A political party is an organized group of people, often with common views, who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. The party agrees on some proposed policies and programmes, with a view to promoting the collective good or furthering their supporters' interests.
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is a twin island country that is the southernmost nation of the West Indies in the Caribbean. It is situated 130 kilometres south of Grenada off the northern edge of the South American mainland, 11 kilometres off the coast of northeastern Venezuela. It shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.
Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC MP is a Trinidadian politician.
Founded as Team Unity, to contest party elections in the United National Congress in 2001, the slate of candidates was led by Maharaj. Team Unity won 21 of 24 contested executive posts including the Deputy Leadership (won by Maharaj).
The United National Congress (UNC) is one of the two major political parties in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and one of the main parties in the current opposition. It was founded by Basdeo Panday, a lawyer and former trade unionist. The UNC was formed as the result of a split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction in 1988. After spending six years in opposition, the UNC won control of the government in 1995. In the 2000 general elections, the UNC won an absolute majority in the Parliament. In 2001, a split in the party caused the UNC to lose its parliamentary majority and control of the government. Between 1991 and 1995, and again from 2001 to 2010, the UNC was the Parliamentary Opposition party. In May 2010, the UNC returned to government as the majority party in the People's Partnership. With this victory, the UNC's political leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar was sworn in as Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the first woman to hold this position. Historically, the UNC has been supported by a majority of Hindu Trinidadian and Tobagonians, Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians, and the different minorities of the country. The UNC is also colloquially called the Indian party or the Hindu Party. The party symbol is the rising sun above the Trinity Hills.
Later that year a rift with UNC leader Basdeo Panday led Maharaj, together with OropoucheMember of ParliamentTrevor Sudama and Naparima MP Ralph Maraj, to leave the party. This caused the UNC to lose its parliamentary majority, forcing national elections.
Ralph Maraj is a Trinidad and Tobago politician, actor, playwright, and teacher. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under a People's National Movement (PNM) administration, Minister of Communication and Information Technology under a United National Congress (UNC) administration, and was a founding member of National Team Unity before returning to the PNM to work as a speech writer for Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Prior to entering politics in 1991, Maraj worked as a teacher at Naparima College in San Fernando. He also attended that school. He wrote several plays, the most successful being Cynthia Sweetness. Maraj also starred in the movie Bim (1974), described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago".
Renaming itself National Team Unity, the party contested the 2001 general elections, winning 2.5% of the vote but no seats. It did not contest the 2002 general elections, and remains more of a pressure group than a true national political party. In 2004 Ralph Maraj returned to the PNM (which he had left in 1995) as a speechwriter for Prime MinisterPatrick Manning.
Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning was a Trinidadian politician who was the fourth and sixth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; his terms ran from 17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and from 24 December 2001 to 26 May 2010. He was also Political Leader of the People's National Movement (PNM) from 1987 to 2010. A geologist by training, Manning served as Member of Parliament for the San Fernando East constituency from 1971 until 2015 when he was replaced by Randall Mitchell and was the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives. He was the Leader of the Opposition from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1995 to 2001.
As of 2006 the NTU appears to be a moribund organization. Its leader Maharaj has rejoined the United National Congress.
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