It may be neck and neck in Karnal
From K.G. Dutt
Tribune News Service

KARNAL: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal is fighting a grim battle for political survival in Karnal.

An almost straight contest between Mr Bhajan Lal of the Congress and Mr I.D. Swami of the BJP may turn out to be a photo finish.

Even though Mr Bhajan Lal was suffering from numerous disadvantages in the initial stages, his campaign has picked up and is now at a feverish pitch. The Congress stalwart seems to have gained a lot of ground during the past one week. So much so that BJP candidate Swami, who was considered to be on a strong wicket in the beginning, is now toiling hard to keep his ground.

The propaganda machinery of Mr Bhajan Lal has been trying to drive home the point among voters that he “is the only credible leader of the non-Jats in Haryana.”

There appears to have been a silent consolidation of voters belonging to the backward classes, the Scheduled Castes and the Rors and Rajput communities, besides a section of Brahmins in the favour of Mr Bhajan Lal.

The main deciding factor between Mr Swami and Mr Bhajan Lal is going to be the trend of Punjabi voters. Excepting diehard RSS Punjabi lobby, other voters of the Punjabi community are not very vocal this time. They are keeping their cards close to their chest. Although the BJP is trying hard to invoke their sympathy by using the “Vajpayee versus Sonia Gandhi card”, only vocal voters of the Jat community in the rural areas openly admit their loyalty to the BJP.

The BJP leadership, on the other hand, has been claiming that there is “a pro-Vajpayee wave” sweeping the rural areas. But neutral observers maintain this is not evident on the surface excepting among a section of the vocal voters. Among traders, the BJP seems to have lost its credibility because it could not fulfil promises made to the voters of Haryana during BJP-HVP rule.

The BJP brought in its star campaigners like Prime Minister Vajpayee, the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma and general secretary of the BJP Narender Modi to canvass for Mr Swami. But the main drawback of the BJP candidate is that he has nothing ‘concrete” to offer to the voters excepting that he would work for their welfare provided Mr Vajpayee was re-elected Prime Minister.

Whether the candidates admit it or not, money and muscle power are likely to play a role in the ultimate analysis.

The Congress appears to have fairly consolidated its position in the Nilokheri, Indri, Karnaland Neolatha assembly segments. In Neolatha, Mr Bhajan Lal has been able to secure the services of former HVP minister Vijender Singh Kadyan,who has a lot of following among Jat voters in the area. In the Samalkha constituency, the Congress has failed to enlist the services of Mr Hari Singh Nalwa, a former minister who has overwhelming influence among the Gujjar community, which is a dominant caste in the segment. On the other hand, the BJP has not been able so far to bring Mr Kartar Singh Bhadana, sitting MLA, to do intensive campaigning for it. The Congress seems to be weak in the Asandh, Jundla and Panipat areas. But the last-minute alignment of forces between Jats and non-Jats may come to the rescue of Mr Bhajan Lal.

Mr Pradeep Chaudhary of the BSP has not been able to make any credible dent in the Congress vote bank or among Jat voters. His slogan that he is the grandson of Tau Devi Lal does not seem to have caught on with the masses.

The next few days are crucial both for the BJP and the Congress to win over the “silent” voters who have always been the deciding factor in such prestigious contests.

Hanging onto emotive issues
From Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

TARN TARAN: The outcome in this sprawling rural constituency, it is said, will seen as a verdict of the people on which action of the Shiromani Akali Dal is the “real Akali Dal.” This is the only Lok Sabha constituency where more than 70 per cent voters are Sikh.

In 1989 it elected radical Sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann, with a record margin of more than four lakh votes while he was still behind the bars. But the voter in this ‘Panthic’ constituency has also sent moderate Sikh leaders like Mr Mohan Singh Tur and his sons Lehna Singh and Tarlochan Singh to Parliament with big margins. It elected Congress candidates, in early seventies and during the boycott of elections by the Akalis in 1992.

The voter will also decide as to who is the “real” Jathedar of Akal Takht. Bhai Ranjit Singh has been primarily concentrating on this constituency though he has addressed a series of election rallies in other parts of the state.

