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Punjab or UP, Maya sticks to game plan
Fear Factor
Uttarakhand |
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It’s fitness fight in Fatehgarh Sahib
In Raiganj, ailing Dasmunshi’s wife banks on sympathy votes
Spl Powers Act major issue in Manipur
Split jitters for Meira Kumar in Sasaram
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Punjab or UP, Maya sticks to game plan
Chandigarh, April 10 The party is starting on a clean slate. It has made it clear that it will not have any pre-poll alliance. This assumes significance because in the past the BSP has been accused of having sold itself out to the
highest bidder. Though the party is far from its 1996 Lok Sabha high, when it aligned with the SAD and party supremo Kanshi Ram tasted victory from Hoshiarpur, it is confident that it has a future in the state which has a Dalit population of nearly 30 per cent. Besides, there is a feeling amongst the party cadre that party president Mayawati could emerge as the Prime Minister in case of a fractured mandate. The party is also gung ho with its state President Avtar Singh Karimpuri being nominated to the Rajya Sabha. However, the voting pattern has been going against the BSP. The party’s best performance has been in the 1992 Assembly polls when it won nine seats and stood second. But Akalis had boycotted that election. In parliamentary polls, the party has been able to achieve a voting percentage of 12.65 per cent in 1998, but failed to win any seat. In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, it got a vote share of only 7.7 per cent. Earlier, in the 2002 Assembly elections, it got a vote share of 5.7 per cent. But this time, there is new buoyancy in the party with more funds at its disposal. Karimpuri says funds are collected on coupons of Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, which carry Mayawati’s signatures. Though he claims only Rs 50 to 60 lakh is collected annually on the occasion of Mayawati’s birthday, the party seems flush with funds. For instance, Karimpuri prefers only four or five star hotels to hold his press conferences. The party has also been careful in giving the ticket to those who can carry out an election campaign on their own besides adjusting all castes --- two brahmans and two rajputs --- among the candidates.. Those who have been given the ticket in Punjab include landlord G S Mansaiya from Ferozepur, former Pathankot bar body chief Thakur Sohan Singh from Gurdaspur, a former DFO, a doctor, businessmen, former Governor Lt Gen BKN Chhibber and former UP bureaucrat Rai Singh.
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Voting too big a risk for Kandhamal Christians
Phulbani (Orissa), April 10 This also set off political turbulence in the state with the ruling BJD snapping its electoral alliance with the BJP dubbing it communal. With Kandhamal virtually divided on religious lines, Christian leaders are apprehensive that elections can trigger fresh violence in the area. "I do not think the election will have any meaning when thousands of people are still in relief camps and many are migrating to other places," Archbishop of the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar diocese Raphael Cheenath said.Cheenath has already urged the Election Commission and the authorities not to hold the poll in the district at present. Krishna Kumar, Kandhamal District Magistrate, who is also the Returning Officer, however, claimed that all arrangements had been made for holding a free and fair election in the district. Though seven months have passed since violence erupted in this heavily forested district, the scars of the carnage are still evident. There are nearly 3,000 persons, belonging to the minority community, still living in seven relief camps and an equal number migrating to other places. "I have voted in all elections over the past 40 years. But this time round, things are completely different as parties have put peace in their marketing basket instead of promising cheap rice or job cards," Prahallad Kanhar, a primary school teacher in Phulbani town, said. While the administration is confident of holding free and fair elections, fear looms large in several relief camps.People panic at the suggestion of going out to vote. "We are unable to return to our village because of the fear of attack from the rival community," a woman living at a relief camp at K Nuagaon, said. "The officers have assured us full police protection while going to the polling booths. But, we fear escalation of tension if a candidate