Communist leader Zyuganov to run for Russian President

Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov on Wednesday announced his candidacy for the presidential elections to be held on March 9, 2008.

Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov on Wednesday announced his candidacy for the presidential elections to be held on March 9, 2008.

Zyuganov’s deputy Ivan Melnikov said the Communist Party had already adopted a resolution on his nomination to run in the presidential elections.

Zyuganov, 64, did not fight the presidential elections in 2004. Nikolai Kharitonov, who was part of the presidential race, came second with 13.7 percent of the votes as against Vladimir Putin’s 71.2 percent. Earlier, Zyugaov contested the presidential polls as arch-rival to Boris Yeltsin, in 1996 and 2000.

Zyuganov will be on a list of presidential hopefuls, which includes former Russian PM Kasyanov, now leader of the Russian People’s Patriotic Union, Yavlinsky, leader of the liberal Yabloko Party, ultranationalist and Liberal Democratic Party leader Zhirinovsky, Bukovsky and Gerashchenko.

The RJD’s key face and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, party supremo Lalu Yadav’s son, will again contest from his stronghold Raghopur.

Amid Mahagathbandhan crisis, RJD unveils list of 143, drops 36 MLAs, focuses on ‘M-Y’

Political Pulse8 hr ago

The RJD, lead player of the Mahagathbandhan, released its full list of 143 candidates for the November Bihar Assembly elections. Its key face Tejashwi Yadav will contest from Raghopur, and 41 sitting MLAs have been renominated. The party has dropped 36 sitting MLAs and fielded young leaders, signaling a bid to consolidate its core Muslim-Yadav vote base. The Congress has fielded 60 candidates.

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