Though the main contest is between Mr Tarlochan Singh Tur, a candidate of the ruling SAD-BJP combine, and Mr Gurinder Singh Kairon, Congress candidate, the campaign of Bibi Parmjit Kaur Khalra, candidate of the third front, has also picked up.

Supporters of the Bibi have been approaching families of slain militants. All parties have been touching emotive issues and those like problems being faced by people in the border belt are hardly being mentioned. The slogan of “videshi versus swadeshi” seems to have little impact in this rural constituency.

While Mr Grurinder Singh Kairon (Cong) claims he will benefit from the division of Sikh votes, Mr Tarlochan Singh argues that the voter of Tarn Taran has always voted for the “mainstream” Akali Dal.

The SAD-BJP candidate who had won the previous Lok Sabha poll scoring 2,82,143 votes, belongs to a family of moderate Akalis.

Bibi Parmjit Kaur has been mobilising voters on the issue of cremation of unclaimed bodies during the peak of militancy. This issue was raised at the national and the international level due to the efforts of her husband, advocate Jaswant Singh Khalra, who was allegedly kidnapped and then liquidated in 1995. However, it is to be seen if “sympathy” will be translated into votes in favour of Mrs Khalra.

While Mr Tur claims that he will win again with a higher victory margin, Mr Kairon has announced that he will not contest any election in future if he fails to win this time.

Mr Kairon, who had unsuccessfully contested the elections from Tarn Taran last time, claims he has improved his position.

Kargil, Sonia non-issues
From Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

ROPAR: Voters of this reserved Lok Sabha constituency spread over five districts of Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur seem to be in no mood to discuss issues like Kargil victory and Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin. They prefer to have conversations on local and state-level issues.

The ousting of Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra as SGPC President and Bhai Ranjit Singh as Jathedar of Akal Takht was also not mentioned by the people as an issue. They show little interest towards corruption charges levelled against Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, the Congress candidate.

People are also reportedly annoyed with the Badal government on issues like “wrong” economic policies, rampant corruption and poor power supply. People from the weaker sections of the society also alleged that the Badal government had burdened them by imposing taxes and raising domestic power supply bills.

People have expressed their resentment against the state government over the non-fulfilment of their demands and no development works in their villages and towns. The local issues which dominate the poll scenario are bad link roads, poor disposal system of waste water and problem of water-logging.

In the Kharar Assembly segment, there is a major demand to abolish the Capital Periphery Act. Residents of the rural areas also demand the extension of ‘lal laqir’ (red line) of the villages and irrigation water for the semi-hilly and other areas. Resentment also prevails over the privatisation of octroi posts in place of abolition of octroi.

In Morinda, the long-standing demand for the construction of a railway overbridge is still pending. The construction of a bypass in Morinda for the Chandigarh-Ludhiana traffic and proper disposal of sewer water are the other demands.

Residents of the rural assembly segment of Chamkaur Sahib have been demanding sub-division status for this historic town for a long time but to no avail. Mr Sohan Singh of Mehtot village and Mr Surinder Singh of Bhalian village alleged that the government had done nothing for the development of the Chamkaur Sahib area.

Sirhind residents complain that despite assurances, a railway overbridge here has not been built. No steps have been taken for the stop over of express trains at Sirhind which include the Sachkhand Express. Mr Prem Chand, President of the Retail Kiryana Association of Fatehgarh Sahib district, said despite the historical and religious importance of the town, express trains were not stopped here. There was also a demand of another railway overbridge at Fatehgarh Sahib.

In Khanna, people talked about corruption charges against Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo as he is a resident of the town.

In the Amloh segment, Mr Rajesh Kumar, shop owner at Bhadson village-cum-town demanded the opening of a girls college there. Mr Darshan Singh a three-wheeler driver, at Amloh said the sitting MP had done nothing for the area. Dalits were hit hard by the hike in power rates while big farmers had been enjoying free power, he added.

At Nabha, the residents complain against damaged roads and faulty sewer system. Mr Sohan Singh, a hawker, who attracts passengers for the bus conductors there, held the Badal government’s policies responsible for the pathetic condition of the poor.

