Q+A: Sudan’s north-south referendum negotiations

July 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Northern and southern Sudanese leaders began negotiations on Saturday on issues including how to share oil revenues after a January 2011 referendum on southern independence.

Here are some questions and answers on the talks, which are expected to last six months.

WHAT IS AT STAKE?

The referendum was promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended Africa’s longest civil war — a decades-long conflict between north and south Sudan in which an estimated 2 million people were killed and 4 million forced to flee their homes.

The accord gave southerners the right to decide whether to stay in Sudan or declare independence.

Analysts have warned there is a risk of a return to war unless the two sides resolve many contentious issues before the vote.

A southern vote for secession and the creation of a new country could fuel separatist dreams in other African states.

WHAT ARE THE NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT?

The two sides will produce plans for two scenarios — a vote for unity and a vote for separation.

If, as many analysts expect, separation is the outcome, the negotiators will have to package it in a way that is acceptable to both parties. If either side feels like losers, the opportunities for conflict will increase.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN TOPICS?

North Sudan’s dominant National Congress Party (NCP) and the south’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have agreed to cover four main areas:

FINANCIAL, ECONOMIC AND NATURAL RESOURCES

The most intense negotiations will focus on the division of Sudan’s natural assets and massive debts.

Most of Sudan’s oil — about 78 percent according to the Economist Intelligence Unit — is produced in the south, which would have to share the oil revenue with the north after a split. At present, the only way for the south to get its oil to market is through northern pipelines to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

Persistent distrust between the civil war foes means they will have to find a clear way of reporting those revenues so that neither feels short-changed, campaign group Global Witness said in a report this week.

The south will also have to negotiate its share of the White Nile water that flows through its territory at a time of growing tension between Nile-side countries over water supplies.

NATIONALITY

There are up to 2 million southerners living in north Sudan as refugees or long-term migrants, and a smaller number of northerners living in the south. The campaign group Refugees International says many of these will be left stateless and vulnerable if the country splits. The talks will cover their nationality as well as property and investment rights. Negotiators will also tackle the nationality of nomadic groups who move their livestock over the border.

SECURITY

Talks will focus on the status of thousands of northern and southern soldiers serving together in the Joint Integrated Units set up under the 2005 accord, many of them in contentious border areas. Northern and southern leaders are at loggerheads over the position of their shared border. Given the lack of progress over the past five years, southerners may have to vote for independence without a clear idea of where their new territory starts and ends. The two sides will have to agree on ways of resolving conflicts and policing the border.

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND LEGAL ISSUES

The two sides will list the international organizations and treaties that Sudan has joined over the years and work out how far they would cover an independent south.

(Reporting by Andrew Heavens, editing by Tim Pearce)

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Sudan may ask U.N. to run key vote – party official

June 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Sudan may ask the United Nations to run a referendum on the future of a politically sensitive border region after northern and southern leaders failed to appoint organizers, a party official said on Sunday.

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The residents of Abyei are less than seven months away from a vote on whether their border territory, close to key oilfields, should be part of north or south Sudan.

The vote has regional significance because, on the same day, the people of south Sudan have been promised a ballot on whether to separate from the north to become an independent state.

Yasir Arman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the dominant party in the south, said northern and southern leaders had failed to agree on who should join a commission to organize the Abyei vote despite months of debate.

“So far we have failed … If it becomes clear that we cannot agree then the only way out is the United Nations,” he told Reuters.

“The problems are the names. The National Congress cannot agree. We have been giving them the names, names from the civil service and lawyers, and hopefully we can still agree.”

If Abyei residents decide to join the south they could, at a stroke, become part of Africa’s newest country, taking their oil reserves and rich grazing land out of Khartoum’s control.

Political analysts have said time is running out to organize the votes and there is a risk of violence if southerners believe the north is trying to delay or disrupt the plebiscites.

Arman, the SPLM candidate in a presidential election held in April, said his party would submit a fresh set of names in a final attempt to reach agreement.

