The Indian Express

Friday, December 19 1997

The takes you to the story

Woman power disarms Kesri; exposes him to Cong vultures
Three women -- Sonia Gandhi, J Jayalalitha and Mamata Banerji -- have suddenly made life difficult for 82-year-old Sitaram Kesri just when things seemed to be going his way. They have struck at a time when his formidable alliance with Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar and the launch of a "secular front" with the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Janata Party seemed to have given him a new lease of life.

No one's ready, but BJP has the upper hand
Almost all the parties in Uttar Pradesh are still reeling under the hectic pace of political developments during the past year. But with the anti-BJP parties unable to forge unity in the state, the BJP is likely to be at an advantage even though it has some compulsions of its own vis-a-vis its allies.

Mbeki takes over from Mandela
Thabo Mbeki was elected president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday, succeeding Nelson Mandela, but the South African President's former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela declined nomination as deputy president. Fifty five-year-old Mbeki was elected unopposed as the chief of the party that bagged two-thirds majority in the last election, the first in the post-apartheid era.

Pak poll panel rejects Nawaz Sharif's nominee

Six axed in major shake-up after Sharjah debacle