Samrala residents complain against the faulty waste water disposal system and damaged roads. Dr Yogesh Sharma, President of the Samrala block of the Congress, alleged that as Samrala had a Congress MLA, so grants were not being released to this constituency for development while the SAD-BJP leaders alleged that the Congress MLA did not allow the use of the development grants.

Dhuri residents seek the delinking of the Dhuri segment from the Ropar Lok Sabha seat to link it with the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency.

Playing Nawab of Malerkotla
From Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

PATIALA: The usual festive atmosphere is missing at the Sarb Hind SAD President Gurcharan Singh Tohra’s residence. It has been so eversince he resigned from the SGPC. However, diehard supporters continue to visit Tohra village to seek his blessings. Yet the Akali leader never delays his electioneering commitments which begin at 6 a.m. daily.

“The continuous strain is responsible for his fatigue” says an aide. But this does not deter him from extensive touring of the Banur block in the Patiala constituency.

The Akali titan sets the tone for campaigning at his first election meeting in Machli Kalan village. He pulls at the heart-strings of the people, telling them 85 bullets were showered at his car during an assassination bid in which he lost a thumb and proper use of fingers of his left hand.

He hardens his attack on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, asking: “Would I have been attacked if I was responsible for perpetrating militancy as claimed by the Chief Minister”. Instead, he claims the Chief Minister spent the militancy period “buying terrorists.”

“I can prove what I am saying through photographs”, he tells the audience.

He paints the Chief Minister as a tyrant who can do “anything” to achieve his goals. Mr Tohra alleged Mr Badal has outdone the late Beant Singh in his “repressive” measures. “Dont be misled by his sweet talk” he warns rural folk. He says the Chief Minister continues to maintain a facade of honesty but his entire family and relatives are “robbing the state”.

Getting emotional, he compares himself to the Nawab of Malerkotla and says his supporters has also rallied around him because he had dared to speak in their favour. “I did not want to fight. I only took up a stand to protect your interests”, he explains.

“Forgive me for supporting the BJP”, he urges the people, adding he would never have a truck with the BJP or the Congress in future. “It is the Congress which was responsible for bringing the terrorism and ruling over a state in which the people were caught between atrocities of militants and the police,” he says claiming no Punjabi would vote for a party which was responsible for such misery.

Addressing a series of meetings at Manakpura and adjoining villages, he dwells on how the Badal government was akin to the Congress as it had failed to take up corruption cases against Congress men and was itself mired in corruption.

No stage is too small for the Akali patriarch on the campaign trial. He addresses small groups of 50 as well as large gatherings. He stops on the way to visit a house where a death had occurred and stops his car to tell people gathered at the roadside to ensure they voted for the “car”.

The symbol perturbs him a little as he admits that many village elders owing loyalty to him still regarded “scales” as his symbol. “Educate them about the car”, he instructs his aides.

Everywhere, he is accompanied by youngsters on motor cycles and scooters. Finance Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh also comes in for special criticism.

“He sent me to my longest captivity of three years in Raipur,” he says adding now was the time to put on end to his “arrogance”. All meetings conclude with bear hugs and presentation of siropas.

Amenities voters' top priority
From Ehsan Fazili
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR: Grant of autonomy, sufficient financial assistance, human rights violations and jobs to the educated youth are the main election issues in the constituency of Srinagar. The fate of 10 candidates, including that of the National Conference (NC), the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be decided on September 5, when Srinagar goes to the polls in the first phase of elections. The Ladakh constituency also goes to the polls in the first phase on Sunday.

The main contestants are the ruling NC candidate, Mr Umar Abdullah, the PDP candidate, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, and the Congress candidate Syed Agha Hussain. While there is going to be a traditional fight between the NC and the Congress candidates, a new challenge has been posed by the introduction of Ms Mehbooba Mufti as a candidate of the newly-floated PDP following the resignation of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed from the Congress. Ever since 1967 the NC has bagged the prestigious seat of Srinagar. No elections were held for the Lok Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir in 1990 in view of militancy. The ruling National Conference did not participate in the 1996 elections for the “situation was not conducive for the elections”. It was the Congress then which bagged the Srinagar seat.