having Sangh Parivar links is defeated," said Malasini Nayak living in the Mandakia relief camp in the Raikia block. Similar feelings were echoed by Mohini Nayak, who returned home a fortnight ago after five months. "I took shelter at the Vijay High School relief camp with my sons, daughter and husband. Later, I left for Raipur after the the camp was closed down. They have already destroyed my house. I feel they can again create trouble if I vote," Mohini said, confiding that many Christians would not vote. The BJP has fielded its Hindu mascot, Ashok Sahu, a former IPS officer who heads the Hindu Jagaran Sammukhya. He openly say that conversion, obviously targeting the church, was one of the main issues. "You may or may not admit it, but religion is certainly an issue this time. I have been telling people to guard against conversions and vote for me. We want the arrest of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati's killer," Sahu told PTI. Congress candidate Sujit Padhi, a former MLA, has been seeking votes so that peace could return to the hills. BJD candidate Rudramadhab Ray goes around saying that everyone knows who were responsible for the riots."That's why the BJD broke with the BJP. — PTI
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Uttarakhand
Dehradun, April 10 The importance of votes of servicemen and ex-servicemen in Uttarakhand, a state that sends most of its youth to the armed forces, could be gauged from the fact that in the byelections held for the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat in February 2008 following the election of Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) as the Chief Minister of the state and his subsequent resignation from the Lok Sabha, it was the postal ballots of the serving army men that tilted the balance in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Lt Gen TPS Rawat (retd). During the elections, Congress candidate Satpal Maharaj scored slightly more votes than Rawat in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) but being an ex-servicemen and a retired army General, Rawat finally won by getting a majority of the postal ballots from serving soldiers. Uttarakhand elections whether for the Assembly or the Lok Sabha has remained a battleground for ex-servicemen votes. A tug of war has been going on between the ex-servicemen belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress. Ex-servicemen and service personnel are the single largest community in the state. Both the BJP as well as the Congress have been exploiting this community since the Kargil war. The BJP reaped political benefit and won three out four seats in the region prior to the formation of Uttarakhand state in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress also decided to exploit the “Coffic scandal” of the Kargil martyrs in the elections to nail the BJP. While the BJP has benefited by roping in Khanduri, who has been winning the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat since 1991 except 1996, the Congress has also been trying hard to influence the ex-servicemen community. During the 2004 elections, the Congress brought in Lt Gen TPS Rawat (retd), a native of Garhwal, in the first Assembly elections in February 2002 to counter him. Later, Lt Gen MM Lakehra (retd) was brought in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Another segment of ex-servicemen belonging to paramilitary forces is also divided. While the All-India Ex-Paramilitary Personnel Association of the state headed by SS Kothiyal, former IG (retd), gave support to Khanduri for espousing the cause of the ex-servicemen, the Uttarakhand Purv Sainik Evam Ardh Sainik Sangathan headed by Lt Col Ganga Singh Rawat (retd) have sided with the Congress. Convener of the state unit of the BJP Ex-Servicemen Cell Col CM Nautiyal (retd) said: “The BJP has the support of around 55 per cent of ex-servicemen in Uttarakhand.” Notably, the ex-servicemen section of the population constitutes a major part of the electorate in the state. According to a rough estimate, there are more than 2 lakh ex-servicemen voters in the state, a majority of them in Pauri Garhwal, Chamoli in Garhwal and Almora and Pithoragarh in Kumoan region. There are about 50,000 in Tehri constituency and another 50,000 in Udham Singh Nagar and adjoining areas. As many as 1,61,898 out of more than 12 lakh voters in Pauri Garhwal constituency are either ex-servicemen, serving army personnel or widows of ex-servicemen. The constituency has 27,000 servicemen, 54,065 ex-servicemen and 80,833 widows of ex-servicemen.
