Ansari emerges front-runner in Prez poll stakes

May 4, 2012

ansari

New Delhi, May 4: The consultation process over candidates for the presidential election made some headway on Thursday.

The Congress is understood to have informed its UPA partners that Vice-President Hamid Ansari was its preferred choice for the coveted post, followed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Senior party sources indicated that Congress would support the candidature of Ansari and added: “We feel we will not encounter any problem (with allies) with this choice. However, if there is any, then we are sure, there will be no such issues regarding Mukherjee.”

On a day when UPA’s unpredictable friend, Mamata Banerjee took the centre stage, meeting Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh, the race to find the next incumbent of the Rashtrapati Bhavan got an unexpected twist, with a Congress spokesperson indicating that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was not in the race.

Responding to questions from media, spokesperson Renuka Chowdhry quipped: “It will never be easy to leave Pranab da. He is such a valued person for us in the party. His contribution to the party cannot be even measured. For him, it will not seem to be fair...but he has such an active political mind. He is too involved and knows politics so well.”

The Congress, however, scrambled to clarify within hours. Party spokesman Rashid Alvi asserted: “The consultation process is on. No names have been finalised. Renuka Chowhury’s remarks show the importance of Pranabda. It does not mean he is ruled out for anything. It shows his importance for the party, Parliament and the country.”

Mamata seemed to have seized the initiative from Chaudhury’s statement as she said: “I think their party has already announced today that he is not (the candidate)," when asked by journalists whether Mukherjee was acceptable as a presidential candidate. She added: “I cannot say anything. Congress party has already announced their opinion... He belongs to the Congress party. Congress party will decide.”

The remarks of Chaudhury and Mamata created an impression during the day that incumbent vice president Hamid Ansari was ahead in the presidential poll race. Many wondered if Congress itself was not interested in fielding one of its seniormost leaders. However, some senior Congress leaders dismissed the suggestion.

Congress sources asserted that Mukherjee, UPA trouble shooter, was very much in the race and pointed out that Janata Dal (United) was likely to support the finance minister rather than a candidate picked up by the BJP-led NDA. “More allies from NDA supporting our candidate cannot be ruled out”, they added.

Sonia Gandhi, who held a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Mukherjee present, told reporters that there was time before a candidate was selected. Queried over "confusion" on names for presidential nominees, she said: “there is no confusion. Be patient, still there is time.”

Mamata, who met Gandhi for the first time after her election as CM a year ago, declined to speak to media after the meeting. It was, however, learnt that she pledged her support to the UPA candidate but felt that it would be better if the candidate was elected unanimously with support from across the political spectrum.

The West Bengal CM, who also met Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, told reporters: “I would prefer a consensus. If this does not evolve, then of course there will be a contest. All options are open”. Asked if she would prefer Mukherjee, she quipped: “Congress has to take a decision first. He is after all a Congress leader. I can't interfere in any other party's internal affairs”. Mulayam said he was for a political person as president.

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News Network
March 3,2020

New Delhi, Mar 3: A day after two new cases of novel coronavirus that included one from Delhi were reported, the Health Ministry on Tuesday said six cases with "high-viral load" were detected during sample testing in Agra and these people have been kept in isolation. The six people had come in contact with a 45-year-old patient from Delhi, whose case came to light on Monday, and they include his family members.

According to government sources, the man, who is a resident of Mayur Vihar, had visited them in Agra.

The six have been kept in isolation at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and their samples are being sent to NIV, Pune for confirmation.

Contact tracing of the people who came in contact with the six is simultaneously being done through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) network, the ministry said in a statement.

Sources said the patient from Mayur Vihar was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.

His other family members have been asked to stay alert and look out for symptoms. One accountant, who came in contact with the man and some of his family members, was also quarantined, they said.

India on Monday reported two new cases of the novel coronavirus, one from Delhi and another one from Hyderabad. The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed 2,912 people in China.

On Monday, Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma had said that an Italian tourist tested positive for coronavirus in Jaipur.

The first sample collected from him on February 29 tested negative but his condition deteriorated, so a second sample was collected which tested positive on Monday, the minister said, adding, "Since there is a variation in the reports, the samples have been sent to the NIV, Pune for testing".

India had earlier reported three cases from Kerala, including two medical students from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus. They had self-reported on their return to the country and tested positive for the infection. They were discharged from hospitals last month following recovery.

The infected person from Delhi had travelled to Italy, while the other patient who tested positive for the COVID-19 infection is from Telangana and had recently travelled to Dubai.

Both the patients had self-reported after they developed symptoms.

"They tested positive. They are stable and being closely monitored," ministry said on Monday.

The government has asked people to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore and said India was in discussions with authorities in Iran and Italy, two countries badly affected by the infection, to evacuate Indians there.

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19, which originated in China, has spread to over 60 countries.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: India witnessed a single-day spike of 52,050 COVID-19 cases as the total cases in the country reached 18,55,746, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.

803 COVID-19 related deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The total cases include 5,86,298 active cases, 12,30,510 cured/discharged/migrated and 38,938 deaths, the Health Ministry added.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state as it has a total of 1,47,324 active cases and 15,842 deaths. A total of 4,50,196 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the state up to Monday, according to Union Ministry of Health.

Tamil Nadu reported 5,609 new COVID-19 cases and 109 deaths on Monday, taking total cases to 2,63,222 including 2,02,283 discharges and 4,241 deaths, the state Health Department said.

The total cases in Delhi have risen to 1,38,482 including 1,24,254 recovered/discharged/migrated cases and 4,021 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, India recorded the highest single-day testing by conducting over 6.6 lakh tests to diagnose COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
"In its fight against COVID-19, India scales a new high of 6,61,715 tests in the last 24 hours," said the Health Ministry in a tweet.

A total of 2,08,64,206 samples for COVID-19 have been tested across the country so far, said the Health Ministry.

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News Network
June 26,2020

New Delhi, Jun 26: With the highest single-day spike of 17,296 COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count reached 4,90,401 on Friday, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The country also saw 407 deaths in the last 24 hours, which pushed the death toll to 15,301.

The total number of cases includes 1,89,463 active cases, 2,85,637cured/discharged/migrated cases, as per the MoHFW.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of samples tested up to June 25 is 77,76,228; the number of samples tested on 25 June is 2,15,446.

Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in the country with 1,47,741 cases. The active cases in the state are 63,357. The number of people cured or discharged stands at 77,453 while the death toll is at 6,931.

Delhi has so far reported 73,780 cases. The active cases in the national capital stood at 26,586. While the cured and discharged numbers stood at 44,765. The death toll in the city is 2,429.

Tamil Nadu has so far reported 70,977. With active cases at 30,067 and the number of cured or discharged at 39,999, while the death toll stood at 911.

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