Sunday, August 22, 1999
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Sunday, August 22, 1999 |
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120 in fray from Punjab CHANDIGARH, Aug 21— Following the withdrawal of nomination papers by 18 candidates today, 120 candidates have been left in the fray for the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab. Three candidates withdrew their names today from the Ludhiana North Assembly constituency. The strength of candidates for the assembly constituency now stands at nine. Dr Brajendra Singh,
Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab said those who had
withdrawn their names today were, Mr Fauja Singh from
Gurdaspur; Mr Bhupinder Singh from Amritsar, Mr Dalbir
Singh from Tarn Taran, Mr Joga Singh from Jalandhar, Mr
Sarvan Singh from Phillaur, Mr Ram Pal from Hoshiarpur,
Mr Ram Singh, Mr Sohan Singh, Mr Rajinder Kumar, Ms
Balwinder Kaur from Patiala, Ms Zulfkar Ali, Mr Naurang
Singh and Mr Bachittar Singh from Sangrur, Mr Harcharan
Singh and Mr Major Singh from Bathinda, Ms Rajinder Kaur
and Mr Darshan Singh from Faridkot and Mr Hardev Singh
from Ferozepore. |
It won’t be a cakewalk in
Ambala AMBALA: The Congress in the Ambala Lok Sabha constituency is jubilant as the party prepares to “recapture” the seat after eight years and two elections. Two recent developments in the party have boosted the morale of the party workers. In the nomination of Mr Phool Chand Mullana, a former Haryana Minister, Congress workers of Ambala feel that the party has selected the best possible candidate for the constituency. Mr Mullana’s name was considered seriously by the Congress in 1998 also but at the last minute the party decided to field a Balmiki representative in a bid to please members of what have come to be known as “A” category Dalits. This category has separate reservation in jobs within the overall quota for the Scheduled Castes. The homecoming of Mr Nirmal Singh, a former president of the Haryana Youth Congress and Independent MLA from Naggal, just before the elections has further added to the jubilation in the Congress camp. Mr Nirmal Singh was expelled from the party after he was illegally found involved in a murder in 1993. Later he was acquitted by the Sessions Court. He contested the 1996 Assembly elections from inside the jail and won the Naggal seat with a big margin. The Congress workers feel that Mr Nirmal Singh, who has considerable influence in several Assembly segments of the Ambala Lok Sabha constituency, will bring more than 70,000 votes to the party kitty. It is not to suggest that Mr Mullana will have a cakewalk in the September 5 polling. He will face a stiff challenge from the joint candidate of the BJP and the INLD, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, all-India secretary of the BJP Scheduled Castes Morcha. Although Mr Kataria belongs to the neighbouring district of Yamunanagar, which was once part of Ambala district, he is a protege of the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Suraj Bhan, who has represented Ambala in the Lok Sabha four times. After 1967 it is for the first time that the BJP, including its earlier incarnation, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, has fielded a candidate other than Mr Suraj Bhan in this constituency. This time also Mr Suraj Bhan was keen to contest from here instead of leading a politically retired life in Raj Bhavan. But due to the sensitive politics of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP high command asked him to sacrifice his political ambitions and continue to prop up the Kalyan Singh government. It is but natural that Mr Kataria initially encountered a hostile reception from supporters of Mr Suraj Bhan, who had to secretly send message to his men to accept Mr Kataria. When Mr Arun Kumar, a son of Mr Suraj Bhan, proposed the name of Mr Kataria in the nomination papers, it was a clear signal from the UP Governor to his men in Ambala. No doubt it is a failure on the part of the BJP in not grooming the second line of the Scheduled Castes leadership in Ambala to take the baton from Mr Suraj Bhan. The party has been caught in the “banyan tree syndrome”. While Mr Mullana will have the advantage of his personal votes in addition to the party vote, Mr Kataria will have to depend primarily on the party votes of the BJP and the INLD. However, Mr Kataria does not agree. He says that since he is a Ramdasia, he will get the bulk of the about one lakh Ramdasia votes in the constituency. Mr Kataria says it is for the first time that any major party has fielded a Ramdasia candidate from Ambala and this has enthused the community. Mr Nagra, president of the Haryana unit of the BSP, was the first person to break the BJP-Congress hold over the constituency. He won the seat in 1998 with the support of the INLD. Otherwise the seat had been held by either the Congress or the BJP. Realising that he would not be able to retain the seat on the BSP strength alone, Mr Nagra, for whom the BSP supremo, Mr Kanshi Ram, has a soft spot, tried his best for a formal or informal tie-up among the BSP, the HVP and the Congress. Mr Kanshi Ram, who had decided not to enter into an alliance with a national party, was more than willing to make an exception in Haryana. The BSP supremo made efforts to persuade the Congress to leave the Ambala seat for his party in return for BSP support in certain constituencies. He also wanted to rope in the HVP in the alliance which would have got the Bhiwani seat. However, after initial favourable reports, the arrangement could not be worked out. Mr Nagra has worked hard to build a base for the BSP in the old Ambala district. The party is particularly strong in the Jagadhri, Chhachhrauli and Naraingarh Assembly segments. However, it seems
difficult for the BSP to win the Ambala seat on its
strength alone. But it has the capacity to mar the
chances of the Congress. The HVP’s position in the
constituency has been considerably depleted after the
fall of the Bansi Lal government. The party has only one
MLA in the area. Two Independents, Mr Nirmal Singh
(Naggal) and Mr Akram (Chhachhrauli), who had been
supporting the Bansi Lal government, have shifted their
loyalties to the Congress and the INLD, respectively.
