UF rules out post-poll pact with Congress
The United Front has ruled out the possibility of entering into a coalition with the Congress to form the Government in the event of a hung Parliament after the elections. UF leaders revealed this while releasing the UF election manifesto yesterday. They asserted that they would prefer sitting in the Opposition benches to tying up with the Congress.
Black Id: 7 die in Doda police firing
Jammu and Kashmir was witness to another tragedy on Friday. Seven Muslims, including a woman and a child, were killed when a joint search party of the Army and police fired on angry villagers at Malang village in Doda district. The tragedy took place when a group of villagers attempted to hamper the combing operations. The incident, coming close on the heels of the massacre of 23 Kashmiri Pandits by militants, has cast a shadow over the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Sonia may upset SP, Congress ties
Relations between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress have taken a turn for the worse with the entry of Sonia Gandhi into the political arena. Sonia's statement seeking apology for the demolition of Babri Masjid has apparently irked senior SP leaders. This was evident from the criticism levied by SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav on the Congress, while speaking at a at Moradabad on Wednesday.
BILT to hive off chemical unit
Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT) is expectant of completing its revamp exercise by hiving off its chemicals business into a new company by the end of the current fiscal. BILT's joint managing director Gautam Thapar revealed that the three new entities being carved out of Bilt will come into being on April 1, 1998. The Thapar group is also keen to hike its stake in BILT which will come down from 28.9% to 24.06% after sale of a 16.7% stake to Al Murjan group of Saudi Arabia.
Checkmated by Sonia, Sena-BJP redrafts strategy
The massive turnout at the rallies held by Sonia Gandhi in rural Maharashtra last week has prompted the Shiv Sena-BJP combine to revamp its campaign strategy for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. The Congress' poll tie-ups with the SP and the RPI also spurred the Shiv Sena-BJP combine to reformulate a poll strategy. The BJP, however, denied the presence of a Sonia wave anywhere in the state.
Pak ISI out to wreck elections, says BJP
Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Murali Manohar Joshi yesterday claimed that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was active in southern states and was trying to foment trouble during the Lok Sabha elections. He further added that the ISI network had already spread its tentacles in the south and immediate steps had to be taken to ensure that the elections were not disturbed.
