to "review and withdraw" the decision.
In the 40-member Goa assembly, Kamat government enjoys the support of 26 MLAs-- Congress' 18 MLAs NCP's 3, Maharashtra Gomantak Party's 2, United Goa Democratic Party's one and two independents and if the 12 MLAs withdraw support, the Kamat ministry will be reduced to a minority.
The National Democratic Alliance, led by strong man Narendra Modi secured a whopping 352 of 542 seats, making it evident that his message of muscular nationalism, security and Hindu pride had worked wonders.
Amid reports that Naidu is seeking cabinet berths for his MPs, the TDP met Modi in Gujarat Bhawan in the national capital and the meeting lasted for over 30 minutes after which chief minister-designate of Andhra Pradesh left without talking to media.
If they decide to support Shekhawat, who might enter the fray as an Independent, it would still amount to compromising their basic idea of maintaining equi-distance from both Congress and BJP.
The Communist Partyof India-Marxist perhaps for the first time admitted to differences in the party over withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance government on the Indo-US nuclear deal, though the central committee said it was "correct".
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Sunday said it would forge a 'third alternative' of non-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties on a common policy platform, as it did not agree with the policies pursued by the two major parties.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani, who is on an anti-corruption yatra, on Friday fired a fresh salvo at the United Progressive Alliance government claiming that it was following 'discriminatory' policies against non-Congress ruled states.
Predicting a hung assembly in Haryana after the October 13 polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday did not rule out a post-poll alliance in the state to keep Congress out of power.
The earlier non-Congress prime ministers fell like nine-pins with only the late Morarji Desai remaining at the helm for two-and-a-half years as the head of the Janata Party government in the late seventies.
The BJP has been inducting leaders from the NCP and the Congress since the last few months to expand its footprint in the regions where the party lacks organisational base.
'I would personally like to see Rahul Gandhi continue as party president.' 'I genuinely believe he has far more to offer to the party still, particularly in leading us in these challenging times that we find ourselves in.'
The victory in the assembly elections, the first in Telangana after its formation in June 2014, might well act as a springboard for the leader, often accused of perpetuating family rule and promoting nepotism, to realise his ambition of playing a greater role in national politics.
While this being the debate, rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa spoke to three people who have widespread experience in dealing with security, legal and state issues.
The Congress on Thursday virtually ruled out any grand alliance in poll bound Uttar Pradesh including with Samajwadi Party insisting that Rahul Gandhi wanted to set things right in the state which is in bad shape for past 27 years in non-Congress rule.
'The story of how Modi won a re-election in the face of severe agrarian crisis, mounting unemployment, looming economic crisis, is the story of how the power of the message can be put to devastating effect in the hands of a strong leader,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
It is Gujarat that is preventing Modi from becoming a pan-India leader. Gujarat wants Modi to be an all-India leader only on its term: As a strong votary of Hindutva. But that very position is a recipe for disaster on the national stage, feels Amberish K Diwanji.
Terming the Third Front as the "biggest mirage" of Indian politics, the Congress on Thursday said whenever the grouping has resurrected, it has only helped the communal forces.
It was after a long time that a senior BJP leader had met Jayalalithaa, whose party had severed ties with it after the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.