Another Independent MLA, Mr Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt), who
is still with Mr Bansi Lal, is likely to remain neutral
in the Lok Sabha elections. |
No single-party bastion ROPAR: Voters of this reserved constituency who are facing the fourth Lok Sabha elections in the past four years, do not seem to be in a mood to reveal their opinion at this juncture in favour of one or the other candidate. It may be due to a lackadaisical attitude of the voters towards the elections. This attitude of the voters has not only made the poll scene complicated one but also made the task of poll managers of different political parties difficult, who otherwise usually claim victory for their respective candidates. During the previous three Lok Sabha elections, the Ropar seat was won on all occasions by candidates of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), — be it Mr Basant Singh Khalsa in 1996 or Mrs Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal in the 1997 byelection and again Mrs Dhaliwal in the 1998 general election. But this time the situation has taken a new turn with the presence of a candidate of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD), led by former SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra, in the poll fray. In view of this aspect, it does not appear to be a cakewalk for the SAD candidate like the three previous occasions. Enthusiasm among voters also seems to be missing so far. No where party posters and flags can be seen in large numbers. Even big election rallies addressed by top leaders are yet to be held. This constituency, spread over 140 km in five districts, namely Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Sangrur and Patiala, is likely to witness a triangular contest. The SAD has again fielded Mrs Dhaliwal, who is contesting for the third time in succession as the candidate of the SAD-BJP alliance. The Bahujan Samaj Morcha (BSM) is also supporting her. Mrs Balbir Kaur Khalsa, widow of former MP Basant Singh Khalsa is the candidate of the SHSAD and BSP combine. Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, former Punjab minister, is contesting on the Congress ticket with the support of the CPM and the CPI. Three Independents have been left in the poll fray after scrutiny. They are Mr Sant Singh, Mr Shavinder Singh and Mr Gurjit Singh. The constituency is a cluster of nine assembly segments. Six of these segments Kharar, Chamkaur Sahib, Morinda, Khanna, Amloh and Nabha are represented by SAD MLAs, while Congress MLAs represent the Sirhind and Samrala segments. The Dhuri Assembly seat is represented by an Independent, who now supports the Congress. After the reorganisation of the state, the constituency has witnessed 10 Lok Sabha elections. The SAD emerged victorious on five occasions, while the Congress captured it on four times. Once an Independent won. In the 1967, 1971 and 1980 Lok Sabha elections, Mr Buta Singh of the Congress entered the Lok Sabha from here. Mr Basant Singh Khalsa of the SAD was elected in 1977 and 1996. Mr Charanjit Singh of the SAD won in 1985 while Mrs Bimal Kaur Khalsa, an Independent supported by SAD (Mann) captured the seat in 1989. The Congress candidate, Mr Harchand Singh, was elected from here in 1992. In the 1996 general election, Mr Khalsa defeated Mr Shamsher Singh Rai of the Congress by a margin of 71091 votes. Later, Mr Khalsa was killed in an accident which caused a byelection in 1997 and it was won by Mrs Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal, who defeated Mr Buta Singh of the Congress by 1,29,200 votes. In the 1998 general election, Mrs Dhaliwal again emerged victorious defeating Mr Mann Singh Manherra of the BSP-Congress alliance by a margin of 85504 votes. An interesting feature of this constituency is that villages of two Akali stalwarts — Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Mr Simranjit Singh Mann — are part of it. Tohra village falls in the Amloh Assembly segment, while Talania village of Mr Mann falls in the Sirhind segment. There are 12,55,684 voters in this constituency. The number of male and female voters is 6,78,744 and 5,76,940, respectively. This constituency has 30 per cent sensitive and very sensitive polling stations. Out of total 1501 polling stations, as per an official information, there are 453 sensitive polling stations, including 110 very sensitive. The maximum number of sensitive polling stations is 76 in Amloh, while in Kharar the number of these stations is 60. Campaigning has now been picking up in the constituency. Mrs Dhaliwal started her campaign as early as June as her candidature was almost certain. The SHSAD candidate, Mrs Balbir Kaur Khalsa, began campaigning in July, while Mr Dullo seems to be a little late in starting his campaign. During campaigning, Mrs Dhaliwal has been explaining to voters about her achievements regarding development works in the constituency. Mr Dullo is fighting on the secularism versus communalism issue while Mrs Khalsa has made “misdeeds of the Badal Government” as her main issue. Interestingly, in the
