Bellary basks in glory
From K.V. Prasad
Tribune News Service

BELLARY, Aug 28 — Ever since the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, did the mid-air swithe and decided to try her electoral fortunes from this parliamentary constituency in Karnataka and BJP’s Mrs Sushma Swaraj followed suit to challenge her, life in Bellary has not been the same.

For a place known to be the most backward district of this state, the only claim to fame for Bellary has been the ruins of Hampi, the seat of the great Vijaynagar Empire that lies some 50 km north of this city. Of course, during the last decade, Bellary has boasted of having a roaring industry that stitches "Jeans" for India and also a steel plant set up by the Jindals of Haryana.

Yet since August 18, the day when both Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mrs Swaraj filed their nominations, Bellary has been put on the international map.

"Irrespective of who wins, I can take pride to be a resident of Bellary. I was always asked enquiringly Bellary? Where. Now it will be: Oh you are from Bellary", said Jeelan a 22-year old student with hope.

"Now every one knows where Bellary is. It is shown on the map on the BBC or international media," he said stumping this correspondent with a counter: "You too would not have come here but for this high profile battle of Bellary".

Yet there is an underlying feeling that whoever wins, will surely do good and change the face of Bellary.

Mrs Swaraj has been promising to nurse the constituency like a mother takes care of a child while Mrs Sonia Gandhi who made her first tour of the constituency on Friday after filing her papers, promised more development and stability.

Bellary has been neglected. There is little development. The area is backward with problems of drinking water, power and poor sewerage being some", Ms Vidya, a 23-year-engineer said. However, like most youngsters she too was excited at the contest. "Bellary needed a change but we never thought it will be like this. Now we have senior leaders visiting us seeking votes and we feel important", she said.

If Mrs Sonia Gandhi has visited twice since August, Mrs Swaraj has been camping here since filing her papers having launched an aggressive campaign.

The Congress has sent a powerful team of campaigners led by Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, AICC General Secretary incharge of Karnataka. He has help from another General Secretary, Mrs Ambika Soni, Secretary Ms Selja, Mrs Mohini Giri and Rajya Sabha MP Mrs Mabel Rebello.

Mrs Giri’s services have been requisitioned since her mother-in-law. Mrs Saraswati Bai Giri, wife of former President V.V. Giri, hailed from Bellary. Apart from her fluency in Kannada language, the family is well-known.

Although the request to allow Mrs Priyanka Vadra to stay here and campaign to counter Ms Swaraj has been vetoed by Priyanka herself, the possibility of the mother and daughter doing a second round of the constituency before voting on September 5 is not ruled out.

The BJP too is taking no chances. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will campaign for Ms Swaraj so will Defence Minister, George Fernandes, Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, BJP Chief Kushabhau Thakre and BJP General Secretary M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Adding a bit of glamour will be popular star of the South, Ms Vijayashanti, cine star Mukyamantri Chandru and Srinath. The BJP plans to take them to rural areas where the Congress is strong.

It is not just the limelight that residents of Bellary are enjoying. For the sudden descent of visitors has resulted in a boom. The cash registers in hotels and restaurants have not stopped ringing.

While the city’s best luxury hotel has been taken over by the Congress and the BJP leaders the others in town are also having full occupancy. Incidentally, while both Ms Swaraj and her team of leaders are staying on the first floor of the hotel, the Congress leaders are camping on the fourth floor of the same hotel.

But the similarity ends there.

The merchandise suppliers are also having a field day with mineral water leading the list. Crates of it vanish off the shelf as they are being sold by the dozens.

There is also a big demand for workers.

Even the sale of newspapers has gone up in the city with a vendor Mr Srinivas claiming a 10 per cent increase in demand.

Bellary is seeing a surge of leaders and media personnel who have been descending from all parts of the globe. It remains to be seen what will be the situation once the dust or electioneering settles.

The spotlight may shift elsewhere but for people of Bellary this electoral battle will be part of folklore, if not history.

Passions high, voters polarised
From D N Chaturvedi
Tribune News Service

FARIDABAD: This Lok Sabha constituency is heading for a neck and neck fight between Mr Zakir Husain (Cong) and Mr Ram Chand Bainda (BJP), who is in race for the third time.

Although there are 10 more candidates in the fray, only Mr Shyam Sunder Kapoor of the HVP-BSP-Akali (Tohra) is trying hard to put up a fight. The others in the field are Mr Daulat Singh Khatana (Samajwadi Party), Mr Tek Chand, Mr Tejpal, Mr Baldev, Mr Ratan Singh, Mr Ram Kishen Beniwal, Mr Shiv Kumar, Mr Harsh Mani and Mr Madan Lal Sharma (all Independents) who are not considered a force to reckon with.

Mr Bainda had won the 1998 poll defeating Mr Khurshid Ahmed (Congress).

The voters strength in the constituency is 13,30,152 but polling is expected to be not more than 60 per cent due to the apathy of the people particularly in urban areas.

Out of the total electorate — 1.65 lakh are Jats, 72,000 Mahajans, 1.03 lakh Brahmins, 1.40 lakh Punjabis, 50,000 Rajputs, 24,000 Sainis, 26,000 Ahirs, 97,000 Gujjars, 2.92 lakh Muslims, 19,000 Sikhs and others 32,000, 1.30 lakh backward classes and 1.95 lakh Scheduled Castes including 1.23 lakh Ravidasias.

In the four segments of Ferozpur Jhirka, Nuh, Taoru and Hathin which are Meo Muslim dominated the position of Mr Zakir Husain is strong. Ninety per cent polling is expected in the Mewat area and most votes are likely to go in favour of the Congress.

On the other hand the BJP is ahead in NIT, Mewala Maharajpur, Ballabhgarh, Palwal and Hasanpur. Most of the Jats vote for Mr Bainda who also belongs to the community.

The RSS is reported to have instructed its cadres to work wholeheartedly for the success of Mr Bainda. Sadhavi Rithambra has already visited Faridabad to mobilise votes for the BJP.

Communal passions are learnt to have been aroused in the constituency in the Mewat belt. Instructions are learnt to have been issued to vote for Mr Zakir Husain who is now concentrating on the areas dominated by the BJP. In Mewat area Mr Tayyab Husain, a Rajasthan minister and father of Mr Zakir Husain is steering the campaign for his son.

Observers feel Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President’s visit to Faridabad will check the communal passions and secure a good number of votes for Mr Zakir Husain.

The Congress has deputed Mr Rajesh Pilot, a former Union Minister to woo the Gujjars.

Both Mr Husain and Mr Bainda are expected to secure near equal votes. The victory of any of the two is likely to be by a narrow margin.

Mr Bainda suffers a disadvantage because two MLAs — Mr Harsh Kumar (Hathin) and Mr Jagdish Nayar (Hasanpur Reserve), both former ministers, owe allegiance to Mr Bansi Lal’s Haryana Vikas Party. They will cut into the votebank of the BJP because the HVP has put up its own candidate, Mr Shyam Sunder Kapoor.

But Mr Bainda may benefit from Karan Dalal (Palwal), MLA and a former minister of the HVP, joinig the BJP.

Although Mr Kapoor claims that he is being supported by the BSP, no clear instructions have so far been received from Mr Kansi Ram in this direction. If Mr Kansi Ram formally directs his partymen to support Mr Kapoor he is expected to get a sizeable number of votes of Dalits.

If this is not done, a major chunk of votes of the community is expected to go to the Congress.

Mr Avtar Bhadana, who was denied the Congress ticket, has not yet come out in support of Mr Zakir Husain. He exercises a good influence in his Gujjar community which is not happy with the Congress for the treatment meted out to him.