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Friday,
January 31, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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HVC to contest poll
on its own Shimla reflects voting trend ? Decision on snapping ties with NDA deferred HAMIRPUR Shyama quits over denial of ticket |
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BACKGROUNDER Amarinder has ‘encroached’ upon land in HP HVC plea to EC on tribal seats Mahasabha to contest
20 seats
Nurses hold demonstration Teacher dies in road mishap
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HVC to contest poll
on its own Mandi, January 30 CLP leader Virbhadra Singh was the main stumbling block in the way of an alliance with the Congress even though many party leaders at the Centre and in the state were in favour of a pact with the HVC. Mr Sukh Ram said he could enter into an understanding with the like-minded parties. Later talking to newspersons at the Circuit House, Mr Anil Sharma, HVC chief and Rajya Sabha member, said the main issue of the HVC in the forthcoming elections would be to make Himachal economically viable by harnessing its vast power and tourism potential. He expressed concern over the debt of Rs 15,000 crore of the state government. Asked if the HVC was not equally accountable for the omissions and commissions of the BJP-HVC government, he denied it, adding that the HVC agenda had not been implemented. Asked why the HVC did not withdraw support from the BJP, he said, “We never wanted to be blamed for not allowing the government to complete its full term”. |
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BJP
list of HP candidates New Delhi, January 30 No. CONSTITUENCY CANDIDATE 1.
Kinnaur (ST) Tejvant Singh Negi 2. Rampur (SC) Brij Lal 3.
Rohru Khushiram Balnahata 4. Jubbal-Kotkhai Narendra Bragta 5.
Chopal Sanjay Shastri 6. Kumarsain Sandeepni Bhardwaj 7.
Shimla Ganesh Dutt 8. Kasumpti (SC) Roop Das Kashyap 9.
Arki Govind Sharma 10. Doon Dhyan Singh 11.
Kasauli (SC) Virendra Kashyap 12. Solan Rajiv Bindal 13.
Pachhad (SC) Ram Prakash 14. Renuka (SC) Balbir Singh 15.
Shillai Dileep Singh Tomar 16. Paonta Sahib Sukhram Chaudhury 17.
Nahan Chandra Mohan 18. Kotkehloor Randhir Sharma 19.
Bilaspur Jagat Prakash Nadda 20. Ghumarwin Karmdev Dharmani 21.
Geharwin (SC) Rikhiram Kondal 22. Nadaun Baburam Mandyal 23.
Hamirpur Mrs Urmil Thakur 24. Bamsan Prem Kumar Dhumal 25.
Mewa Ishwardas Dhiman 26. Nadaunta Baldev Sharma 27.
Gagret (SC) Balbir Singh Chaudhary 28. Chintpurni Praveen Sharma 29.
Santokhgarh Jaikrishan Sharma 30. Una Satpal Satti 31.
Kutehar Virendra Kanwar 32. Nurpur Rakesh Pathania 33.
Gangath (SC) Desraj 34. Jawali Rajan Sushant 35.
Guler Harbans Rana 36. Jaswan Vikram Thakur 37.
Pragpur Ms Anita Sandal 38. Jwalamukhi Ramesh Dhawala 39.
Thural Ravindra Singh Ravi 40. Rajgir (SC) Capt Atmaram 41.
Baijnath Dulo Ram 42. Palampur Praveen Sharma 43.
Sulah Vipin Parmar 44. Nagrota Ram Chand Bhatia 45.
Shahpur Mrs Sarveen Chaudhary 46. Dharamsala Kishan Kapoor 47.
Kangra Ratan Jagdamba 48. Bhatiat Kishori Lal 49. Banikhet Mrs Renu Chaddha 50.
Raj Nagar Mohan Lal 51. Chamba B K Chauhan 52.
Bharmaur Tulsi Ram 53. Lahaul-Spiti Yuvraj Baudh 54.