An official from the north’s National Congress Party (NCP) said Arman was trying to increase political pressure.

“I am sure we can still bridge the gap between the NCP and the SPLM on this. We have had differences before which we have settled,” said the NCP’s Rabie Abdelati.

No one was available to comment from the United Nations.

The votes, due in January 2011, are ensured as part of a 2005 accord that ended more than two decades of north-south war.

Abyei is occupied by two main groups, the Dinka Ngok, linked to south Sudan’s Dinka people, and nomadic Misseriya Arabs, associated with the north. Northern and southern forces have clashed there since the peace deal.

Arman said the NCP and SPLM were due to discuss Abyei and other issues related to the referendum in Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, this week.

Outstanding issues included the position of the north-south border, the nationality of southerners in the north and vice-versa, and the sharing of debts and oil revenues if the south, as widely expected, chooses to secede.

(Reporting by Andrew Heavens; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

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Sudan may ask UN to run key vote -party official

June 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KHARTOUM, June 20 (Reuters) – Sudan may ask the United Nations to run a referendum on the future of a politically sensitive border region after northern and southern leaders failed to appoint organisers, a party official said on Sunday.

The residents of Abyei are less than seven months away from a vote on whether their border territory, close to key oilfields, should be part of north or south Sudan.

The vote has regional significance because, on the same day, the people of south Sudan have been promised a ballot on whether to separate from the north to become an independent state.

Yasir Arman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the dominant party in the south, said northern and southern leaders had failed to agree on who should join a commission to organise the Abyei vote despite months of debate.

“So far we have failed … If it becomes clear that we cannot agree then the only way out is the United Nations,” he told Reuters.

“The problems are the names. The National Congress cannot agree. We have been giving them the names, names from the civil service and lawyers, and hopefully we can still agree.”

If Abyei residents decide to join the south they could, at a stroke, become part of Africa’s newest country, taking their oil reserves and rich grazing land out of Khartoum’s control.

Political analysts have said time is running out to organise the votes and there is a risk of violence if southerners believe the north is trying to delay or disrupt the plebiscites.

Arman, the SPLM candidate in a presidential election held in April, said his party would submit a fresh set of names in a final attempt to reach agreement.

An official from the north’s National Congress Party (NCP) said Arman was trying to increase political pressure.

“I am sure we can still bridge the gap between the NCP and the SPLM on this. We have had differences before which we have settled,” said the NCP’s Rabie Abdelati.

No one was available to comment from the United Nations.

The votes, due in January 2011, are ensured as part of a 2005 accord that ended more than two decades of north-south war.

Abyei is occupied by two main groups, the Dinka Ngok, linked to south Sudan’s Dinka people, and nomadic Misseriya Arabs, associated with the north. Northern and southern forces have clashed there since the peace deal.

Arman said the NCP and SPLM were due to discuss Abyei and other issues related to the referendum in Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, this week.

Outstanding issues included the position of the north-south border, the nationality of southerners in the north and vice-versa, and the sharing of debts and oil revenues if the south, as widely expected, chooses to secede. (Reporting by Andrew Heavens; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

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Bahujan Vikas Agadhi wins Vasai-Virar civic polls

May 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, May 31 (IANS) Hitendra Thakur-led Bahujan Vikas Agadhi Monday won the first ever election to the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation, on the outskirts of north Mumbai, capturing 55 of the 89 wards.

‘We had expected to win over 50 wards and we got it. I thank all those who had faith in the party and those who elected members of our party,’ Thakur said.

Vivek Pandit-led Jan Andolan Samiti contested from 38 wards and won 19. Out of 48 wards the Congress contested, it won only two.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) failed to open their account from any of the 46 wards they contested, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won one ward out of the 17 contested.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena won from one ward out of 17 contested, while Shiv Sena won from three wards out of 40. Independents won in eight wards.

As many as 383 candidates spread over 89 wards had contested the elections. One candidate of Bahujan Vikas Agadhi was declared elected unopposed.