Ropar Lok Sabha constituency, the town of Ropar is not a
part of this constituency as it falls in the Anandpur
Sahib Assembly segment, which is a part of the Hoshiarpur
parliamentary constituency. |
Factors at play VARANASI, Aug 21 — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be seen as a frontrunner in the coming parliamentary elections, but it has to depend entirely on its star campaigner, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, to carry it through even in its stronghold of Uttar Pradesh. In this ancient Hindu pilgrim city of Varanasi, where the BJP won in the last two parliamentary elections, it is not the party nominee but Mr Vajpayee whose name is everywhere, and on everyone’s lips. Many a constituency in this state has the same story to tell. People are disgusted with the incumbent BJP parliamentarians and may not have voted for them again if Mr Vajpayee hadn’t been the party’s prime ministerial candidate. It was no wonder, therefore, that Mr Vajpayee drew crowds when he set off his party’s campaign here. The gathering was in sharp contrast to the poor attendance at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s rally here last month. The crowds made it quite evident that they had come to listen to Mr Vajpayee and no one else. Mr Vajpayee focussed on Kargil in his speech, highlighting the valour and success of the Indian defence forces, and the crowds broke into applause repeatedly. Even key speakers at the rally, including UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and state BJP chief Raj Nath Singh, did not bother to introduce party nominee Shankar Prasad Jaiswal, nor was he given a chance to speak. Towards the end of his 28-minute speech Mr Vajpayee mentioned Mr Jaiswal and then moved on to his government’s “achievements”. Many voters in Varanasi do not recognise Mr Jaiswal even though they sent him to the Lok Sabha in 1996 and 1998. “I do not know Jaiswal, neither am I a fan of the BJP. But since it is to make Atal Behari Vajpayee the country’s Prime Minister, I will vote for the BJP candidate,” said Shyamu, a rickshaw-puller. Vikram, a waiter in a small restaurant, said: “He is like any other MP, who forgets the voters once the elections are over; but my vote go to for Atalji, so I will vote for Jaiswal.” A local party functionary conceded: “There’s no denying that Jaiswal has failed to live up to our expectations as nothing has been done for the development of this city, but right now we are quiet because the larger goal before us is to see Atalji back in the saddle.” This ancient city is a classic example of neglect and apathy. “There has been no planning for improvement of the city, the roads are bad, there are no streetlights while power cuts are frequent,” complained Mr Shiv Charan, a shopowner. This despite the fact that the BJP leads the state government as well. Even the high-profile neighbouring constituency of the famous carpet belt, Mirzapur-Bhadohi, is a picture of neglect, yet the man on the street is willing to extend support to the BJP in the name of Vajpayee. The incumbent, Veerendra Singh, has performed no better than Jaiswal as far as constituency development is concerned. The electorate voted for him last time because it was “sick” of bandit leader-turned-politician Phoolan Devi, who evoked much sympathy and attracted international attention during her electoral debut in 1996. However, no sooner had she got elected as a Samajwadi Party nominee than she forgot about her electorate, making it easy for Mr Veerendra Singh to wean them before the following poll. Many voters, though dissatisfied with Mr Veerendra Singh’s performance, desist from shifting their loyalties because of the Vajpayee factor. “I simply do not know what to do; I want to teach Veerendra Singh a lesson, but I want Vajpayee to win,” said a carpet yarn dealer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Both Mr Jaiswal and Mr Veerendra Singh had romped home with huge margins in 1998. But today neither is in a position to confidently claim his right over the constituency he holds and has to bank entirely on Mr Vajpayee’s appeal to see him through. Besides, they face this time popular Congress candidates in the field. Mr Rajesh Misra, a popular student leader of Banaras Hindu University here, is the Congress nominee against Mr Jaiswal. And Mr Sridhar Misra, a septuagenarian Congress veteran, has been brought back to give Mr Veerendra Singh a tough fight in Mirzapur-Bhadohi. Caste, too, could play a