Kulu Karan Singh 55. Banjar Khimi Ram 56. Aani Tej Ram 57.
Karsog (SC) Jogendra Pal 58. Chachyot Jairam Thakur 59.
Nachan Dile Ram 60. Sundernagar Thakur Roop Singh 61.
Balh (SC) Damodar Das 62. Gopalpur Col Inder Singh 63.
Dharampur Karmvir Verma 64. Joginder Nagar Thakur Gulab Singh 65.
Darang Ramesh Chandra 66. Mandi Rani Kiran Kumari |
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Shimla reflects voting trend ? Shimla, January 30 However, old-timers are engaged in serious discussions about the infighting in the Congress and the BJP. Prospects of projecting Prem Kumar Dhumal as the Chief Minister and the Shanta Kumar factor in Kangra district. Also, they can be seen discussing the chief ministerial candidate in the Congress—Mr Virbhadra Singh or Ms Vidya Stokes. Shimla houses residents of all 68 Assembly constituencies and thus reflects the trend of the state. The Mall road is thus the pulse of the state. some self-styled pollsters claim. Even the traditional Himachali caps have not been spared by factional fighting. While the green caps depict the supporters and strength of Mr Virbhadra Singh, red caps are a symbol of HVC supremo Sukh Ram. And the
Kulu caps depict the strength of Mr Dhumal and Mr Shanta Kumar. Interestingly, the Gandhi caps, the legacy of the Congress have been given a cold-shoulder by Congressmen. |
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Decision on snapping ties with NDA deferred Mandi, January 30 An HVC spokesman said here this evening that the state executive committee today decided to withdraw support from the BJP Government. When a reporter questioned what was the big fun of withdrawing support after the dissolution of the assembly last evening, he said “our minister and chairpersons in the caretaker government have resigned” The executive committee also decided to admit two former ministers — Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary — into the HVC. These ministers had, on the direction of Mr Sukh Ram, joined the BJP in 1998 at the time of the formation of the alliance government for strategic reasons to avoid their defection into the Congress. A BJP activist from Kinnaur Ratna Manjri was also admitted into the BJP. |
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HAMIRPUR Hamirpur, January 30 Ms Anuradha Thakur, District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, said here today that Mewa (Reserved) had 11 sensitive and eight hyper-sensitive polling booths. There were seven sensitive and eight hyper-sensitive booths in Bamsan and eight sensitive and four hyper-sensitive booths in Hamirpur. She said 3, 10, 110 voters would exercise their franchise in the five assembly constituencies in the district. Hamirpur tops the list with 65,412 voters, followed by Nadaunta with 65,344. There are 62,393 voters in Mewa (Reserved), 58,960 in Bamsan and 58,001 in Nadaun constituency, respectively. She said these included 5,289 Defence personnel, who would exercise their franchise by post. Postal ballots would be despatched to them once the work of filing of nomination papers was completed. She said 414 polling booths would be set up in the district and there were no polling stations with more than 1,000 voters. There were only three polling stations with more than 1,200 voters, followed by 179 polling stations with 751 to 1,200 voters, 172 with 501 to 750 voters and 60 booths with less than 501 voters. She said the Sarahkar polling booth in Bamsan had the maximum of 1,325 voters and Jandral in Nadaunta had the minimum of 156 voters. One had to cover a distance of not more than three km to exercise franchise during the elections. |
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Shyama quits over denial of ticket Nahan, January 30 ‘Daughter of Nahan’ Kumari Shyama Sharma has resigned as Vice-Chairperson of the HP Planning Board after the allotment of the ticket to Mr Chander Mohan Thakur, Sirmour Zila Parishad Chairman. “She will have to fight for her survival in politics,” a close confidant of Ms Sharma told this correspondent. Ms Sharma addressed a workers’ meeting at her house, which was attended by 18 panchayat presidents and about 500 party workers. It was decided at the meeting that she should contest the elections. She said she would announce her decision at a press conference tomorrow. She hinted that her confidants might contest all five seats in the district. In ticket allotment, the Shyama Sharma group had been wiped out. Mr Roop singh from Renuka and Mr Jagat Singh Negi from Shilai were denied the BJP ticket. Four BJP workers belonging to the Chander Mohan were given the tickets. The supporters of Mr Jagat Singh Negi were hopeful that Mr Shanta Kumar would get the ticket for Mr Negi, but this did not happen. The ticket was allotted to Mr Daleep Singh Tomar. Mr Mohinder Singh, former PWD Minister and President of the Himachal Loktantrik Morcha, is in town and has discussed the political situation with Ms Shyama Sharma. The result of the discussions is likely to be announced tomorrow. Sources close to Ms Sharma said she had been contacted by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party President, and Mr Kanshi Ram, BJP supremo, to float a front of ‘secular forces’. Supporters of Ms Sharma appealed to the BJP high command to review its decision and allot the party ticket to her. |