The election took place Sunday with approximately 43 percent of the 6.5 lakh electorate exercising their franchise, said election officers.

There were 603 polling booths with around 3,500 polling staff on duty.

Situated on the outskirts of north Mumbai, the Vasai taluka had four municipal councils — Vasai, Nala Sopara, Virar and Navghar-Manickpur — and 72 gram panchayats. They were all dissolved and the municipal corporation was formed July 3, 2009.

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Sudan charges opposition journalist with terrorism

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sudan has charged a detained opposition journalist with terrorism and espionage and he has been tortured in custody, his lawyers said on Tuesday.

U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch condemned the arrest earlier this month of opposition Islamist Hassan al-Turabi and four staff of his al-Rai al-Shaab paper, mouthpiece of Turabi’s Popular Congress Party (PCP).

The rights group urged Khartoum to end repression of opposition politicians and press launched after an April election returned President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP) to power.

PCP lawyer Mohamed al-Alim said the deputy editor in chief of the paper, Abu Zur al-Amin, had been charged with terrorism, espionage and destabilising the constitutional system.

Al-Alim said the other three newspaper staff had not been charged so far and Turabi “has not even been questioned”.

The government has accused Turabi of directing rebel attacks in the strife-ridden Darfur region.

Al-Alim said al-Amin had been tortured in jail. The PCP sent Reuters a picture of al-Amin’s back, with a large bruise which his brother said was the result of security forces beating him. Al-Amin remains isolated in police custody.

A security source denied any torture had occurred. “This absolutely does not happen,” the source said.

WORKERS FOR U.S. CHARITY FREED

“The National Congress Party is trying to silence political opponents, the media, and activists to stifle criticism and dissent and consolidate control,” said Rona Peligal, acting Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

“This repression sends a clear message that, instead of strengthening democracy, the April multi-party elections merely emboldened the party in its abuse.”

Sudan also reimposed censorship on two papers last week.

Much of the northern opposition boycotted the April elections, undermining their credibility.

Those who participated rejected the results and accused the NCP of rigging the vote. International observers said the vote did not meet international standards and expressed concern at intimidation, especially in the south.

Bashir is the only sitting head of state wanted for war crimes — in Darfur — by the International Criminal Court, but he rejects its authority.

On Tuesday, two Sudanese aid workers for the U.S. Christian charity Samaritan’s Purse were released in Darfur after being kidnapped with their American colleague a week ago.

The American woman from California was still being held but was in good health, a source close to the kidnappers said.

“I saw her and she looked fine,” the source, who declined to be named, told Reuters from South Darfur state.

Kidnappings of foreign nationals in Darfur, mostly by young armed men demanding ransoms, began last year after Bashir’s ICC arrest warrant was issued. The abductions have severely restricted the movement of aid agencies in the region.

(Reporting by Opheera McDoom; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Clashes in Sudan kill 58, raise tension on border

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KHARTOUM, April 25 (Reuters) – Clashes between south Sudan’s army and Darfuri Arab tribes killed 58 people, raising tension along the border with the north of the country as results of the first open elections in 24 years are released, officials said on Sunday.

Sudan’s oil-producing south was allowed to keep a separate army and form a semi-autonomous government in a 2005 peace deal ending more than two decades of civil war with the north.

Southerners will vote in a referendum on Jan. 9, 2011 on independence.

“There was movement from the Rizeigat (tribe) and from the SPLA (the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Army). I can’t tell you who attacked who first but they clashed,” Rizeigat Arab tribal leader Mohamed Eissa Aliu told Reuters from South Darfur.

“It happened on Friday and those killed from the Rizeigat were 58 and 85 injured,” he said, adding the attack was in Balballa, South Darfur, which borders Western Bahr al-Ghazal in the south.

The SPLA said they were attacked by the northern army (SAF) in Raja, a remote part of Western Bahr al-Ghazal state, near where at least 5 officials from the dominant northern National Congress Party (NCP) and four others were killed by an SPLA soldier during five days of voting which began on April 11.