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It’s fitness fight in Fatehgarh Sahib
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 10 “Yoga and exercise,” echo Congress’ Sukhdev Singh Libra and SAD’s Charanjit Singh Atwal, who are otherwise political opponents eyeing the Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha seat. Says 77-year-old Libra, who never skips his daily walk: “Walk is like magic potion for me. Apart from recharging me, it also gives me time to ponder over tasks scheduled for the day,”
he quips. His political rival Atwal, though, swears by yoga. “An hour of yoga every morning works wonders on the body and soul. It refreshes me,” he says. “The age would have taken its toll on me had I not been punctual with yoga,” says Atwal, who is around seven years younger to his
opponent. Libra’s typical day starts at 5 am. “After the walk, I take shower and breakfast before hiting the campaign trail. I am trying to cover 15 to 20 villages daily,” says the man who has earlier been SAD’s MP from Ropar. Atwal, however, skips his meals and prefers to eat while traveling. “I have no time to sleep at home now, so I prefer to take naps while travelling,” says Atwal, who has contested eight elections and won six of them. Interestingly, Libra got his complete medical check up done before going ahead with the campaign. “I wanted to ensure if I needed any kind of medication or precaution,” he says, adding that the next visit to doctor would be only possible after the elections. Unlike Libra, Atwal is a diabetic and has to closely monitor his sugar level. “I have to watch the food I eat and ensure that my sugar does not fluctuate. Thankfully, here too yoga comes to my rescue,” he says.
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In Raiganj, ailing Dasmunshi’s wife banks on sympathy votes
Kolkata, April 10 Though the district unit of the Congress is divided over Deepa’s nomination, the latter is confident of retaining her husband’s seat, which Dasmunshi has won twice since 1999. Deepa has already started door-to-door campaigning and is heavily banking on sympathy votes, as the former union minister and WBPCC chief Dasmunshi has been lying critically ill in a private nursing home in New Delhi for the past five months. But the going would not be that easy for her, as she is facing resistance from within the party. Also, Deepa has unnecessarily antagonised Trinamool Congress by publicly criticising Mamata Banerjee. She was against the Congress-Trinamool alliance and opposed the seat-sharing arrangement, which, she alleged was dictated by the Trinamool Congress chief. Deepa’s followers are alleging that Karim Chowdhury was fighting the election on Mamata’s instructions for defeating her and after the poll he would be taken back into the party fold. The elections in Raiganj will take place on April 30 along with five other districts in north Bengal and Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore in south Bengal. In 2004 poll, Dasmunshi won the Raiganj seat by a margin of 39,147 votes after defeating his CPM rival Minati Ghosh. In 1999 too, he had defeated the CPM contestant. Records reveal that in the past ten Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has won the seat five times at Raiganj, while in the remaining five terms, the seat went to the CPM, Forward Bloc and Janata Dal. During the 2004 poll, Deepa had accompanied her husband and took an active part in the electioneering. In the last Assembly election, she was a candidate at the Goalpukur constituency, which she won by defeating the CPM candidate.
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Spl Powers Act major issue in Manipur
Imphal, April 10 Manipur People's Party (MPP) candidate Th Chaoba, a former Union Minister of State for Sports, said it was time to discuss who had brought the AFSPA to the state. He said frequent encounters were posing a threat to the common people's security. If elected, he said, he would draw the attention of Parliament to protection of the state's territorial integrity. PCC president Gaikhangam said the Congress-led Secular Progressive Front ministry had already removed the AFSPA from eight assembly constituencies. There was no threat to the territorial integrity of Manipur, he said. CPI candidate M Nara said if elected he would also raise the issue of territorial integrity and the removal of the AFSPA in Parliament besides the lack of development in the region. The Congress and the CPI are partners of the ruling SPF ministry in Manipur. People's Democratic Alliance candidate Mani Cheranamei, who is contesting from the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency, however, said he would work for the unification of Naga-settled areas with neighbouring Nagaland.
