India News

Game On 2019: Sonia’s dinner brings 20 Opposition party leaders together

Published

8 years ago

March 14, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Kicking off the first concrete effort to unite non-NDA parties in the battle to halt the Modi-Shah juggernaut from rolling the BJP back to power at the Centre in the 2019 general elections, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi hosted a dinner at her residence on Tuesday night that saw the participation of leaders from 20 Opposition parties.

The ‘dinner diplomacy’ by Sonia, who remains the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) despite stepping down as Congress president to make way for her son Rahul a few months ago, is reminiscent of her efforts to stitch together a coalition of “like-minded parties” back in February 2004.

The dinner she had hosted at her residence on February 5, 2004 – days after then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee decided to call for early general elections in the hope that his ‘India Shining’ slogan would help the BJP-led NDA retain power – had marked the first step of the Congress’ revival plan for the hustings following successive drubbings in state polls. The situation today is unarguably grimmer for the Congress, led now by her son, which holds power in just three states while the BJP has painted 21 of India’s provinces saffron.

With her dinner diplomacy, Sonia hopes to strengthen ties between existing allies in the UPA while scouting for new ones; an effort that is touted as the first real step towards unifying the Opposition.

The dinner also signalled unequivocally that though her son may be the Congress president now, it is only her stature (and perhaps the added fear of political wilderness) that can act as the glue that can bring arch-rivals like the CPM and Trinamool or the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party or even the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) together in a central coalition even if these parties continue to fight against each other at the provincial level.

In attendance at Sonia’s dinner party were leaders of existing and estranged UPA allies – NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK’s Kanimozhi, Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandopadhyay, JMM’s Hemant Soren, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and Misa Bharati, National Conference’s Omar Abdullah, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav, BSP’s SC Mishra, Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Ajit Singh – as well as new-found friends AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, RSP leader NK Premachandran, Hindustan Awam Morcha’s Jitan Ram Manjhi, among others. The CPI (M) – battered after losing Tripura, its citadel of 25 years, to the BJP earlier this month – also seems to have shed its impractical stubbornness to not ally with the Congress and sent leaders Mohammed Salim and TK Rangarajan for the dinner while the CPI was represented by veteran leader D Raja.

While Sonia played the host, her party was represented by chief Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, veterans Mallikarjun Kharge , Ahmed Patel and other senior leaders.

Sonia’s dinner diplomacy comes days after she said at a public function that “like-minded parties” needed to forget their rivalries to come together for the country’s sake. Earlier, soon after Rahul had taken over as Congress president, Sonia had told MPs from her party: “As Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, I will work with the Congress President and other colleagues in discussions with likeminded, political parties to ensure that in the next election, the BJP is defeated and India is restored to a democratic, inclusive, secular, tolerant and economically progressive path.”

Though details of the discussions that actually took place at Sonia’s dinner are not known, Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted about the evening saying:[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]The BJP, still riding on the supposed popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has continued to crush the Congress, as well as other Opposition parties, in successive assembly polls. However, following the scare in Gujarat and successive defeats in Lok Sabha by-polls, the latest being the shockers from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur and Phulpur constituencies – which had sent now chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya respectively to the Lok Sabha in 2014 – it appears that the Congress is hopeful of a political and electoral re-alignment of that may not be very favourable for the saffron alliance in 2019.

With Sonia’s dinner clearly being a hit with Opposition parties, the game, as they say, is now on for the 2019 Big Fight. The challenge for the Congress is to sustain the dialogue and momentum built by the party’s matriarch.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Delhi-NCR sees second spell of rain and thunderstorms in four days

Delhi-NCR experienced another spell of rain and thunderstorms on March 18, with IMD forecasting more showers over the next few days.

Published

4 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies for March 19 and 20, with chances of light rain or thundershowers occurring once or twice during the day. On March 21, skies are expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of light showers continuing.

Conditions are likely to stabilise from March 23 onwards, with forecasts indicating a return to partly cloudy to clear skies across the region.

Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

Meanwhile, the western Himalayan region is also set to witness a shift in weather patterns. Himachal Pradesh is likely to receive heavy rainfall on March 19 and 20, while Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir may experience heavy showers around March 20.

India News

Centre pushes states to cut levies to boost PNG adoption

The Centre has asked states to reduce local levies and streamline approvals to accelerate PNG adoption and city gas infrastructure growth.

Published

6 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

To address this, the ministry has proposed increasing LPG allocation to 30 per cent for states that implement reforms supporting PNG and CGD expansion.

Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
Introducing single-window clearance with deemed approvals within 24 hours
Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.

India News

BJP seals Assam seat-sharing pact, Modi to hold 3 rallies in April

BJP has finalised its Assam seat-sharing plan with allies and is gearing up for an intense campaign led by PM Modi and Amit Shah.

Published

7 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, firming up its strategy alongside National Democratic Alliance partners as campaigning gathers pace in the state.

Under the agreement, the BJP will contest 89 seats, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front — will field candidates in 26 and 11 constituencies respectively. The distribution has been decided after internal deliberations, with the focus now shifting to candidate announcements and campaign execution.

Campaign push led by top leadership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies in Assam during the final leg of the campaign. Tentative dates for the rallies are April 1, April 3 and April 6, with events likely to be held in key constituencies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also set to spearhead an extensive campaign across the state through March, aiming to energise party workers and strengthen voter outreach.

Candidate selection underway

The party’s Central Election Committee is currently meeting to finalise candidates. Sources indicate that approvals for most constituencies are expected soon, and the BJP may release its complete list of candidates within the next two days.

Ticket distribution remains a crucial exercise, with internal discussions highlighting its potential impact on local political dynamics. Party leaders have also touched upon the proposed delimitation exercise scheduled for 2027, which is expected to have long-term implications for Assam’s electoral landscape.