BJP, Congress admit coalitions are to stay

August 2nd, 2009 SHASTRI NAGAR - Around 24 girls were arrested by the police on charges of impersonating certain candidates appearing for a medical examination in Patna. The detained girls allegedly impersonated examinees to help them clear a medical examination.

May 17th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi Sunday appealed to the party's central leadership to stay away from the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) while forming the new government at the centre. 'I am going to convey the party leadership in Delhi that it should maintain a distance from SP, BSP and RLD while forming the government,' Joshi told reporters here.

May 10th, 2009 Trichy (Tami Nadu)/ NEW DELHI - As the fifth and last phase of the parliamentary elections is round the corner, the Communist leaders are giving different indications over government formation at the Centre. Senior CPI (M) leader and politburo member Sitaram Yechury on Sunday said that all ruling coalitions are formed only after the polls.

May 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With more than half of India having voted, political players have begun to hunt seriously for new allies as they anticipate one of the most splintered parliaments ever. Almost everyone admits that no single political party is in a position to win even 170 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha.

May 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi left most journalists attending his press conference in the capital impressed with his articulate answers and composure even in the face of uncomfortable questions. And they were forced to admit over the post conference tea at the convention hall of the Ashoka Hotel -- 'aaj pappu paas ho gaya'.

April 17th, 2009 LONDON - The absence of a clear right-Left division in the policies offered by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pose 'hard questions' about the quality of India's democracy, The Times of London said Friday. 'There have been hopes that Indian democracy will settle into two broad coalitions, led by Congress and the BJP, representing a broad Left-Right choice.

April 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In the emerging post-poll scenario in India, the United States must work to make sure good relations with New Delhi are not paralysed by bureaucratic infighting in the Indian parliament, suggests a former US official. The United States has had good relations with the past two Indian governments, run by opposing coalitions, but the emergence of 'a large unwieldy coalition government' poses a challenge to Washington, says Evan A.

April 15th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Congress leader Rahul Gandhi deviated from his schedule Wednesday and decided to stay back for the night in an Orissa town after addressing an election meeting there. The Congress general secretary campaigned for party candidates in the state and later decided to spend the night at Kendrapada town, some 100 km from here.

April 11th, 2009 KOLKATA - Countering the view that India is now in the coalition era, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Saturday said the alliance governments at the centre followed the weakening of the Congress in four large states and the inability of any other national party to take its place. Mukherjee said the weakening of the Congress in 220 constituencies spread across undivided Uttar Pradesh (85 seats), undivided Bihar (54 seats), West Bengal (42) and Tamil Nadu (39) led to the advent of coalition era.

April 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - None of the political alliances will make it to the magical figure of 272 required to form the government after the Lok Sabha elections, even as the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will get 203 seats, according to a survey conducted by TV channel Star News. A statement by the channel Saturday said both the UPA and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would have to look for partners outside their respective coalitions.

April 9th, 2009 HYDERABAD - Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A. B. Bardhan has expressed confidence of forming a non-Congress and non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government after the forthcoming general elections.

April 6th, 2009 RANCHI - New fronts and smaller parties may play spoilsport for the Congress and also the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha elections. By now it is well known that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) have formed an alliance and fielded candidates on 11 of the state's 14 seats.

March 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday disclosed that he wanted Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, the son of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, to be a minister in the cabinet, but Rahul refused. 'I always wanted Rahul Gandhi to be a minister, but he refused,' Manmohan Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a defence investiture function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

March 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister and Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee Saturday ridiculed the newly-formed Third Front, saying it could never come to power on its own. 'I do not understand the nomenclature the Third Front is using.

March 4th, 2009 PANAJI - Veteran Congress leader Eduardo Faleiro has ruled out the possibility of the party winning a simple majority in the forthcoming general elections and says coalitions are an inevitability. The former minister of state for external affairs, who has represented Goa six times in parliament, said a hung parliament would be the inevitable outcome of the 15th Lok Sabha polls due from mid April.