New Delhi, April 5
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh has indicated he will not continue in the post beyond his term and, contrary to speculation, says he will not join the government if his party comes to power.“Bahut ho gaya (I have had enough). By this year-end, four years will be over. Besides Atalji and Advaniji, I would be the only one to have completed four years as party president after 1980,” Singh, 57, told IANS in an interview.

Scotching speculation that there might be a change of guard soon in the BJP after the April-May general elections, he said he would complete his term. “Main apna karyakal poora karoonga, which is till January 2010.” Singh had taken over the reins of the BJP in 2005 from LK Advani, now the party’s prime ministerial candidate. There has been speculation that if the BJP forms a government, Singh is likely to join it as an experienced leader of the party. If, on the other hand, the BJP stays out of power, Singh could well make a bid to become leader of the opposition in parliament. Singh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Ghaziabad, said: “I will not go into the government but will continue to do party work.”

He asserted that the BJP would emerge as the single largest party in the 545-seat Lok Sabha. “This is pucca (certain). We will form the government, and Advani will become the PM.”

Speaking of his stint as party chief, Singh said: “ When I became party president, we had a BJP government only in four states. Now we are in power on our own in six states and in coalition with others in five states.”

He dismissed the suggestion that the BJP’s ideological parent, the Hindu rightwing Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), would play a more pro-active role under its new chief Mohan Bhagwat.“The role of the party is different. The RSS is a socio-cultural organisation. The Sangh has never interfered in the functioning of the BJP.” He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s criticism of Advani for his role in the 1992 demolition of the Babri mosque was an election gimmick.

“I was surprised that he reminded people of the Babri Masjid at election time,” Singh said. “It is part of the Congress’ vote bank politics. Why did he not raise it for five years when he was the PM? If you raise it only at election time, your intention is clear.” He also reiterated his support to Varun Gandhi, the BJP candidate from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh who is in jail for reportedly making communal speeches. The BJP chief said Gandhi had made it clear that the voice on the CD concerned was not his and that it had been doctored.

“Let the inquiry be completed. Until there is enough evidence against him, how can we hold him guilty? There is no question of ending his candidature,” he asserted.On BJD’s decision to break their alliance last month, the BJP leader said, “It was very surprising and unfortunate. But that is a question that the BJD should be asked. Why was the BJP okay for 11 years and how come it has become ‘garbar’ (problem) now.” — IANS

New Delhi, April 5
Though the number of Independent candidates contesting the general election has been on the rise, candidates trying their luck without party affiliation have been losing ground. They have, however, added to the government exchequer with forfeited deposits.

A total of 533 Independents candidates contested in the first Lok Sabha elections in 1952 and 37 emerged victorious. The winning number, however, dwindled down to five in the 14th Lok Sabha where 2,385 Independent candidates participated.

According to official figures, Independents constituted 28 per cent of the total candidates in 1952 with winning percentage of 6.94. Whereas in 2004, the number rose to 44 per cent. Only 0.20 per cent of these could make it to the house.

The eighth general election of 1984 witnessed 98 per cent of Independents losing their deposits. This trend continued from 10th to 14th Lok Sabha. During these five elections 99 per cent Independents lost their deposits.

The first four elections saw fluctuating fortunes of Independents. In 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, the data showed that winning numbers of Independents were 37, 42, 20, 35, while numbers of contestants were 533, 481, 479 and 866, respectively.

In spite of the poor performance in the fifth general election, the number of Independents contesting polls further rose in successive elections.

For instance, in the sixth general election, over 50 per cent contested as Independents and won only 9 seats, in the seventh general election, the number rose to 61 per cent and the number of seat remained the same.

The eighth general election witnessed a further increase with 71 per cent aspirants contesting as Independents and in the 11th general election 76 per cent of total contestants were independents. In the eighth and ninth elections, the number of seats won stood at 5 and 12.

And even after the Election Commission’s move to increase the amount of security deposit from 1998, Independent candidates seemed remain hopeful of their winning chances and participated in large numbers.

The 11th Lok Sabha elections in 1996 witnessed highest number of Independent candidates joining the fray. Out of a total of 10,635 candidates, only a meagre nine candidates tasted victory. The deposits of 10,604 candidates were forfeited in the same year.

The number of successful independents from the sixth to the 14th Lok Sabha remained confined to single digit except in the ninth Lok Sabha, when 12 Independents made their way to the House. It may also be mentioned here that in the last five Lok Sabha elections, the number of Independents could never cross the digit of nine. — PTI

Hyderabad, April 5
It’s ‘family raj’ that dictates politics in Andhra Pradesh. The members of three families have come to occupy the centre stage as the state gears up for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assembly.

Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy and his political heir YS Jaganmohan Reddy have emerged as the focal point for the ruling Congress, while actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi’s fledgling Praja Rajyam Party is being controlled by his brother-in-law and noted producer Allu Aravind and actor-brothers Pavan Kalyan and Nagababu.

The family members of legendary hero late NT Rama Rao call the shots in Telugu Desam Party founded by him 27 years ago. Headed by NTR’s son-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP is now heavily dependent on NTR’s sons and grandsons, all actors, to enliven the election campaign and improve the prospects of the regional party.

From selection of candidates to formulation of campaign strategies, the family members’ involvement is complete. NTR’s grandson “Junior NTR”, a 26-year-old mass hero, is the star campaigner of the party with his election rallies attracting huge crowds, reminiscent of his grandfather’s legendary road shows.

The other members of NTR clan, including his actor sons N Balakrishna and N Harikrishna and grandsons Kalyan Ram and Taraka Ratna are also helping the party in the campaign. Such is the vice-like grip of these three families that the second-rung leadership in their respective parties feels suffocated and sidelined.

Chennai, April 5
Actor and DMDK leader Vijaykanth has announced candidates for all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, closing all options for the CPM which is not satisfied with seat allocation in the AIADMK alliance. Since, the party could not join the Congress and BJP fronts, the only viable option for it was a tie-up with Vijaykanth’s party, with whom it initiated talks even before it approached the AIADMK for an alliance. 

As the CPI was very firm in its decision to join the AIADMK front, the CPM also followed suit. However, the CPI walked away with three good seats, while the CPM seems to be till pressing for more seats and is reportedly adamant in its choice of seats too. Now, if the party walks out of the alliance, the only option for the party is to go it alone.

Even when it formed an alliance with the MDMK, the CPM was not able to win any Lok Sabha seat in 1996.When the two Communist parties were in the DMK front, they were given two seats each. However, AIADMK supremo J Jayallaithaa had offered three seats to both the parties. While the CPI had accepted the offer, the CPM felt it was in a stronger position and rejected the proposal.

Despite CPM claims that it is the stronger of the two Ledt parties, the CPI seems to have gained strength, especially after it joined the Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement. The party’s state secretary D Pandian, who is a good orator, has gained the respect of Tamil nationalist parties. In sharp contrast, the CPM, is often criticised by Tamil groups as a “pro-Sinhalese party”, as it has had refused to show interest in the island Tamils issue. Hence, its presence will not be very helpful for the AIADMK, especially when the Sri Lankan Tamils issue has become a major electoral plank.

New Delhi, April 5
Kerala, God's own country, is a nightmare for candidates because of a host of namesakes in almost every constituency making the electoral game deadly for many a veterans. Of the 20 constituencies, as many as 15 have a total of 38 namealikes. Kozhikode and Kottayam tops the chart with 6 namesakes each.

Former UN diplomat Shashi Tharoor who is contesting from Thiruvananthapuram on a Congress ticket have been taken by Surprise with a Shashi Aroor contesting against him. Instructions by Election Commission forced the namesake to declare his full name and change to Shashi Aroor Janaki Sadan.

What makes the confusion more complex is that most of the namesakes even go for choosing symbols which are akin to the official candidates. For example, the duplicates of most of the Congress candidates have chosen a 'shuttle-cock', a symbol which looks alike to the Congress symbol 'hand' in a cursory view. In Kottayam, CPI(M) candidate K Suresh Kurup is facing five namesakes, the list goes - K Suresh Kurup, Suresh N B Kurup, K Suresh Kumar, T R Suresh Kumar and one Suresh Kurumban.

The Congress-led UDF candidate here, Jose K Mani (two leaves), is facing an unknown Jose Mani, a taxi driver from Delhi who flew to Kerala to file his nomination papers. Another Mani is contesting here with a look-alike half peeled banana with a view to make the original veteran Mani slip.

Kannur seems a level playing field for Congress and the Left. K S Sudhakaran(Congress) and K K Ragesh(CPI-M) faces a K S Sudhakaran and a K K Ragesh each.

In Kozhikode, the official CPI(M) candidate P A Mohammed Rias is contested by another P A Mohammed Rias and a K M Mohammed Rias and P Mohammed Rias each. The official Congress candidate M K Raghavan is competing another M K Raghavan and a K Raghavan with a shuttle cock as his symbol.

