Jaipur, April 6
Even as UP Chief Minister and BSP supremo Mayawati is nursing the dream of becoming the Prime Minister, her party’s legislators have dealt a severe blow to her prime ministerial ambitions by switching sides en masse and joining the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The BSP had captured an all time high of six seats during the Assembly elections last year and was confident of opening an account in the parliamentary polls this time. The party had made inroads into various Congress bastions, securing 8 per cent votes and emerging as a major factor in Dalit-dominated constituencies, particularly in areas bordering Uttar Pradesh in eastern Rajasthan.

Buoyed over its success in the Assembly polls, the BSP had decided to contest all 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, expecting to expand its base by making a dent in the Congress vote bank in different pockets of the state. However, with all six BSP MLAs switching their loyalties, the party's poll prospects have suffered a massive jolt.

The BSP MLAs’ move also proved that the party leadership had failed to keep its flock together outside the Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh.

Sources said the BSP legislators were eager to join the Congress soon after the latter came to power in the state, but Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot persuaded them to wait a little as he didn't want to irk the mercurial tribal leader Kirori Lal Meena who too had extended support to the Congress government. Interestingly, delaying the move turned out to be beneficial for Gehlot as he took the sting out of Kirori Lal, who was resorting to pressure tactics to extract his pound of flesh ahead of Lok Sabha polls, by roping in the BSP MLAs. For the Congress, the icing on the cake is the fact that four of the six BSP MLAs come from the strongholds of Kirori Lal.

While it will require a huge effort from the BSP to recover from the jolt, the Congress may make gains in areas along UP border like Dhaulpur, Churu, Bharatpur, Kota and Dausa.

However, putting up a brave front, state BSP president Dungar Ram Getar said that the move will not have any impact on the party’s electoral prospects in Rajasthan where it emerged as the “third force” in the recent Assembly elections.

“We will give a tough fight to the Congress and contribute our bit in making Behenji the Prime Minister,” he added. 

Chennai, April 6
As expected, the CPM clinched a deal with the AIADMK, settling for three seats, including Madurai, where the ruling DMK has fielded Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's son Azhagiri.

AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa and CPM state general secretary N Varadarajan signed the electoral pact between the two parties. The other two seats, where the CPM will field candidates, are Kanyakumari and Coimbatore.

The party, which was adamant on the industrial belt of Tiruppur or Dindigul, finally agreed to settle for Coimbatore.

The party's State Committee, which met in Madurai recently, had adopted a resolution empowering the committee to take an alternative decision if the seat-sharing talks with the AIADMK failed, in an apparent warning to the AIADMK leadership. But the party finally settled for the three seats, in which Coimbatore alone can be considered a winnable seat. Winning from Kanyakumari may be tough, following the good support received by DMDK candidate J Austin and a possible consolidation of Hindu votes in favour of the BJP.

The party has an uphill task in Madurai, where Azhagiri is contesting. Only in the recent assembly byelections in Thirumangalam, near Madurai, the DMK won by a huge margin of 40,000 votes.

Among the three seats, the party won in Madurai and Kanyakumari in the 2004 elections. Last time, winning in Kanyakumari was easy due to the support of the Congress and the DMK. The CPM can hope to win Coimbatore since the AIADMK, the CPI and Vaiko's MDMK have a strong presence in the constituency.

The Left parties wanted to increase their tally in Tamil Nadu, since the party is expected to lose a few seats in West Bengal and Kerala. The CPI, a member of the Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement, which held several protests against the Centre's Sri Lankan policy, is expected to win in all three seats it is contesting. 

Hyderabad, April 6
Unveiling a wide range of sops, actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party has promised a free LPG connection and a cylinder at Rs 100 for the poor, free power for poor members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes families and the supply of essential monthly provisions for just Rs 100.

Releasing his party’s manifesto here today, Chiranjeevi said the PRP, if voted to power in the coming elections, would offer 50 per cent reduction on power tariff for rural consumers while rural artisans would be supplied power free of cost.

He also promised the distribution of land to the poor to the extent of 2.50 acres of wet land or 5 acres of dry land, free power to farmers for 10 hours a day, pension and insurance for farmers and physically challenged persons and a monthly old age pension of Rs 500.

