Sonia to host lunch for MPs of UPA, outside supporters Monday
August 5th, 2012 - 6:48 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will host a lunch for MPs of the ruling alliance and supporting parties Monday, a day ahead of the vice presidential election Aug 7, official sources said.
Gandhi had hosted a similar lunch July 18, a day ahead of the presidential poll.
The sources said though United Progressive Alliance (UPA) nominee and incumbent Hamid Ansari is ahead of his rival Jaswant Singh, backed by the National Democratic Alliance, the lunch would add to the bonhomie among the alliance partners and the parties supporting it from outside, with the month-long monsoon session of parliament starting Aug 8.
Besides the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, DMK, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Lok Dal and the National Conference, who are part of UPA, leaders of parties like the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Lok Janshakti Party are expected to attend the lunch being held at the Ashoka Hotel here, said the sources.
Government sources claimed Ansari will get support of around 500 votes out of the total 790 votes of parliamentarians who form the electoral college to elect the vice president.
The Left parties are also supporting the UPA nominee.
- NDA reviews vice presidential poll strategy - Jul 24, 2012
- Ansari has edge over Jaswant Singh in vice presidential poll - Aug 06, 2012
- Vice president's poll: Numbers favour Ansari, says UPA - Jul 16, 2012
- Ansari re-elected vice president with wide margin (Intro Roundup) - Aug 08, 2012
- Ansari files nomination for vice president (Lead) - Jul 18, 2012
- Ansari files nomination for vice president (Second lead) - Jul 18, 2012
- Mayawati, Mulayam attend Sonia's lunch - Aug 06, 2012
- Ansari re-elected vice president with comfortable margin (Roundup) - Aug 07, 2012
- Sonia's lunch presents picture of UPA unity (Lead) - Jul 18, 2012
- India to elect new president Thursday (Lead) - Jul 18, 2012
- Pranab will win, claims UPA - Jul 17, 2012
- UPA coordination committee to meet in a few days - Aug 06, 2012
- MPs queue up to vote for vice president (Second Lead) - Aug 07, 2012
- Sonia meets Congress MPs ahead of presidential poll - Jul 17, 2012
- Trinamool MPs told to attend UPA lunch - Aug 05, 2012
Tags: alliance partners, bonhomie, chairperson, dmk, electoral college, government sources, hamid ansari, jaswant singh, left parties, lok, monsoon session, mps, national democratic alliance, nationalist congress party, parliamentarians, presidential poll, progressive alliance, Samajwadi Party, sonia gandhi, trinamool congress