“Our company came under attack from the SAF forces yesterday afternoon,” SPLA spokesman Malaak Ayuen said late on Saturday. “The SAF was using four land cruisers with mounted machine guns.” He could not give further details.

A SAF spokesman denied any involvement but confirmed the SPLA attack on the Rizeigat in Darfur, calling it “a clear violation of the (peace deal).”

The north-south border there is one of many disputed areas yet to be demarcated.

On Sunday, the SPLA said it had been attacked for a second time in Raja and had been forced to retreat.

“They reinforced themselves and launched another attack and occupied the place,” Ayuen said on Sunday.

Of the around 100 SPLA troops in the area, 47 had reported back with the others likely still in the bush, he said.

Results of the elections, marred by boycotts in the north and opposition accusations of fraud, are slowly being announced after days of delays.

The NCP and the ex-southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) are expected to form a coalition government as both parties look set to maintain their respective dominance in the north and the south.

The international community is concerned that only 8 months before the 2011 plebiscite on independence, issues like the demarcation of the border, grazing rights of nomadic tribes and citizenship have not been agreed.

The north-south civil war, Africa’s longest, has raged on and off since 1955. It claimed 2 million lives mostly through hunger and disease and destabilised much of east Africa.

The south, which follows mostly Christianity or traditional religions, fought the mainly Muslim north over issues including oil, ethnicity and ideology. (Additional reporting by Skye Wheeler in Juba; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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Sudan ruling party offers opposition govt posts

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KHARTOUM, April 14 (Reuters) – Sudan’s ruling party, in an apparent bid to heal a rift over accusations of vote fraud, said on Wednesday it would invite opposition groups to join the government if it won elections currently in progress.

Sudan is four days into presidential and legislative polls aimed at helping to bring the oil-producing state back to democracy more than two decades after a military-led coup.

The poll’s credibility was cast in doubt after some main opposition parties decided to boycott large parts of the poll, accusing incumbent president Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his northern National Congress Party (NCP) of widespread rigging.

“If we are declared winners in the elections … we would extend the invitation to all parties, even those who have not participated in the elections, to join the government because we believe this is a critical moment in our history,” senior NCP official Ghazi Salaheddin told reporters.

“We are facing important decisions like self-determination in the south and would like to garner as much support and as much consensus as we can.”

The elections were set up under a 2005 peace accord that ended more than two decades of north-south civil war and also promised a referendum on whether the south should secede in January 2011.

The decision by south Sudan’s dominant Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) to boycott the vote and most polls in northern Sudan had raised fears of unrest in the build up to next year’s referendum.

No one from the SPLM or other boycotting groups, including the opposition Umma party, was immediately available to comment on Salaheddin’s offer.

(Reporting by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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U.S. envoy in crisis talks after Sudan election pullout

April 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – U.S. Sudan envoy Scott Gration began crisis talks with political leaders in Khartoum on Thursday after the withdrawal of a presidential candidate threatened to undermine the credibility of coming elections.

World

Yasir Arman, the candidate for the south’s dominant Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) pulled out of the race late Wednesday, less than two weeks before voting, citing concerns over election fraud and insecurity in Darfur.

Opposition parties were due to meet later Thursday to discuss whether to unite in boycotting the vote, a move that would seriously undermine what were supposed to be Sudan’s first multi-party elections in 24 years.

The presidential, parliamentary and gubernatorial elections are central to a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between Sudan’s Muslim north and the South, where most follow Christianity or traditional beliefs.

As part of the 2005 peace accord, the SPLM joined incumbent president Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP) in a fragile national coalition government.

The SPLM also said it would boycott all voting in Darfur, the scene of a seven-year conflict, going back on an earlier threat to pull out of the whole vote in the north in solidarity with opposition parties.

Analysts said Arman’s withdrawal effectively handed the presidential race to Bashir and could be part of a deal with his northern NCP to guarantee a referendum on southern independence also promised under the peace deal.