The voter here seems to be unconcerned about the poll due to the “failure of the present government in providing basic facilities like electricity, drinking water and other amenities”. The cry for autonomy seems to be only an issue with the party, as the NC during the election campaign in the 1996 assembly elections and in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections had raised the issue. The reports of the two committees on state autonomy and regional autonomy were submitted this year. Observers feel that the ruling NC has backed out of its promise as it had promised to get autonomy within six months after the assembly elections. “Even after a gap of nearly three years, the report is yet to be finalised”, observers feel.

The NC leaders in their campaign blame the opposition parties, particularly the Congress, for eroding the special status under Article 370. These leaders held that it was because of the wrong policies of the previous governments, the state was in a deep financial crisis.

National Conference chief and state Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has launched massive election campaign for his son Umar Abdullah who is contesting the seat for the second consecutive term.

Dr Farooq Abdullah concentrates on the grant of greater autonomy to the state for an “honourable status” for the people who suffered much at the hands of militancy during the past decade.

The battlelines are clearly drawn between the ruling NC and the PDP. Ms Mehbooba Mufti, former CLP leader in the state assembly, has been harping on the corruption and misrule of the state government and its false promises on the grant of autonomy to the state, while people had been suffering on various issues like harassment at the hands of security forces and the financial crunch. On the other hand, Mr Umar Abdullah vows to continue to work for the overall development of the constituency.

This time the Congress seems to be taking a back seat. The Congress candidate is concentrating on financial crisis, human rights violations, jobs to educated youth and electricity supply. He is also banking on the Shia votes in Budgam and parts of Srinagar district.

Similar styles but different agenda
From PPS Gill
Tribune News Service

FARIDKOT: Just before sunset, a long caravan of vehicles carrying securitymen and supporters descends on Kameana village on the outskirts of this once princely town. It is "kakaji", meaning Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal.

As he finds his way to a makeshift platform shaking hands and rubbing shoulders with villagers, someone out of no-where starts distributing a six-paged colourful folder. The glossy publication momentarily distracts attention of men and women who have been waiting for over two hours.

A short introduction and "kakaji" takes to the mike. "Every vote has a hope attached to it. Just one single vote resulted in the present poll. Make your choice judiciously by judging the candidate on past performance. No new promises. Take into consideration the water made available for the drinking and irrigation....

"This is a special election. It will decide the future of India. Who should head the government: a 'videshi' or 'swadeshi'? The Congress is a sinking ship. But there can be no comparison between Sonia and Vajpayee. The responsibility rests on you. Do me one favour. Spend 10 minutes on the folder in your hands. It is my result-sheet. I got barely over 13 months in the government. You had elected me for five years. You certainly do not want the Congress, which did nothing in 52 years. And "Jagmeetji", compare his five years with my short term since 1996.

In Kameana he is either weighed against coins or is presented money for the election fund. A quick sip of tea here and a bite at a sweet shop and he moves to the next destination. The campaigning starts early morning and continues till late in the night. Often his stamina and speed leave security personnel gasping. The junior Badal touches the feet of elders and pats children as he mingles with crowds.

'Dhadis' in high-pitched voice engage a medium-sized gathering on the roadside. People with garlands anxiously a wait "kakaji". It is the same scene as witnessed at Kameana and an almost identical speech. An enthusiast literally, takes Mr Sukhbir into his arms and leads him into his house as women step forward to garland him and greet him with folded hands.

Poll unites drug addicts
From Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

SRIGANGANAGAR: Though elections in this region have seen pressure groups of farmers, traders, employees and other sections coming together to press for their demands, a section of drug addicts here is in the process of becoming a novel pressure group to influence outcome of poll.

Even as the electorate is being wooed by all kinds of temptations including money, liquor and intoxicants by political parties, the drug addicts of this town feel neglected and are in a mood to boycott the poll.

Electorate in other parts of Rajasthan may be pleading with the contestants for better amenities and doles, but over here the major demand of drug addicts is of reduction of rates of poppy husk from Rs 350 to Rs 175 per kilogram.

"We shall vote for that party which promises to bring down the prices of poppy husk which have touched all time high due to handing over the vends in the private hands which earlier were run by government employees. For getting our demand accepted we are trying to make union and to make a pressure group", said Pirthi Chand, a drug addict, who left his house in Bhattal village in Sangrur district 15 years ago for his addiction to poppy husk.