— PTI
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Split jitters for Meira Kumar in Sasaram
Sasaram (Bihar), April 10 Lalan Paswan, JD(U) MLA from Chenari in the Sasaram parliamentary seat, became a turncoat just before the poll and joined Lalu Prasad's RJD to throw his hat in the ring. Trying to queer the pitch is also Gandhi Azad, a BSP Rajya Sabha member and Bihar in charge, who is making his maiden bid to enter the Lok Sabha from Sasaram, a constituency adjoining Uttar Pradesh where Mayawati holds sway. Meira, a former diplomat, is the daughter of Babu Jagjivan Ram. A law graduate, who also has a Masters in English, Meira is seen as a pro-active Social Justice Minister, who crusaded for legal rights for aged parents to seek maintenance from their adult offspring. But allegations of neglecting her constituency have been flying thick and fast. “She is a hard-working minister and her preoccupation with her job may have led some to draw the conclusion that she has neglected her constituency,” feels a confidant wishing not to be named. “Meiraji had won the seat in 2004 as the people were fed up with Muni Lal, who got elected on the BJP ticket in 1996, 1998 and 1991 and then never paid any attention to the constituency. “Now she too has done the same. There is the anti-incumbency factor against her,” says Avinash Chandra, a resident of Okhra. — PTI
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Jaya’s lucky number
AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, a firm believer in numerology and astrology, has stuck to her lucky number 5 and 9, even at the risk of breaking ties with alliance parties. As she was firm in contesting 23 seats, (two+three is five), she denied an extra seat to the MDMK and the negotiations dragged on for more than 10 days. Finally, the seat-sharing pact was signed on a lucky day (April 9). On the same day, she released the list of candidates and her election campaign programme. Although, a public meeting on April 16, will start her election campaign, Jayalalithaa's tour will begin on April 18 (one+eight is nine).
— TNS Voting marks
Word whip
Politicians of rival parties usually took pot shots at each other during election time and the people (electorate) also enjoy them because of their wit and humour. But the 2009 Lok Sabha polls would be remembered for the slanderous remarks, provocative speech and abusive language being used by senior politicians against their opponents. The Election Commission also seems to be baffled at this situation where one politician after another is being booked almost everyday for either giving a hate speech or calling names. The latest to join the team of “offenders” is JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav. Addressing an election meeting at Sheikhpura (Munger Lok Sabha constituency) on Thursday, Yadav called LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan “Behudaa.” Although Paswan is yet to react to it, his party workers have threatened to sue Yadav and lodgd a complaint with the EC. Already, EC has initiated action against Union Minister Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi for making ‘outrageous’ remarks against their opponents.
— TNS
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Jail birds
KANPUR: SP nominee from Akbarpur Kamlesh Pathak will be the fourth candidate from Uttar Pradesh besides BJP leader Varun Gandhi and mafia dons Atik Ahmad and Mukhtar Ansari to try his luck in the elections staying behind bars. Pathak, who is currently lodged in Pilibhit jail, is booked under the National Security Act as well as the Gangster Act and has a notorious record in several nearby police stations for alleged attempt to murders and booth capturing. In his absence, his son Ratnesh Pathak is campaigning for him.
— PTI 558 for 26 seats
GANDHINAGAR: As many as 558 persons have filed nominations for the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. The nomination papers were filed on April 8 and 9, a senior poll official at the state election office said on Friday. The nominations will be scrutinised on Saturday. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 13. The number of contestants in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls was 162.
— IANS In low spirits
PANAJI: Wholesale and retail liquor outlets in Goa have downed their shutters in an indefinite strike to protest what they claim are “harassing diktats” of the Election Commission. The liquor traders are protesting the increased vigil enforced on them by the State Excise Department, which is keen on clamping down on misuse of liquor to influence voters during the Lok Sabha elections.“
— IANS
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Voter’s guide
Is there any concession in the security deposit for a candidate belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in the LS poll ?
Yes. It is Rs 5,000 Is it necessary for a candidate to make and subscribe an oath or affirmation before an officer authorised by the Election Commission? Yes
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Pollspeak
The country is alert to parties based on communalism, casteism and regionalism. People do not want such parties which create riots, whose leaders make speeches that lead to hatred and which send terrorists to Afghanistan like guests
— Congress president Sonia Gandhi NCP chief Sharad Pawar would have the option to join the Third Front after the elections as the "logic of the situation" would force him to do this — CPM leader Prakash Karat
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Authorities of a school in Pune have promised the students that two grace marks will be awarded to them if they ensured that their parents voted in the ensuing elections. “The grace marks will be added to the final score in the internal exam of the students in Civics subject who should submit a written note from their parents affirming that they had excercised their franchise,” Shivraj Pimpurde, principal of ‘Gurukul’ day school run by the reputed ‘Dnyanprabodhini’ educational trust said on Friday.
— PTI