NO DEAL WITH BASHIR

But Arman denied any deal, saying there was no point in participating in the April elections and that the NCP had already rigged them for Bashir to win. He urged the opposition to take the same stance as his SPLM party.

“I will encourage them (the opposition) not to give legitimacy to Bashir – to boycott the election especially in Darfur and the presidential election,” he told Reuters.

He added the SPLM may still consider a full boycott in the rest of the north if the opposition decided to do so.

If the opposition also decided to boycott the presidential vote, it would derail any claim by Bashir to have been elected in a fully democratic process.

But continued participation in the parliamentary vote could give them some say over the passage of laws or any constitutional changes if they won a fair percentage of the 450 seat national assembly.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Gration had flown to Khartoum in reaction to the SPLM move and was planning to shuttle between meetings with leading opposition and government figures.

Wednesday a joint statement by Washington, Britain and Norway said they were “deeply concerned by reports of continued administrative and logistical (electoral) challenges, as well as restrictions on political freedoms.”

But they said “irrespective of the outcome of elections,” it was essential the January 2011 referendum go ahead on time.

Sudan’s north-south civil war killed 2 million people and destabilized much of east Africa. Darfur’s separate conflict has claimed an estimated 300,000 lives in violence Washington has called genocide.

Last year the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Bashir for war crimes in Darfur. He hopes to defy the court and legitimize his rule with a win in April’s polls.

(Editing by Opheera McDoom and Elizabeth Fullerton)

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Ashok Chavan defends Civil Supplies Minister Sattar involved in brawl

March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Mar 22 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Monday defended Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies Abdul Sattar terming the brawl by him on a Congress party worker as a matter of no national importance.

“This is not a national issue. It”s not important,” said Chavan.

Chavan, however, said he would seek a report on the incident when the opposition raised the issue in the state assembly.

Maharashtra leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse criticized the act and demanded an apology from Sattar.

Abdul Sattar had on Sunday bashed up Mohammed Mushtaq, a Congress party activist during a meeting of the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Pragati Aghadi for the Aurangabad municipal polls.

Mushtaq was not just assaulted by Sattar, but by his personal assistant as well when he confronted the minister on being denied a party ticket.

Sattar, however, did not tender an apology for his act.

“He threatened and abused me. Even if I am a minister, there is a limit to tolerating such behaviour. I am human after all. I do not know him at all. He suddenly attacked me demanding a ticket. I haven”t even decided yet,” said Sattar. (ANI)

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Chaturvedi axed as Congress spokesperson over comments on Pawar

March 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Mar 17 (ANI): Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi has been removed as party spokesperson over his alleged comments on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (NCP) chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

Chaturvedi reportedly used ”uncivilised language” during an interview to a news channel two days back while criticising Pawar on the issue of price rise.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) Chairperson Janardhan Dwivedi confirmed the news that Chaturvedi has been removed from the party following his comments on Pawar.

Earlier also, Chaturvedi was caught in the middle of a controversy following his uncharitable remarks against the then Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Amar Singh. (ANI)

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Shiv Sena-BJP alliance confident of victory in Maharashtra assembly polls

September 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Sep 19(ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena on Saturday expressed confidence about emerging victorious in the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

“It is 45 years since Shiv Sena came into being. And this first day of Navaratri happens to be a red-letter day in the history of Shiv Sena that has crusaded for the cause of Samyukta (unified) Maharashtra. Considering all these aspects, I feel it is an auspicious timing (of) declaring the seat arrangement and we are confident of our combine emerging victorious,” said Uddhav Thackeray, Executive President of Shiv Sena party.

Leaders of both the parties confirmed that there was no bargaining for seats between the two allies.

“Today, is the first day of Dussera and we have arrived at the figures of seat sharing. Yes, it is 169 and 119. The 169 in favour of Shiv Sena and 119 for BJP and it will be interesting to note that both the figures end in 9, a lucky number; 169 and 119. And now onwards we will work on joint strategy. There is no clash of interests and now onwards we will devote to the selection of suitable candidates,” said Gopinath Munde, senior BJP leader.