“Our main focus is social justice and welfare of the poor,” the popular hero, who took the political plunge in August last year, said.

He said his party, if given the mandate, would cancel land “unjustly allotted” to Special Economic Zones.

On the raging demand for a separate Telangana state, Chiranjeevi said his party was committed to “honouring” the people’s wish.

New Delhi, April 6
The firebrand danseuse has been hotfooting it around her Gandhinagar constituency in Gujarat, meeting thousands of voters in slums, condominiums and in villages to understand their issues, find solutions in partnership and even involve them in her campaign.

“If Barack Obama believed in yes we can, I say, now we must,” exclaims Mallika Sarabhai (55), who has embarked on an enormous challenge taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate LK Advani in Gandhinagar as an independent candidate in the Lok Sabha elections.

“I never knew whether I had it in me to jump into the electoral fray some months ago. However, after meeting close to 70,000 persons in the past nine days, I am more than convinced that I am grounded. This is my karmabhoomi (workplace),” Mallika said.

Belonging to one of Ahmedabad’s leading families, Mallika has an excellent pedigree. Her father Vikram Sarabhai is considered the father of India’s space programme and mother Mrinalini was a renowned danseuse herself.

“There are real issues which have been ignored in so-called vibrant Gujarat. Questions relating to livelihood, sanitation and safety of ordinary people to which mainstream politicians pay little heed. Politics is going from bad to worse and it needs to be reclaimed from their hands.” Mallika has taken on the political establishment in Gujarat on several occasions.

She incurred the wrath of Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his supporters for her open criticism of the 2002 communal riots in the state, describing it as genocide. Apart from criminal cases including that of human trafficking that were booked against her, BJP workers allegedly beat her up, along with activist Medha Patkar and others. She was subsequently acquitted and declared innocent by the Gujarat high court.

“Advani may have been representing this constituency since 1991 but I want to know how many times he has raised Gandhinagar’s problems in Parliament. Not once. Isn’t that a shame?” she queries.

“He (Advani) wants to challenge Manmohan Singh to a debate but I dare him to debate with me. He will be exposed.” — IANS

Srinagar, April 6
With the issuance of notification for Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency of south Kashmir going to the polls in the third phase on April 30, the electoral process for the Kashmir valley has been set into motion.

The main political parties - the National Conference and the PDP, are yet to announce their candidates for the south Kashmir constituency, which has been represented by both the National Conference and the Congress in the past, while the PDP represented it in the last Lok Sabha for the first time.

The constituency spread over four districts of south Kashmir - Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam - has a total electorate of 11,65,951, which is the highest among the four parliamentary constituencies of the Kashmir division. The total number of electorate also included 377 service electors, an official spokesman said. Out of the total registered voters, 6,11,958 are male and 5,53,993 are female. In comparison, 9,98,647 voters were registered in the 2004 parliamentary elections.

Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP won the parliamentary seat in the 2004 elections defeating her nearest rival Mehboob Beg by a margin of 38,938 votes. While Mehbooba polled 74,436 votes, Beg received 35,498 votes. The total poll percentage was recorded at 15.04.

The Assembly segments going to the polls in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency are Tral, Pampore, Pulwama and Rajpora in Pulwama district, Wachi and Shopian in Shopian district, Noorabad, Kulgam, Homeshalibug and Devsar in Kulgam district and Anantnag, Dooru, Kokernag, Shangas, Bijbehara and Pahalgam in Anantnag district.

Anantnag district leads with 4,37,708 voters while Pulwama district follows with 3,00,705 electors. Kulgam district has 2,83,814 registered voters while Shopian district has the lowest number of electorate in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency with 1,43,724 voters.

As many as 1,485 polling stations, spread across 16 segments of the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, are being set up to facilitate voters. These include 1,257 main and 228 auxiliary polling stations. Anantnag district again leads with 556 polling stations.

