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Congress backs Nitish Kumar, reaches out to Yeddyurappa

June 21, 2012

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New Delhi, June 21: BJP biggies may have been the first to congratulate Pranab Mukherjee on his then still-rumoured move to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but the Congress decision to nominate him has created enough bitterness in the two camps that it is becoming a free-for-all.

The Congress has eagerly latched on to the Nitish Kumar-Narendra Modi tussle to egg on the Bihar CM to come out of the NDA. "We will definitely welcome if JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar leaves the NDA. He has rightly said that a country with such diverse cultures and beliefs needs a secular person at the top," AICC in-charge for Bihar Gulchain Singh Charak said.

Asked if he would be taken into the UPA, Charak said it would depend on Kumar accepting the UPA's common minimum programme.

The comment junked the Congress's caution on its political rivals on the grounds that it was seeking votes from all sections, possibly out of the realization that the BJP is sure to field its candidate. Charak's comment contrasted with the party's silence in the wake of Kumar's veiled jibe at Modi.

The bitterness appeared to stem from the BJP belying the Congress's hopes of backing its veteran and instead "poaching" on UPA ally NCP by getting P A Sangma to contest. The Congress seems riled by the BJP deputing Subramanian Swamy as the pointsman to coordinate with allies. He has been attacking party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The AICC could not hide its revulsion on Wednesday when spokesman Rashid Alvi waved off a query by saying, "Subramanian Swamy is irrelevant in Indian politics. I don't want to stoop so low to comment on him."

Observers think the contest could degenerate into a free-for-all. While personal attacks as in the last presidential poll is unlikely with Mukherjee in the fray, Congressmen feel the BJP will use the support for Sangma to bolster its grip on "tribals" and play on the northeast factor. A senior Congress leader said Sangma was the "next Najma Heptullah" with a Rajya Sabha nomination waiting for him.

But the Congress is enthused that saffron attempts to use the election to spread its support base has ended up showing chinks in the NDA's armour with the JD(U) and Shiv Sena breaking rank.

Also, it is reassured that the Trinamool is unlikely to support the BJP candidate despite being at war with the Congress. In fact, TMC's central minister Sultan Ahmed said Mukherjee was an option for the party while ruling out support for Sangma.

On the contrary, leaders wondered if Mukherjee's reported phone call to B S Yeddyurappa was an attempt to play on the faultlines in the Karnataka BJP unit. The former CM is at loggerheads with the official BJP faction led by Sadananda Gowda.

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News Network
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: An Air India flight from Delhi to Moscow on Saturday had to return midway after the airline's ground team found out that one of the pilots had tested positive for novel coronavirus, officials said.

"When the A320 plane, which did not have any passengers as it was heading to Moscow to bring back stranded Indians under Vande Bharat Mission, had reached Uzbekistan's airspace, our team on ground realised that one of the pilots had tested COVID-positive," senior Air India officials said.

"The flight was immediately asked to return. It came back to Delhi at around 12.30 pm on Saturday," the officials said. The crew has been quarantined. Another plane would be sent to Moscow to bring back the stranded Indians, according to the officials.

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News Network
July 14,2020

Jaipur, Jul 14: In a show of strength, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot-led Rajasthan Congress camp on Monday released a video showing at least 16 MLAs sitting together.

This comes hours after the Congress held a legislature party meeting. Party leaders said 106 of 122 MLAs attended, a claim contested by the Pilot camp.

The 10-second video was shared late at night on Pilot's official WhatsApp group.

In the video, at least 16 MLAs are seen sitting together in a close circle. Pilot is not seen in the video.

Six other people can be seen in the video but they could not be identified.

Some of the MLAs seen in the video are Indraraj Gurjar, Mukesh Bhakar, Harish Meena.

Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh tweeted the video with the caption "Family".

Ladnun MLA Mukesh Bhakar tweeted, "...Loyalty in Congress means Ashok Gehlot's slavery. That is not acceptable to us."

Pilot has been upset since he was denied the Rajasthan chief minister's post after the December 2018 assembly elections.

On Sunday, he claimed to have the backing of 30 Congress MLAs and "some independents".

Those close to him disputed Gehlot's claim that his government had a majority, and said this is proven in the assembly and not at the CM's house.

Sources close to him have also ruled out the possibility of Pilot joining the BJP.

In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs and the BJP 72. In the past, the ruling party has claimed the support of 13 independents, two MLAs each from the CPM and the Bharatiya Tribal Party, and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

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Agencies
March 15,2020

Ahmedabad, Mar 15: Four Congress MLAs in Gujarat have tendered their resignation to Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi ahead of the election to the four Rajya Sabha seats in the state to be held on March 26.

The four Congress legislators tendered their resignation on Saturday, which Trivedi has accepted.

Trivedi told this to PTI on Sunday.

He said he will announce the names of the legislators in the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

"Four Congress MLAs tendered their resignation to me on Saturday, and I will announce their names in the Assembly tomorrow," he said.

With this, the strength of the Congress party in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly has come down to 69 from 73.

The Congress had on Saturday shifted its 14 MLAs to Jaipur fearing horse-trading by the ruling BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls.

The BJP has fielded Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramila Bara and Narhari Amin for the election.

Given its number in the Assembly, the ruling party can only win two seats unless it manages cross-voting from the opposition camp or ensures defection of Congress MLAs to win the third seat.

The Congress has fielded senior leaders Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki.

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