The Congress announced on Thursday that it would not field candidates in the nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are being held and would support Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) nominees.
Akhilesh said the alliance's decision was not informed by any seat-sharing math but its pursuit of victory.
At the meeting which lasted for more than half an hour, the leaders of the two parties are understood to have discussed the key issue of seat-sharing among alliance partners in the NDA, which also includes Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP.
With this, the Shiv Sena has become the second major political party to release its list of candidates for the state assembly polls. Its ally BJP released a list of 99 candidates on Sunday.
The RJD is yet to complete its seat-sharing talks with smaller allies and the Left parties.
Besides Hooda, Bhan and Phogat, the Congress has fielded Mewa Singh from Ladwa to take on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
In signs of friction in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over the chief minister's post, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said ally Congress should understand his party's contribution in increasing the grand old party's tally in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its two Assam allies -- the Asom Gana Parishad and the United People's Party Liberal -- on Wednesday 'almost finalised' their seat-sharing pact for the Assam assembly polls and a formal announcement will be made in a day or two, sources said.
'We have apprised Gandhi of the situation. We want the seat-sharing arrangement on a certain basis sitting members should get tickets,' Lalu said after the meeting.
Newly floated Indian Secular Front had initially demanded 15 seats from the Congress, but the party had agreed to give only five to it.
The Congress has proposed AAP should contest five seats while the Samajwadi Party and Left parties could contest one seat each.
Uddhav Thackeray, who played the bold gambit of taking on the ally Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019 and forged an unlikely alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, was on Saturday left struggling to make sense of his party's rout in the Maharashtra assembly elections.
In the election held earlier in the year, the AAP lost the sole seat it contested and the Congress won five out of 10 seats.
The end of the process to withdraw nominations for Maharashtra assembly polls on Monday left the Congress in despair in Kolhapur North seat after its candidate Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati withdrew, while the Bharatiya Janata Party managed to convince Gopal Shetty to opt out from Mumbai's Borivali.
The Congress is fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and has fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party. Additionally, the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) have each been allocated one seat while both the Congress and NC had a 'friendly contest' on five seats.
Devendra Fadnavis, a veteran politician from Maharashtra, is set to become the state's chief minister for the third time following a decisive victory by the BJP in the recent assembly elections. Fadnavis' political journey has been marked by resilience, strategic manoeuvring and a string of successes, including becoming the youngest mayor of Nagpur. He is known for his articulate speeches and effective governance, but his tenure has also been marked by challenges, including the Maratha reservation issue and the irrigation scam. He faces a new set of challenges, but his ability to adapt and make tactical decisions could prove crucial for him and his party in the coming days.
Bypolls to 10 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be a litmus test for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s unity after the group's success in the recent Lok Sabha polls when they won more than 40 seats, significantly contributing to the Bharatiya Janata Party's failure to win a simple majority in parliament.
As per the two party leaders, they held wide-ranging talks on the current political situation in Bihar and the NDA's strategy for contesting the 40 seats in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Senior Congress leader and Maharashtra assembly poll candidate Balasaheb Thorat has asserted that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win a clear majority and also indicated his chief ministerial aspirations. Thorat, who is among the senior leaders in the MVA after NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, said he enjoys cordial relations with leaders of the alliance. He also criticized the ruling Mahayuti coalition, accusing it of corruption and communal politics.
Lok Sabha polls held over 5 phases so why hold assembly elections in single phase, asks Oppn.
The ongoing stalemate over the seat-sharing formula between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, the ruling coalition partners in Maharashtra, continued with both the parties deciding to meet again on March 2.The NCP is firm on its demand for 24 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats while the Congress wants to stick to the 2004 formula where the Congress had contested on 27 seats and NCP on 21 in the last Lok Sabha polls.
Devendra Fadnavis, a seasoned politician known for his strategic maneuvering and resilience, has been sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time. His political journey has been marked by both triumphs and setbacks, including a short-lived coalition with the NCP and a period in opposition. Fadnavis's leadership is expected to focus on infrastructure development and addressing the concerns of the Maratha community.
The two parties have agreed to contest 26 and 22 seats respectively.
Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that there is no need for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to declare a chief ministerial face ahead of the state assembly elections.
Replying to a question on reports of the BJP demanding 50 seats from the ruling AIADMK, Murugan said a statement on the continuation of the alliance was made by the party's top leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami two days ago.
Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday amid speculation that the two star grapplers could be fielded in the Haryana assembly polls by the party.
The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra indicates a tactical course correction post the Lok Sabha debacle, with factors like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's active role in the poll campaign, Ladki Bahin scheme, rise in women voting, and subtle message of Hindutva playing a crucial role.
Devendra Fadnavis, a seasoned politician with deep roots in the RSS, is set to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time, after his party, the BJP, won a landslide victory in the state assembly elections. Fadnavis' political journey has been marked by resilience and strategic maneuvering, as he has navigated through challenging times, including political upheavals and controversies.
Notwithstanding initial signs of a rapprochement, BJP-Shiv Sena-led 'Mahayuti' on Tuesday night failed to resolve its differences over seat-sharing for the Maharashtra Assembly polls with smaller parties expressing disagreement over the meagre share offered to them.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday stressed that all are equal stakeholders in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, his comment coming after a Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar leader quoted party supremo Sharad Pawar as saying that although his outfit contested fewer Lok Sabha seats, the situation would be different in the Maharashtra assembly polls.
'...there are people in the NDA, who don't wish to see Narendra Modi as the prime minister. They are the ones circulating misleading news,' he claimed.
'I am in the NDA as of now,' Kushwaha said.
After the Congress' shock defeat in Haryana, the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties flexed their muscles on Wednesday, accusing the grand old party of ignoring them.
'Jairam Mahto's new party dented the NDA because he pulled a lot of the OBC vote.'
Second-line AIADMK leaders and cadres alike say that by starting the talks first with the BJP and committing the party to an alliance without discussing seat-sharing, the leadership might have commenced the coalition discourse at the wrong end. According to them, even 20 seats for the BJP may be too many, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The talks are expected to conclude in two or three days.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should be willing to make 'sacrifices', in terms of seat-sharing for the assembly polls, like the BJP has done to keep the alliance intact.
The talks will cover issues like the number of seats to be contested by each party, the formula for seat-sharing, and the seats to be offered to other allies
Capping weeks of hard bargaining, Congress finally accepted Trinamool Congress' seat-sharing formula and will contest 14 of the 42 seats while Trinamool Congress would be in fray in 28.
The Congress was fighting the elections in a pre-poll alliance with National Conference and had fielded 32 candidates, mostly in Jammu region, compared to 51 by the regional party.
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