Though most of the drug addicts in the town are indifferent to poll, some of them, who are educated are trying to reach out every one of them to bring them on a single platform to form a union to pressurise the political parties into making their demand an agenda of their respective manifestos.

This town is a "second home" for drug addicts of Punjab as out of about 20,000 drug addicts putting up here majority originally hail from Punjab. Most of the drug addicts, who have been registered as voters in this reserved constituency were wooed by the contestants by supplying them poppy husk in large quantity.

Kuldeep Singh, another addict, who originally hails from Abohar said that the other main demand of the drug addicts was that they all should be given licences to purchase a fixed quota of poppy husks from the vends. He pointed out that drug addicts not having licences were at the mercy of those, who had licences for their daily "dose".

The drug addicts, who speak high of the local police for their better look after in the hour of crises also demand that they should be given fixed places to live as now they are living on the roadside and earn enough for their meals and 'doses' by working as ragpickers.

Dalip Singh, an older drug addict having licence told The Tribune that no contestant for the coming Lok Sabha elections had approached them for seeking their vote so far.

Gowda ploughs lonely furrow
From K.V. Prasad
Tribune News Service

HASSAN: The former Prime Minister, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, is ploughing a lonely furrow hoping to reap a rich harvest in his home state of Karnataka.

The "humble farmer", as Mr Gowda prefers to describe himself, is once again sowing seeds for his Janata Dal (Secular) candidates in 224 assembly seats, while seeking re-election from the Hassan parliamentary constituency.

Having represented Hassan twice (in 1991 and 1998), Mr Gowda has gained in stature in the constituency which looks upto him as a former Premier and a national leader.

In parliamentary elections he is locked in a triangular contest. Pitted against him is his former protege, Mr G. Puttuswamy Gowda of the Congress and Mr B.D. Basvaraju of the BJP, a party that has an alliance with the Janata Dal (United).

The JD(U) consists of Mr Ramakrishna Hegde’s Lok Shakti, Mr George Fernandes’ Samata and Mr Sharad Yadav ‘s faction of Janata Dal.

Mr Gowda’s main rival in the state is Mr Hegde the JD(S) leader is making all efforts to prevent the BJP-JD(U) alliance from coming to power.

Having ruled out any understanding with even the Congress, Mr Gowda has also put up a candidate in the Bellary Lok Sabha constituency. It is another matter that few have noticed Mr Mahalingam’s candidature, dwarfed as he is in the high-profile duel between Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mrs Sushma Swaraj.

Interestingly, Mr Gowda has an understanding with Mr Sharad Pawar’s National Congress Party and a minority front in Kerala. He has also fielded his man Friday, Mr Chand Mahal Ibrahim, in Kerala.

Hassan feels indebted to Mr Gowda who as Prime Minister (1996-97) cleared projects worth Rs 105 crore in his constituency, even though he never represented it as Prime Minister.

The development that Hassan has seen took roots when Mr Gowda became Chief Minister in 1994. The industrial sheds which one sees while driving to Hassan stand witness to it.

Along with this came the cattlefeed factory in cooperative sector through NDDB, the Hassan-Bangalore broad gauge rail track sanction, an airport for the city, a Rs 5 crore project for which land has been acquired, a Rs 10-crore bypass to link Bangalore to the coastal city of Mangalore, drinking water and underground drainage works.

Mr Gowda’s supporters are working to ensure that his margin of victory bloats from the 32,000-odd votes he secured in a triangular contest which was ten times more than 3,000-odd margin in 1991 Lok Sabha elections.

Even though Mr Gowda was in Hassan on August 29, the third day of official campaigning he did not canvass. He dedicated the Rajiv Gandhi Hospital to the public and left to tour other parts of the state.

The former Prime Minister, who is a Vokkalinga, has a hold over five of the eight assembly segments in his constituency. His Congress rival also hails from the same community. Mr Deve Gowda and Mr Puttuswamy Gowda were together till 1985, but the latter broke away from his mentor who also made him a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Vokkalingas have 30 per cent share in a constituency of 12 lakh.

