The move comes in the wake of ongoing talks on seat-sharing for Lok Sabha with its alliance partner NCP

Even as the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are busy sorting out the issue of seat-sharing, the district unit of INC has prepared a list of its probable candidates for the general election from Baramati and Shirur, from where NCP president Sharad Pawar intends to contest.

INC's district unit president Devidas Bhansali told DNA that neither he nor the party activists wanted any alliance with NCP in the elections. "Our demand is to fight on our own," he said.

He said that the final decision on the alliance would be taken by the party high command.

Senior — and sidelined — Congress leader Govindrao Adik has come up with a formula, which political pundits may just envy for not having thought of themselves. Adik's formula suggests that NCP chief Sharad Pawar be made prime minister and Rahul Gandhi be put under his tutelage. Either Adik is asking for trouble, or he feels it will please all.

In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he said, "I request you to merge NCP into Congress. The responsibility of leading the government could be handed over to Pawar."

As the vote-on-account session ends, DNA sums up what transpired in the House on the last day

As the special vote-on-account session that began on February 17 came to an end on Friday, the BJP government announced five industrial incentive schemes in the state assembly under rule 44 of the House. These schemes come after nearly two months of the announcement of the new industrial policy 2009.

Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Friday announced the setting up of a joint legislature committee to form a draft master plan on the requirement of railway services for the state. “The Committee would submit its report within six months,” he said.

BSY added that the Committee would also prioritise pending railway projects and chalk out plans for new railway lines in various parts of the state.

The announcement was made after JD(U) leader Dr Mallanagowda Nadagowda said that there was not much being done to improve the railways.

Even after initiation of special proxy voting facility by the election commission of India, the armed forces personnel posted in Sriganganagar seemed least interested in it and have rather opted for inclusion of their name in the general voter’s list for the Lok Sabha polls.

The district election officer had also recently asked the army and BSF officials stationed in Sriganganagar to make aware the personnel about the new facility. However, the 500 applications from Sadhuwali and Lalgarh Jatan cantonment in Sriganganagar have surprised the election officials as these were for inclusion of names of the personnel in the general voter’s list and not for proxy voting, said an official posted in the election office at Sriganganagar.

Raj’s election dept identified as ideal for other states