In the 1967 elections, Anantnag parliamentary constituency was represented by Congress candidate Mohammad Shafi Qureshi and in 1971 midterm elections, Qureshi again represented the constituency, this time, however, on the NC ticket. In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, the seat was yet again won by Qureshi on the INC ticket. In the midterm 1980 parliamentary elections, the seat was won by Ghulam Rasool Kochak of the NC, while in 1984 the seat was won by Begum Akbar Jahan of the NC.

In the 1989 general election, it was won by PL Handoo of the NC, while in 1996 the seat went to MM Dar on the JD ticket. In 1998, the seat was won by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on the INC ticket while in 1999, the constituency was represented by Ali Mohammad Naik of the NC.

Thiruvananthapuram, April 6
A gentle touch on the cheek of a little boy, shaking hands with an octogenarian, flashing smile at the crowd and dishing out promises, Shashi Tharoor, in his new avatar as a politician, is trying to make an impression.

The Congress candidate for the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, was on Sunday seen seeking votes at Puthen Kada here. Accompanying his chariot --- a large jeep with a fabric-covered wooden frames --- was a big cavalcade of motorcycles and cars.

The motorcade made repeated halts, as the Congress supporters were eager to greet and meet their high-profile candidate, who gave brief speeches. “I have been closely associated with the problems of refugees when I was in the United Nations. I know the problems of the downtrodden people. If you elect me I will make sure that difficulties faced by you people figure in the Parliament,” he said.

A gratifying smile became a feature of the faces of those with whom Tharoor shook hands from atop his chariot. Tharoor, who has spent a vast part of his life abroad, had a flourishing career in the United Nations and is an accomplished writer, is certainly the glamour boy of Congress in Kerala.

Talking to the Tribune, Tharoor said he has been gaining the first-hand experience of the lives of the common people in the course of campaigning and it was giving him a lot of energy. So would he later write a novel inspired by the rich experiences? Tharoor was all smiles but answered in the negative. “I am going to be in politics for a long time and by the time I retire from politics I will be too old to write a novel,” he quipped.

Tharoor, who had also contested for the UN Secretary General’s post, said the UN experience is of absolutely no use when it comes to seeking votes here. “There I went to the external affairs ministers of various countries and sought their support. But now I am going to the masses,” he said, adding that he has decided to jump into the fray “to make a difference in the lives of people”.

haroor’s campaign managers are trying to highlight his stunning career, his education and his intellectual prowess. “The upper strata know all about Tharoor. But the common folks do not know much about him. We are trying to tell the ordinary people about his credentials,” KA Kuriyachan, a member of the Rotary International, who is campaigning for the leader, said.

Having spent virtually all his life outside Kerala, Tharoor also has to work hard to convince people that he was not an outsider planted on them by the Congress high command. “I have a ration card of Thiruvananthapuram,” the charismatic candidate mentioned in all his speeches.

Tharoor’s main challenger is the CPI candidate Ramachandran Nair. CPI had won the seat in 2004 and then retained the seat in the bypoll that was held after the elected MP PK Vasudevan Nair died. Pannyan Ravindran, who won in the byelection, has not been given the ticket by the CPI to ward off any possible anti-incumbency factor against him. The party chose Ramachandran Nair, who is an advocate by profession.

K Krishnadas (BJP) and Neelalohitadasan Nadar (BSP) are the other important candidates. Nadar is a former MP and a former state minister. If the members of the Nadar community, who have a strong presence in the constituency, decide to back the BSP candidate, it can hurt the Congress. 

New Delhi, April 6
Bhutan got them for its elections last year and Nepal has acquired them too. Indian-made Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are making waves abroad, not just in our neighbourhood but right up to the African continent. The Namibian government has placed orders for the voting machines, while Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria have evinced interest as have neighbours Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Amol Newaskar, general manager of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bangalore, which is one of the two public sector companies manufacturing EVMs for the Election Commission, said they had supplied 470 EVMs to Nepal about a month back.

"Only recently we supplied EVMs to Nepal through the ministry of external affairs. As of now, talks are on with Namibia and a contract has been signed. They want 2,000 EVMs, but the production has not yet begun," Newaskar said. Malaysia, he added, has also shown interest in acquiring the machine. — IANS