In an intriguing development, Mr Basvaraju was to be a candidate of the JD(U), but at the last moment chose to adopt the "lotus" symbol of the alliance partner. Mr Basvaraju was a minister for six days in the S.R. Bommai government before its dismissal in the late eighties.

For Mr Deve Gowda, the real fight is not Hassan but Karnataka, where he hopes to emerge as the third force.

Mr Deve Gowda lost from two constituencies he contested in the 1989 assembly poll. His anti-Hegde stance did not pay him dividends then. He later formed the Karnataka Vikas Vedike which eventually merged with the Janata Dal of Mr Hegde.

Seshan makes Advani sit up
From Sayeed Naqvi
Tribune News Service

GANDHI NAGAR: Former Chief Election Commissioner and Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar T.N. Seshan is being seen here even by his opponents, as capable of making Union Home Minister L.K. Advani work hard for retaining his hold on the constituency.

He has set a cracking pace for himself to make up for the lack of party infrastructure for reaching out to the electorate.

He found time for a brief interview during "lunch break". Mr Seshan enjoys the reputation of being comfortable answering questions on a wide range of subjects. But the first question which was put to him had the voluble former CEC-turned-politician groping for an answer. "Give me five minutes", he said. And what was the question? Is there a question he would like to answer, but no one ever asks him?

However, Mr Seshan was in familiar territory answering questions on electoral reforms. He said he was the first to recommend the adoption of the German model for providing a stable government to the country.

"The BJP has learnt the importance of a "positive" voter the hard way after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was defeated in the Lok Sabha by just one vote. If the Constitution is amended on these lines it would make redundant the demand for a fixed-term Lok Sabha.

Why? Because the exercise of electing a new leader of the House would be part of the composite process of expressing lack of confidence in the existing government", he repairs.

Mr Seshan went a step further and suggested that a law should be introduced for ensuring that the Centre was not without a duly elected legislature for a single day. It would be an improvement on the current provision of allowing a government to continue in office for six months, even after being defeated on the floor of the House.

It is a contradiction in terms that elected members who participate in voting out a government cease to be members of the Lok Sabha in the event of the House being dissolved for want of an alternative, but those who are in the government continue to enjoy the benefits available to them as "regular" ministers.

He evidently had in mind the situation arising out of the Kargil conflict while making the suggestion. Had the dissolved Lok Sabha been allowed to continue until the constitution of the next Lok Sabha, there may have been no kite-flying on the issue of elections being postponed indefinitely because of the "war-like" situation on the border with Pakistan.

In any case, there would have been a "full House", though dissolved, and not just the remnants of a defeated government to take stock of the situation and recommend the future course of action.

Pressed for an answer to the first question Mr Seshan tried to evade it. As an afterthought he said: "I often ask myself whether I would be able to live up to the ideals I have set for myself. And the answer I get is to give it a try".

After speaking to a cross-section of leaders and representatives of the two main political parties in Gujarat, it became clear that the Gandhinagar contest would have been one-sided had Mr Seshan not been fielded by the Congress.

Credit must go to the former CEC for not stooping to what he calls the "gutter level" for winning the election. He has a lot of respect for Mr Advani.

In reply to a question whether the BJP was making use of the dirty tricks department for ensuring his defeat, he was honest enough to admit that except for a few pin-pricks by junior BJP workers, he had no complaints against his rival.

The fact that Mr Seshan’s entry has made the BJP take the Gandhinagar contest more seriously is evident from the fact that the Home Minister’s family has parked itself in Ahmedabad, major parts of which fall in the reorganised constituency. Mr Advani’s daughter Pratibha and son Jayant have taken upon themselves the responsibility of door-to-door canvassing.

As far as the Congress is concerned it is case of "every man for himself". After speaking to the Congress candidate from Ahmedabad, Mr Girish Dani, it became even more clear that the party does not have a viable poll strategy for Gujarat. Mr Dani has been given the ticket not because he is a dedicated Congress worker but because he is a businessman who is willing to treat electoral politics as an investment in the future of his petrochemical trade.

