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Friday,
December 13, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Three hurt in Vadodara poll violence Vadodara, December 12 At least three persons were injured after members of the two communities hurled bricks and bottles, damaging two autorickshaws at the Ladharam School polling centre under the Vadodara city Assembly constituency. The armed police deployed in the area brought the situation under control. District Collector Bhagyesh Jha said the incident did not affect the polling process and the reason for the violence was not known immediately.
UNI GUJARAT
DIARY Vadodara, December 12 The city, famous for its chemical business and as a cultural centre, has many other things to take stock of. The voters are mulling over how much business they have lost as a result of the communal tension and the riots. The business community here is very clear that it wants only that government which can prevent riots rather than be a part of these. For them one day of rioting means losing 15 days of business. For most here loss of business is precisely the reason why most have an anti-BJP feeling. They feel rioting is bad for everyone — whether it is the majority or the minority community. Rioting had hit the city, which is just about two hours away from Godhra, immediately after the burning of a bogey of the Sabarmati Express. The worst incident took place on March 1 when 14 persons were burnt alive at a bakery at Hanuman Tekri. |
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Of the 1.5 million population of the city, around 1.35 lakh are from the minority community. But this is not the only reason why there is an anti-BJP feeling here. An average Gujarati has been hurt the most by loss in business. * * * Both the BJP and the Congress have been flying high with innumerable aircraft being put to use. But the big question on everybody’s mind here is which of the two will make a safe landing. According to reports, about 15 helicopters and small aircraft have been put to use on a daily basis in Gujarat with some coming from as far as Delhi. Some of the Congress chief ministers campaigning here have also brought along their helicopters and small aircraft which have further bolstered the number of aircraft here. As per information, the aircraft deployed in Gujarat have made close to a thousand landings over the past two weeks when the campaigning picked up. It is the first time that the state’s air space has been used so extensively during the elections. As usual the BJP’s planning in this regard was better than that of the Congress and it had booked all aircraft in the state well in advance. That is the reason why the Congress brought in aircraft from the neighbouring states. Every day there were five to 10 VVIP flights taking off and landing at various helipads and airports around Gujarat. Along with the aircraft, the BJP also hired a team of pilots, technicians and engineers. The cost of daily operation has been a staggering Rs 30 lakh — a drain on the country’s economy? * * * Technology has definitely changed the way the traditional campaigning was carried out in the past. Short Message Service (SMS) and tele-campaigning etc were still under way long after the official time for campaigning ended. Candidates from both the BJP and the Congress used innovative slogans and pictures to send the SMS to voters by picking on mobile telephone numbers randomly urging them to vote and bring their party to power. Some of the messages from the BJP very clearly put options of facing Islamic terrorism or seeking security. Some other candidates used tele-campaigning for the purpose. From call centres, the candidates again chose random numbers and just played their appeal on the phones as the people answered the calls. Door to door campaigning continued without much protest from any of the political parties.  |
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Togadia charges CEC with plot against Hindus Ahmedabad, December 12 Mr Togadia, who launched an acrimonious Hindutva campaign before the poll, sought an “explanation” from Mr Lyngdoh for the “deliberate discrepancy.” “He will have to give an explanation to the people of India,” the firebrand VHP leader told.
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