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BACKGROUNDER Shimla Infighting in political parties has, over the years, become an integral part of politics. However, it is for the first time that the factional divide in the two parties occupying the centrestage has assumed such proportions. The dissidents in the BJP, who have been carrying out their activities in the garb of “Mitra Milans”, have declared their intentions to contest as Independents. Their ranks are likely to swell after the allotment of party tickets. Given the differences between the Congress factions headed by Mrs Vidya Stokes and Mr Virbhadra Singh, a large number of Congressmen are likely to enter the electoral arena as rebels. The HVC had been desperately seeking an alliance with either the BJP or the Congress, but the two parties refused to oblige. It is now trying to raise a third front along with Left parties and other splinter groups to challenge the two main contenders. It is likely to adopt potential rebel candidates to effectively dent their vote bank. The non-BJP and non-Congress parties have been in disarray and it will not be an easy task for the HVC to bring them under one umbrella, though there may be a broad understanding to ensure the defeat of the BJP in as many seats as possible. Himachal Pradesh remained an impregnable bastion of the Congress until 1977, when the Janata wave swept it out of power. There was no organised opposition to pose a serious challenge to the congress until then, though a large number of Independents got elected during every election. It was only after 1966, when the hilly areas of Punjab were merged into Himachal Pradesh, that the Jan Sangh appeared on the scene, winning seven seats in 1967. The CPI also bagged two seats. However, in 1972, the Congress against swept to power. The Congress citadel was finally demolished by the Janata wave in 1977. The end of Congress hegemony also led to the emergence of a two-party system as the Janata Party and the Congress polled 57.19 and 38.38 per cent of votes, respectively, and the CPM and CPI together secured only about two per cent votes. The Congress staged a comeback in the 1980 Lok Sabha poll, winning all four seats with 52.88 per cent votes as against 36.38 per cent polled by the Janata Party. The split in the Janata Party led to the emergence of the BJP as the main opposition in the state. It won 29 seats with 35.15 per cent of votes, while the Congress only got 31 seats despite a vote share of 42.52 per cent and failed to get a clear majority. The Janata Party, the CPI and the CPM accounted for eight per cent of votes. Riding the sympathy wave in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the Congress swept the 1984 Lok Sabha elections winning all four seats with a record 67.58 per cent votes. The BJP’s percentage declined to 23.27. Taking advantage of the swing in its favour, the Congress went for a snap Assembly poll and obtained a massive majority, winning 58 out of the total 68 seats. The BJP’s tally was reduced to seven. The BJP wrested three of the four seats in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections. It polled a higher percentage of votes than the Congress for the first time in the state. Subsequently, the BJP-Janata Dal combine routed the Congress in the 1990 Assembly poll, in which the Congress won only nine seats. The BJP won 48 seats and the Janata Dal 11. In the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, the two parties shared the four seats, although the Congress polled 46.16 per cent votes, about 3.5 per cent more than the BJP. The Congress returned to power with a thumping majority in 1993, winning 54 seats. The BJP won only eight and its vote share declined to 36.18 per cent. The Congress made a clean sweep of the four Lok Sabha seats in the 1996 elections, improving its vote percentage to 54.33 from 49.36 in 1993. The emergence of the Himachal Vikas Congress, a breakaway faction of the Congress, added a new dimension to the political scene in 1998. The HVC won only five seats, but ensured the defeat of the Congress in another 14 seats. The Congress and the BJP won 31 seats each. The Congress secured 43.51 per cent of votes, the BJP 39.03 per cent and the HVC 9.63 per cent. These election will be a litmus test for Mr Sukh Ram, HVC supremo. The outcome of the poll will also make it clear whether the state has entered an era of coalition politics or the emergence of the HVC as the third political force in 1998 elections was an aberration. |