When I brought up the question of Mr Seshan’s chances of winning against Mr Advani he said with almost child-like glee: "Arey uska to patta saaf hai" (his goose is cooked). He went on to explain why the would win but Mr Seshan would not.He pointed out that in his Lok Sabha constituency three of the seven assembly seats were won by the Congress and four by the BJP. "But in Mr Seshan’s case all seven Assembly seats are with the BJP."

That Mr Dani is a sharp businessman, which does not necessarily make him a good politician, became more clear when he explained his poll strategy. He is not going to be totally dependent on Congress. He pointed out to a young man in his election office and said "he is my man who is contesting the election as an Independent. His polling agents will work for me".

Of course, it is difficult to predict the outcome of the poll for the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. The severe dry spell, the recent communal disturbances and general maladministration across the state has not endeared the BJP to the people. The situation is tailor-made for a well organised rival to grab the initiative for ensuring the defeat of the ruling candidate. But the Congress is in no position to play such a role. The fact that BJP rebel Shankarsinh Vaghela is now the tallest Congress leader in Gujarat should help explain why the satta market, hugely popular in Gujarat, still sees the BJP walking away with a huge chunk of the electorates' cake in the state. However, if the under-current of resentment among the people against the state government can find expression in the voting pattern on September 5, honest Congressmen should not take credit for the poor showing of the BJP in Gujarat.

Scindia shifts to Guna
From N. D. Sharma

BHOPAL: After the withdrawal of nominations, there are 110 candidates in the field for the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies of the Madhya Bharat region. Polling in these constituencies will take place on September 11. In the dissolved Lok Sabha, the Congress held four of these seats and the BJP 10.

The contest this time is again mainly between the Congress and the BJP though the BSP is also a force in the Morena (SC) and Bhind constituencies where it had relegated the Congress to the third position in last year’s Lok Sabha elections.

Two notable changes in this region are the absence of the veteran BJP leader Vijayaraje Scindia who had represented the Guna Constituency in the Lok Sabha since 1989 and AICC General Secretary Madhavrao Scindia’s decision to shift from Gwalior to Guna. Mrs Vijayaraje Scindia has dropped out on health gounds.

Madhavrao Scindia, who had been winning from Gwalior since 1984 with margins of lakhs of votes, seemed to have lost his nerves when his victory margin dropped to less than 26,000 votes in the 1998 Lok Sabha poll. Former state Bajrang Dal chief Jaybhan Singh Pavayya, who had given such a harrowing time to Mr Scindia last year, is once again the BJP candidate from Gwalior.

If the Jhabua (ST) constituency, there is once again a contest between the two Bhurias. Mr Dilip Singh Bhuria (Congress) had first won from there in 1980 and he continued winning every election till 1996. Later on he resigned from the Congress following his differences with Chief Minister Digvijay Singh. In 1998 he contested from Jhabua (ST) as the BJP candidate and lost to Mr Kantilal Bhuria (Congress) who was then a member of the Digvijay cabinet.

Rajgarh presents an interesting contest with the hero of TV serials Nitish Bhardwaj pitted against Chief Minster’s younger brother Laxman Singh. Mr Digvijay Singh (Congress) was elected from this constituency in 1984 but he had lost to Mr Pyarelal Khandelwal of the BJP in 1989. In 1991, Mr Digvijay Singh retrieved the constituency by 1400-odd votes. His younger brother had been representing this constituency after Mr Digvijay Singh became the Chief Minister. Belonging to a former Jagirdar family of the area, Mr Laxman Singh is having a tough time from his BJP rival Nitish Bhardwaj who, as the “Krishna” of the “Mahabharat” and “Geeta Rahasya” serials, has caught the people’s imagination.

Protecting armed forces’ interests
Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR: Col J.S. Bal (retd) is perhaps the only hero of Kargil-Dras in the country who is in the election fray. He is candidate of the newly-floated Rashtriya Raksha Dal (RRD) from this Lok Sabha constituency. The district has the distinction of being the home of over one lakh ex-servicemen. The RRD has fielded only two candidates in the country. The other one is Col Harsharn Singh Sandhu (retd) contesting from the Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency.