In the 2004 elections, Shiv Sena had contested for 171 seats while BJP had contested for 117 and jointly they had bagged 119 seats in the legislative house of 289 members.

The alliance of Congress and regional National Congress Party (NCP) had emerged victorious in the 2004 polls. (ANI)

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Congress – NCP to finalise seat-sharing formula on Saturday

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 19 (ANI): The crucial meeting of the Congress Party and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders will be held here on Saturday to give the final shape to the seat sharing agreement for next month’s Maharashtra Assembly polls.

The Election Commission issued notification for the assembly polls in Maharashtra, which is to be held on October 13.

On Thursday it was reported that both parties had broadly agreed to a formula of 174: 114 seats for the Congress and the NCP respectively.

The Maharashtra Assembly has 298 constituencies.

Poll management leaders of both the Congress and the NCP met their respective party chiefs on Friday after three days of negotiations.

They had earlier held a series of discussions in Mumbai to give final shape to the seat sharing process.

If the current formula gets the stamp of approval of both parties then the NCP would settle for ten seats less than what it contested the last time.

Meanwhile the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Shiv Sena alliance settled on a seat sharing, for 119 for the BJP and 169 seats for Shiv Sena (ANI)

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Election Commission issues notification for assembly elections in three states

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep. 18 (ANI): The process for forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh will begin formally with the issuance of notification on Friday.

The prospective candidates would be able to file their nomination papers till September 25.

The prospective candidates can file nomination papers to the Returning Officer or to the Assistant Returning Officer from Friday till September 25.

The assembly elections in three states are expected to be a litmus test for all major parties after the Lok Sabha elections.

The vote-counting will take place on October 22.

It is notable that all the three states that are ruled by Congress, which shares power in Maharashtra with NCP as a major coalition partner.

Maharashtra has a 288-member Assembly, Haryana a 90-member House and Arunachal Pradesh Assembly has 60 members.

There are 2,061 polling stations in Arunachal Pradesh, 12,894 in Haryana and 82,028 in Maharashtra. (ANI)

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Maharashtra polls: Congress to contest 174 seats, NCP 114

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.17 (ANI): The Congress party on Thursday announced that it will contest 174 seats in the October 13 assembly elections in Maharashtra, while its partner, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will contest 114.

Addressing the media here, Chaudhary Virendra Singh, who oversees Congress affairs in the state of Maharashtra, said, the seat-sharing arrangement has been finalised after several rounds of talks.

It may be recalled that in the last elections, the Congress had contested 164 seats, while the NCP fielded candidates in 124 seats.

The Election Commission will issue the notification for the assembly elections on Friday. (ANI)

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Sonia Gandhi sets an example, flies economy class to Mumbai

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi/Mumbai, Sep.14 (ANI): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday flew by economy class to Mumbai to attend a rally of party workers and also to hold discussions with the leadership of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Gandhi’s decision to fly economy class followed a similar act by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and an announcement by External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna that he would be undertaking official trips to Belarus and Turkmenistan.

He has also decided to cut down his delegation from 20 to two members for the trip.

Krishna further said that he would not travel first class in commercial airliners during his official trips.

The decision to fly economy class comes in the wake of Mukherjee’s appeal for a need for ministers and lawmakers to observe austerity in their lifestyle and official functions as the country is facing a crisis caused by drought. (ANI)

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Congress to decide over alliance with NCP on Sunday

September 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 12 (ANI): Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said that the decision on alliance with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls would be taken by Sunday.

Speaking to the media after a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Deshmukh said the party will take a decision on the continuation of alliance by Sunday.

On Friday the Congress High Command appointed Deshmukh as the chairman of party’s poll management committee and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as the chairman of campaign committee for the Maharashtra polls.

Both Deshmukh and Shinde held an hour-long meeting with the party’s central leadership.