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Amarinder has ‘encroached’ upon land in HP Shimla, January 30 Mr Baldev Sharma, the party spokesperson, claimed here today that the family of Capt Amarinder Singh was in possession of encroached government land in Himachal. In all the family had encroached upon 2 bighas and 13 biswas of land in Kandiali and Kandaghat. The land was in the name of Mrs Preneet Kaur, wife of Captain Amarinder Singh, and an application had also been filed for regularisation of the encroached land under a new policy of the government. He said Captain Amarinder Singh had alleged that Mr Dhumal had amassed assets to the tune of several crores in Jalandhar. However, he had so far not responded to the offer of Mr Dhumal that he was prepared to part with his assets for just Rs 1 crore. He said Captain Amarinder Singh should either accept the offer or withdraw the charges of corruption against Mr Dhumal. Such leaders should not even talk of cleansing public life. Mr Sharma refuted the allegation of senior Congress leader Kaul Singh that doctors had been appointed from outside the state and urged him to come out with the list of such appointees or apologise for making a false charge failing which the party would be constrained to initiate legal proceeding against him. Regarding the dissolution of the Assembly he said the step was taken to ensure a free and fair poll in the state. The Congress had been repeatedly accusing that government machinery was being misused and it had even demanded the removal of the Chief Electoral Officer. With the House already dissolved the ruling party and the Opposition would fight the elections on a level playing field. |
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HVC plea to EC on tribal seats Shimla, January 30 In a letter to the commission, Dr Ram Lal Markandey, a senior party leader who represents a tribal constituency, said there was no justification for deferring polling in the Bharmaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur constituencies till June on the plea that these areas were snowbound during winter as classes were being held in schools. |
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Mahasabha to contest
20 seats Kangra, January 30 Disclosing this here yesterday, the HP state chief of the All-India Hindu Mahasabha, Mr Nalinder Gautam, said in Kangra district, his party would contest from Kangra, Jaswan, Nagrota Bagwan, Dharamsala and Palampur. He said in Hamirpur district the party would field candidates from the Hamirpur and Nadaun Assembly segments. |
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BSP
aspirants interviewed Sundernagar, January 30 |
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Nurses hold demonstration Dharamsala, January 30 Braving the rain, the trained nurses shouting anti-Dhumal and anti-government slogans, marched in procession and went to submit a
memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Kangra. According to them, they were assured jobs in three months of the completion of training, but now the government had gone back on its promise and they were being asked to join work with a private agency on contract. They alleged that the private company was charging heavy commission from the state government and putting several unreasonable restrictions on those given jobs. |
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Teacher dies in road mishap Kangra, January 30 Deputy Superintendent of Police Umapati Jamwal said that the deceased had been identified as Puran Chand of Rajool village and the injured as Ajay Kumar. Ajay Kumar was shifted to CMC, Ludhiana, in a serious condition. |
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Tributes paid to Bapu Shimla, January 30 |
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Winter surcharge to be adjusted Nurpur, January 30 |
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Vidya Sagar awaits OBC nod Narendra launches campaign
YC threat to gherao officials Jaswan BJP chief threatens to quit |
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