In Vadakkara, the sitting (CPI-M) MP P Sathidevi is facing another P Sathidevi. A second Sathidevi is also in the fray against the Marxist with a road-roller as her symbol to crush a second consecutive victory for her. — PTI

Shimla, April 5
Lack of genuine leadership and extreme factionalism has left the highly politicised non-gazetted employees, who played decisive role elections in the state for decades, incapable of influencing the outcome of polls.

They are no longer an organised force to effectively oppose or support any particular party or leader. The once powerful state non-gazetted services federation has split over and over again and at present there is no true representative body of the employees. The leaders heading the splinter groups have been fighting with each rather than raising the issues concerning the employees. In fact, they have been vying for proximity with the government to pin down the leaders of the rival faction. Their trade union activity is confined to issuing press statements. Worse most these statements are made in favour or against particular parties or leaders to please their 
benefactors.

It is hardly surprising that the credibility of the employees’ leadership has been severely eroded in recent years and there is practically no leader worth the name who commands the respect of the employees. The federation has virtually become a captive body of the government over the past decade with successive Congress and BJP regimes patronising rival factions.

The former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh propped up Laxmi Singh Machhan group during his previous term and it ruled the roost for five years. With the installation of BJP government, Prem Singh Bharmouria faction staged a comeback as the officially recognised body.

A third breakaway group Himachal Pradesh Employees Confederation has been at the receiving end irrespective of the party in power. In between the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh leader Surinder Thakur had also floated a non-gazetted services body under the Sangh which has been recently merged into the Bharmouria faction of the federation. Besides the pro-Congress and pro-BJP factions, a number of left front trade unions are also active in the state.

Their influence is , however, restricted to among workers in industrial areas and hydroelectric projects. They mostly support the Congress, except a few seats where their own party puts up candidates. The government has been dealing only with the officially recognised faction which is invited to the joint consultative committee meetings to settle issues. The confederation has been demanding that all the major employees’ bodies should be given representation in the committee as there was no single representative union.

The fragmentation of federation apart, a number of dominant categories of employees like teachers are not represented in the committee. There are over 65,000 teachers, whereas the total membership of non-gazetted services federation is also about 70,000. The political masters have successfully divided the employees and they have ceased to be a “collective force” to make or mar the electoral fortunes of political parties. The reasons for the declining influence of employees leaders are not far to seek. Unlike the leaders of yesteryears like Madhukar, Narain Singh Swami, Ram Kumar, RS Verma and Daulat Ram Chauhan, who fought for the rights of employees, the present day leaders have been behaving more like political workers than trade unionists, seeking petty favours and interfering in transfers and other administrative matters. Their open indulgence in politics has done no good to their credibility.

The political parties have realised that they were no more in position to influence employees and they use them as pawns to serve their political interests. Over the past few elections the highly politicised employees have not been voting en bloc for or against any party and rather exercising their franchise as per their individual leanings.

Jammu, April 5
It’s a reformist movement of a different kind. To educate voters about their political rights, especially in wake of ensuing Lok Sabha poll, a students’ body has started a massive campaign here.

The activists of the Progressive Students’ Association (PSA) has been disseminating its message though creative ideas like sticking posters, staging street-plays, distributing informative pamphlets, holding door-to-door meetings, discussions and debates, that strike a cord with the commoners. Remarkably, the body has no political affiliations and has generated funds at its own to sustain the campaign.

“After the annual exams are over, we go to villages and work with farmers and labourers. We toil hard in fields, do harvesting and other such jobs. In return, we get rich experience of rural life and make many new friends,” says Rahul president of the association. He believes that elite class usually does not exercise its right to franchise so PSA prefers to propagate its ideas in working middle and lower class segments.

“Our artistes write, direct and enact plays which highlight the problems of common masses against the backdrop of social, political and economic scenario,” he says, adding that students are the only medium, which can spruce up the system. “In colleges and varsities they come from different backgrounds with different experiences. If these varied experiences are synchronised and their energy is directed in right perspective, destiny of the country can be changed,” says the young leader emphatically.

“Our main thrust is to encourage people to ask questions from their representatives, take decisions rationally and not get swayed by factors like caste, community, religion and region,” says Rahul, who feels that parties are not much bothered about issues like unemployment, price rise, and corruption. The body is an ardent supporter of “right to recall” option for the electorate. It has also framed a panel, which has been assigned to make a comparative analysis of elections manifestos to prepare campaign literature accordingly.

According to Rahul, PSA will keep a close watch on entire electioneering process so that no party or candidate distributes money, liquor or resorts to other unholy practices to woo the voters.