No polls, Kalyan told by BJP leadership
The Bharatiya Janata Party high command is understood to have rejected Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's proposal to dissolve the state assembly and go in for fresh elections in the state. Singh met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday to discuss the crisis in the BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit.
Swamy bolts from the BJP stable
The BJP-led government at the Centre suffered its first major crack as Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy broke ties with the saffron alliance. Announcing his decision, Swamy said that he now planned to work towards forming a "secular patriotic front" against the BJP and would wait for clearance from AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha to topple the Vajpayee government.
JD too seeks Rabri Govt's exit
The Janata Dal has demanded dismissal of the Rabri Devi government in Bihar on the ground of breakdown of law and order to be followed by dissolution of the Assembly and fresh elections. At a press conference, JD parliamentary board chairman Ram Vilas Paswan said that Bihar was witnessing "jungle raj" with weaker sections becoming the target of atrocities.
A half-hearted attempt by Sonia to rejuvenate Congress
Afraid to strike and hesitant to reward -- that is the message of Sonia Gandhi's much-awaited "revamp" of the Congress party. A balancing act, it is a signal that for all her brave words at the recent All India Congress Committee session in Delhi, Sonia has no option but to tread cautiously, at least till such time when she can get a grip over the party.
Mahato's nomination to BJP Council stuns partymen
The nomination of Shailendra Mahato, accused in the JMM payoff case, to the BJP's National Council has come as a surprise in party circles as Mahato is not a primary member of the party. According to the BJP constitution, only an active member is entitled to be nominated to the august Council.
Ugly face-off in Bengal panchayat polls
The coming battle for rural Bengal between the CPI(M)-led Left Front on one side and the Trinamool Congress, BJP and the Congress on the other in the May 28 panchayat elections may turn out to be more violent than previous polls in the State. The run-up to the polls has so far seen violent clashes between the Left and the anti-Left forces in different parts of West Bengal.