He said, Sonia Gandhi had asked him to coordinate party’s election work by taking everyone into confidence.

Earlier, the Congress Party asked the Sharad Pawar led NCP to accept new ground realities during seat sharing. (ANI)

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Congress screens aspiring candidates for polls in Maharashtra

September 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Sep 12 (ANI): Congress party has begun shortlisting candidates aspiring for party’s nomination for the October 13 assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Congress party, which is running a coalition government with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra for the second term in a row, is yet to sort out hiccups on seat sharing with its ally.

As the days for nominations to open on September 18 draws close, state Congress party leaders went in a huddle in Mumbai to screen aspirants seeking ‘ticket’ to contest polls on the party symbol.

“I have given my profile, I have told about major problems in our area including drinking water and irrigation and people do not get benefited from the policies of the government,” said Anil Chandra Kumar Gupta, an aspirant from Tiroda seat of Gondia district.

Congress party, which also heads the central coalition, is on a high after its good performance in the April-May general elections. (ANI)

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BJP- Shiv Sena finalises seat sharing for Maharashtra assembly polls

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Aug 31 (ANI): Though the party’s top leadership is struggling to set the house in order, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Maharashtra unit has finalised the seat sharing agreement with the Shiv Sena on Monday for the upcoming assembly polls in the state.

According to BJP sources the talks with Shiv Sena are almost over and an official announcement would be made in a day or two.

Both the parties agreed for the existing 171:117 formula for the 288 Assembly seats, sources added.

In the 2004 Assembly elections, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had allotted seven seats to Shetkari Sanghatana led by vetern farmer’s leader Sharad Joshi. As Joshi’s party is no more a partner of Sena-BJP combine, both the parties are expected to share these seats.

BJP is claiming the Chindwada seat, as the sitting legislator of that constituency joined the party.

The poll managers of the saffron alliance are confident of achieving seat matrix despite trouble faced by the BJP central leadership.

Meanwhile, the ruling Congress – Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine is still not sure on maintaining the alliance. Also the strategy of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is not yet clear.

The MNS is holding its cards close to the chest as to go alone or ally with one of the two major political groups, or opt for the Third Front. (ANI)

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CBI files 5000-page chargesheet against Padamsinh Patil

August 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Aug 20(ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday submitted a 5000-page chargesheet, in which it named suspended Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Padamsinh Patil as the prime accused and conspirator in the 2006 murder of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimabalkar.

“The charge sheet, filed in a Panvel court, includes the statements of 181 witnesses and over 200 documents alleging the involvement of Patil and others in the crime,” said P Kandaswamy, the head of CBI’s Mumbai Zone.

In the chargesheet, the CBI alleged that Patil hatched the conspiracy to murder Nimbalkar due to political rivalry, as he nursed a suspicion that Nimabalkar had challenged his (Patil’s) survival in politics.

It also said that Patil had paid a ‘supari’ (contract killing) of Rs 30 lakh to the other accused to eliminate Nimbalkar.

The murder of Nimbalkar and his driver took place at a Navi Mumbai croosing on June 3, 2006.

The police had made no progress for two years until the city crime branch arrested jeweller Parasmal Jain in a robbery case. Jain disclosed the murder conspiracy and was handed over to the CBI. Patil was arrested on June 6 this year.

The other accused, who were charge sheeted are Jain, Satish Mandade, Mohan Shukla, Dinesh Tiwari, Kailash Yadav and Pintoo Singh. (ANI)

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Pawar rules out merger of NCP with Congress

August 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 19 (ANI): Ahead of the assembly elections in Maharashtra, Union Agricultural Minister and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of merger with the Congress Party.

Pawar also termed the statements by some Congress leaders on the issue as cheap publicity.

“I can’t understand why these days they are raising questions about it, why they are not appealing to other parties to merge? Should I say that the Congress should merge with my party and these are all cheap public statements,” Pawar said.

Pawar added that he would be happy if both the parties go together or don’t go together in the upcoming elections. (ANI)

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