Patna: APJ Abdul Kalam, who has been backed by the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party for Presidential race, arrived in Patna on Thursday on a scheduled visit and was welcomed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the airport. Kumar's receiving Kalam at the airport assumes significance in the backdrop of the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party rooting for his candidature for the post of President. Kalam will...
08:54 AM, Jun 15, 2012
New Delhi: 9:44 AM: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the Presidential elections at 12 noon on Friday. Pranab Mukherjee will also attend the UPA meet on teh Presidential elections at 4 pm on Friday. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has left for Agra to meet local leaders. 9:10 AM: The Congress sources have claimed that Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has...
08:48 AM, Jun 15, 2012
New Delhi: Even as sources indicated differences between Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party Mulayam Singh Yadav, it appears that former President APJ Abdul Kalam remains the top choice for the Presidential candidate. While Mamata made it clear that Kalam is her first choice, it seems Mulayam is also not opposed to Kalam's candidature. Kalam is also a name that the NDA may...
08:29 AM, Jun 15, 2012
New Delhi: It is a crucial day ahead for the Presidential race. The UPA will meet on Friday and the Congress is likely to come out with its Presidential nominee. Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will skip the meet as she feels there is no point in attending the meet because the candidate has already been decided. All eyes are now on whether Finance Minister...
07:53 AM, Jun 15, 2012
Mamata Banerjee said that Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has assured her of his support in the President poll. ...
11:56 PM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: The race to the President office on Thursday witnessed lots of politics and speculation, but no decisions appeared in sight. A day after the royal snub by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee along with Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Congress worked on all fronts to isolate the West Bengal Chief Minister. The party in fact began attempts to build consensus within the UPA on its choices,...
11:47 PM, Jun 14, 2012
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dared UPA chief Sonia Gandhi to drop her party from the alliance. ...
11:35 PM, Jun 14, 2012
Hyderabad: Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy on Thursday said there is a leadership crisis in the country and hoped that APJ Abdul Kalam becomes the President again. "We have a leadership crisis today. We need a leadership which takes risk and that will happen only when you elect people properly... I expect the next president will be Abdul Kalam," he said at a function. He also said terrorism should be...
11:29 PM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: Even as Trinamool Congress on Thursday insisted that A P J Abdul Kalam was its first choice as well as that of Samajwadi Party for President, sources said Mulayam Singh Yadav would take a final view only after consulting his senior party colleagues. According to sources, Yadav is likely to discuss with senior party leaders of his party the Presidential elections and the candidate of Samajwadi party. "Only...
10:20 PM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: An emissary of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday met Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and said later that there was no change in their stand on the Presidential candidate and A P J Abdul Kalam. "Everything is alright. A P J Abdul Kalam is the candidate of both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee," TMC MP Kunal Ghosh told reporters after meeting Yadav at his...
09:51 PM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday strongly pitched for former President APJ Abdul Kalam for the post of President and indicated that in case no consensus emerges on his candidature there will be a contest. "If there is no consensus then MP's should resort to conscience voting," said Mamata. Rooting for Kalam, Mamata said, "Kalam is a formidable candidate for this country. Congress has a prerogative to...
08:22 PM, Jun 14, 2012
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said that she and SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav gave out three names because there was no consensus. ...
07:28 PM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: In a continuing war of words, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dared UPA chief Sonia Gandhi to drop her party from the alliance. Refuting Congress' allegations of a breach of decorum, Mamata claimed that she is still part of the UPA but the Congress can ask her to leave if the party wants to. "I am not leaving UPA. But if the big boss of the...
07:10 PM, Jun 14, 2012
Here's a look at all the number crunching as to where do Pranab Mukherjee and APJ Abdul Kalam stand in the presidential poll. ...
06:18 PM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: The race for the President's post got complicated by the minute on Wednesday. The list of contenders grew to five prominent politicians, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. This came after Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav rejected Congress President Sonia Gandhi's choices and came up with three new names. It's complete confusion...
09:10 AM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: There seems to be another twist in the race for the President's post. Congress sources say that they cannot accept the options given by Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Rejecting Congress President Sonia Gandhi's choices for the Presidential candidate that were - Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari - Mamata and Mulayam proposed three names those of...
08:50 AM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: Former president APJ Abdul Kalam's name is once again doing the rounds. Sources have told CNN-IBN that he is the preferred choice of the UPA allies. In fact, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav reportedly spoke to Kalam before proposing his name. Sources say that the BJP and NDA may back him as well. But Mamata and Mulayam have made it clear...
08:46 AM, Jun 14, 2012
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav have shown that no major decision can be taken without them. They stumped the Congress on Wednesday by rejecting party President Sonia Gandhi's choices for the Presidential candidate. The Congress has reasons to worry as the race for the President's post got complicated after Mamata and Mulayam's twist. Rejecting Sonia's choices...
07:58 AM, Jun 14, 2012
Dramatic day of developments in the race for President. Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday rejected the names proposed by Sonia Gandhi and instead tossed names of Manmohan Singh, Somnath Chatterjee and APJ Abdul Kalam. ...
11:53 PM, Jun 13, 2012
New Delhi: As the race for the Rashtrapati Bhawan heats up, here is a look at the factors that influenced the choice of candidates since independence. Loyalty to the ruling party, and its political considerations have been the most important according to experts. India's first three presidents were men of stature. Few would dispute the credentials of Rajendra Prasad, Dr S Radhakirshnan and Zakir Hussain to be President of India....
11:29 PM, Jun 13, 2012