part in their undoing. The fact that the BJP nominated
non-Brahmins in these two constituencies did not go down
well with the dominant upper caste. The Congress has
cleverly fielded Brahmins in both. So the BJP candidates
can only hope to romp home riding piggyback on the
larger-than-life image of Vajpayee. — IANS |
Mood
buoyant in Cong camp CHANDIGARH, Aug 21 — Ever since the Punjab Congress won the Adampur Assembly bypoll, it has been in an upbeat mood. The sharp divisions in the SAD which led to the formation of a rival Akali Dal headed by the former President of the SGPC, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, caused further merriment in Congress circles. It looked any election would witness a resurgence of the party. The anti-incumbency factor too added to the confidence of the Congress leaders. The party despite 25.85 per cent votes in its favour during the last elections drew a blank. It was the repeat of the 1977 elections when the Akalis and the Janata Party swept aside the Congress and won all 13 Lok Sabha seats. This confidence was doubled when the party trounced the BJP during the assembly elections in the three states of Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. But then it began to fumble. The Punjab Congress President, Mr Amarinder Singh, who had come back to the Congress fold from the Akali Dal, made some major mistakes. The party was deeply divided and Mr Amarinder Singh at one time looked to be nourishing one group or the other. He had novices as guides who felt political power was at hand. Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the national president, was unable to provide clear and cogent guidelines. This only added to the divisions getting further accentuated. But all said and done, the party now wears a facade of unity. One can see Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal sitting alongside Mr Amarinder Singh. The Congress base has not been eroded as such. Those who oppose the candidates selected by the party high command are likely to find themselves sidelined. The selection of candidates has, by and large, been well received. Initial opposition to Mrs Parneet Kaur wife of the state President, Mr Amarinder Singh, has now been accepted with grace, the reason being that she has a fair chance of winning in Patiala. The Punjab Congress is contesting 11 seats, leaving Sangrur for the CPM and Bathinda for the CPI. The real tussle was for the Jalandhar, Ferozepore, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Amritsar seats. But the final list of candidates surprised few. Except for Patiala, Hoshiarpur and Ferozepore, old guards have been selected. A dissenting voice against Mr Amarinder Singh is that of former Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Raghunandan Bhatia, a candidate from Amritsar. He is hurt that the PCC had proposed the candidature of Mr O.P Soni in his place. Mr Bhatia’s contention is that Mr Soni, one of his ardent opponents, is not even a Congress member. Mr Amarinder Singh is yet to win over Mr Brahm Mohindra, a former minister and a senior leader. Since the latter has a good support base in Patiala, Mr Amarinder is sure to need him to ensure the victory of his wife. A happy signal has been
the withdrawal of show-cause notices served on five
Congress leaders, Mr Birdevinder Singh, Mr Brij Lal Goel,
Mr Prem Gupta, Mr Satwant Singh Mohi and Mr Ramesh
Singal. |
Is this
seth a seth? PHAGWARA, Aug 21 — To be seth or not to be seth. It is the question that has been agitating Avinash Chander, the BSP candidate from Phillaur. At a press meet here last night Avinash Chander the BSP and Third Front candidate from Phillaur (reserved) Lok Sabha seat was at pains to explain that the suffix seth used by his family did not imply that he was from the business class or otherwise wallowed in wealth. His opponents have been cashing in on his name to malign him among his Dalit constituency by suggesting that he is a nouveau rich seth whom BSP supremo Kanshi Ram has fielded because of his notes (rupees) and not his votes (base). Avinash Chander is a
leather and hide industrialist of Jalandhar. |
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