Upa Allies

• I stand by my remarks on Mamata Banerjee: Digvijaya Singh

  Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has said he stands by his remarks on his party's estranged ally Mamata Banerjee. Mr Singh had recently called the Trinamool chief "immature" and "irrational." His comments came in the wake of Ms Banerjee refusing to back Pranab Mukherjee as the UPA's choice for President of India.

• Will NDA back Pranab Mukherjee? Final decision likely today

  Will the NDA back Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's candidature for the country's top job or will they name another candidate in the race to Raisina Hill? A decision by the BJP-led alliance, which has so far followed a wait-and-watch policy, is expected to be taken after a key meeting of the NDA today. There have been hectic consultations between...

• Will NDA back Pranab Mukherjee? BJP core group meets today, final decision likely tomorrow

  At a meeting on Friday evening at the Prime Minister's house, the UPA finally declared Mr Mukherjee as its candidate for President of India.

• APJ Abdul Kalam will contest, says Mamata Banerjee, but he is undecided, so is NDA

  APJ Abdul Kalam, who was hosted at lunch by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today, has said he will decide at the right time whether to contest Presidential elections for a second stint in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. And though Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee insists that he will contest, a lot of factors now seem to put a question mark on t...

• President Pranab Mukherjee? UPA meets now, is Mulayam Singh Yadav on board?

  President of India: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, according to sources, will run for President. He is expected to file his nomination papers on June 25, if he is ratified as the UPA candidate at a meeting of its allies today, which has begun. He reportedly remains the first choice of his party president and UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi. Cong...

• President Pranab? Will quit Finance Ministry on June 24, say sources

  President of India: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, according to sources, will run for President. He is expected to file his nomination papers on June 25, if he is ratified as the UPA candidate at a meeting of its allies today. He reportedly remains the first choice of his party president and UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi.

• UPA meet on presidential polls: Congress warns allies against Mamata-Mulayam, say sources

  With Mamata Banerjee announcing this evening, after her meeting with Mulayam Singh Yadav, that former president APJ Abdul Kalam was their first choice for the next President of India, sources say the Congress has warned all its allies that Ms Banerjee and Mr Yadav are trying to topple the government.

• President elections: Mamata Banerjee firm on Kalam, Mulayam Singh Yadav distances himself a little

  Mamata Banerjee met Mulayam Singh Yadav for the third time in 48 hours this evening and said that former president APJ Abdul Kalam is her first choice for the next President of India. "And he will win the election," she said. Ms Banerjee, who partners with the Congress at the centre and in Bengal, also dared the Congress to sack her from the UPA. ...

• Mamata vs Congress worsens, Pranab Mukherjee still not official candidate

  Pranab Mukherjee still not official candidate for President: Cornered over the presidential election by allies who turned on it with full force, the Congress is trying to rally its troops. The core group of the party is meeting this evening to discuss its candidate for President. Congress chief ministers have been asked to come to Delhi to share th...

• Pension Bill deferred again, after Mamata's party puts its foot down

  The Pensions Bill has been deferred. Once again. The Bill, which has been stalled for years as political parties squabble over its provisions, was expected to be discussed by the Cabinet today, but it did not take it up. Sources say, with the Trinamool Congress still dead opposed to it, the government decided not to bring out an issue that would ...

• Highlights of PM's speech at Congress Working Committee meeting

  The Congress' highest decision-making body, its Working Committee (CWC) is meeting today to discuss the economic and political crises that the UPA government finds itself mired in. Here are the highlights of what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the meeting:

• Attacks on PM are part of conspiracy, says Sonia Gandhi without naming Team Anna

  In her address to the Congress party's highest decision-making body, its Working Committee (CWC), Mrs Gandhi took on Team Anna, which has recently and aggressively targeted the Prime Minister for allegedly allowing a massive swindle in the allocation of coal fields to private companies. She said the attack on the Prime Minister and the government i...

• We want izzat, we are not beggars: Mamata Banerjee tells NDTV about Congress, UPA

  Mamata Banerjee on Congress, UPA: On a day her party the Trinamool Congress, abstained from voting on the issue of the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) in Parliament, Mamata Banerjee has told NDTV that the UPA government has a tendency to bulldoze state governments. But on the crucial issue of a rollback in the railway fare hike, Ms Bane...

• DMK refuses to change stand on Sri Lanka despite Pranab's appeal

  Pranab Mukherjee's message to the members of the UPA couldn't have been more direct - any formal expression of differences in parliament will be grabbed by the BJP to try and trip up the government. Yet, the morning after a dinner at the Prime Minister's residence, the DMK has not abandoned plans to follow through on an amendment it moved to Presid...

• At PM's dinner, Pranab warns allies against amendments to President's speech

  A dinner for UPA allies at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's home ended with a serious message for Mamata Banerjee, who skipped the meeting and sent instead not one of the Trinamool Congress ministers in the UPA government, but MP Ratna De Nag.