Colonel Bal says that he decided to contest elections when various parties tried to take political mileage out of the Kargil conflict. As a party of the electioneering, he first went to families of those who had lost their members in the Kargil-Dras sector while fighting the Pakistani-sponsored intruders. He would tell the affected families that the heavy casualty during the conflict was due to negligence of the Indian Governor. “I had also served in the Kargil-Dras sector 35 years ago and flushed out intruders without losing even a single jawan”, he says proudly.

He says PRD was formed to protect the soldiers and ex-servicemen from being exploited at the hands of politicians.

Colonel Bal, after his commissioning in Dec 1962 from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, posted to 369 Field Company deployed in Jammu and Kashmir in July 1963. He moved to Dras in May 1964 for overlooking construction of transit camps and water supply camps at Dras and Kargil.

He alleges that during the past 35 years, there has been no increase in the strength of troops.

“To safeguard interest of armed forces’ personnel and law abiding civilians we are left with no choice but to launch our independent party of retired defence personnel and other like-minded countrymen who put the nation before self. This party will take effective measures for the proper governance of the country” he tells voters.

Nutshell

Christian vote

JALANDHAR (FOC): Circle church leaders at a meeting here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Rev George Masih announced that the Christian community of the area would vote for the Congress candidate from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency. He said the Congress alone under the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi could “support” the cause of the community.

Polling booths

HAMIRPUR (FOC): As many as 30 sensitive and 26 hypersensitive polling booths have been identified in Hamirpur district for the coming elections, Mr Kamlesh Kumar Pant, Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning officer for the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, said here on Tuesday. He said the Nadaunta Assembly segment topped with 11 sensitive and seven hypersensitive polling stations.

Bullock carts

RAIPUR (UNI): Raipur District Collector M.K. Raut said on Tuesday that bullock carts and tractors would be pressed into service in large number for transporting poll material and polling personnel. Boats would be used for transporting both men and material to 18 polling stations located across the Tel river in Devbhog area bordering Orissa.

Booths shifted

GURDASPUR (FOC): Four polling booths in the Kahnuwan Assembly segment, three in Batala and one each in Gurdaspur, Qadian and Dinanagar have been shifted to alternative places, according to sources.

Support for Dullo

FAEHGARH SAHIB (FOC): Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, Congress candidate from the Ropar (R) Parliament seat, got a shot in the arm when the state unit of the Rashtriya Janata Dal declared its support for him. In a press statement issued here, Mr Amar Handa, Secretary General of the RJD, said the party had also decided to support other secular forces in the state to defeat the BJP-Akali combine.

Women voters

HAMIRPUR (FOC): Women who are in majority in the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat may play major role in the coming elections stated for September 25. The Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat consists of 17 assembly segments in Hamirpur, Una, Bilaspur and Dehra. Of the total electorate of 9,36,234 the total number of women voters in the area is 4,79,884. Hamirpur district tops the list with 1,46,731 women voters.

Join PDP

SRINAGAR (PTI): Mr Harbir Singh Sidhu, Vice-President, Jammu and Kashmir Youth Congress (JKYC), Mr Vinay Verma, Secretary, JKYC, and Mr Gurdas Mall, Secretary, National Conference youth wing, have resigned from their parties and joined the newly formed J and K People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Expressing faith in the aims and objectives of the PDP and its President Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the youth leaders joined the party on Monday, a PDP press note said.

Setback for INLD

ROHTAK (FOC): The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) received a jolt when Jhajjar District (Urban) President Satpal Makkar and his supporters left the party and joined the Congress on Monday. Mr Makkar, who is a prominent leader of the Punjabi community, announced his decision at a public rally addressed by the party candidate from here, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Joins BJP

PANIPAT (FOC): Mr I.D. Kaushik, a former member of the Haryana Public Service Commission, has joined the BJP. In a statement he said Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee alone could provide an efficient and able government to the country. He condemned the Congress for its policy of “dividing the people on religion and caste lines”.

Poll boycott

SAMRALA (FOC): Retired college teachers and employees of non-government aided colleges have decided to boycott poll in protest against the non-implementation of the Pension and Gratuity Act passed by Punjab Vidhan Sabha five months ago.