The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Khurana: poll surveys manipulated New Delhi, November 30 The BJP alleged today that the election surveys carried out by newspapers and electronic media, giving an absolute majority to the Congress, were “manipulated” and aimed at misleading people and claimed that the party will win at least 45 seats in tomorrow’s assembly poll. Addressing a press conference on the eve of polling, BJP chief ministerial candidate Madan Lal Khurana and party MPs Sahib Singh, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Lal Behari Tiwari and Anita Arya claimed that there was a strong undercurrent in favour of the BJP and the results would prove all these surveys wrong. “These surveys appear to be manipulated with an aim to influence the voters, as was done in Punjab,” Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh said. Mr Khurana said the predictions made by these surveys were beyond his comprehension and that the response the party had got during campaigning clearly indicated a Congress rout in the elections. The Delhi BJP President said he felt that the Congress re-nomination of the four tainted former ministers and the poor performance of most sitting legislators was one of the major reasons the BJP would do well in the elections. — UNI
	Muslim votes crucial in over 10 Delhi seats New Delhi, November 30 There are about a dozen Delhi Assembly constituencies where a swing in Muslim vote may affect the prospects of main contenders — the ruling Congress and the BJP — but in the absence of a strong third alternative, the community is left with little choice. Moreover, in the immediate context, there is no such major issue in the Capital or at the national level, or any strong individuals that could influence the minority on a large scale. There might be anger voting against non-performing candidates in some stray cases, and in that situation, third party candidates might corner minority community votes, but political observers feel that this will not happen in many constituencies, as the general tendency at the last moment is to cast vote in favour of the winning candidate. As for developmental issues, the failures and successes of the Sheila Dikshit government have affected the community the same way as they have done other sections of the population. There are a few constituencies where Muslims may not vote for the Congress en bloc, which may work to the advantage of the BJP. Balli Maran from where the Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister and sitting MLA Haroon Yusuf is seeking re-election is one such constituency. Presence of a strong Independent candidate has made the fight not very easy for the minister. Haroon is facing a new BJP face in Raj Kishore Gupta. However, Independent Satish Chandra Jain, a BJP rebel, is not new to the area. Political observers feel that Jain as an Independent might be more acceptable to the voters in this constituency dominated by the minority community. Among the other constituencies are Matia Mahal, Okhla, Babarpur, Tughlaqabad, Karawal Nagar, Seelampuri, Paharganj, Geeta Colony and Seemapuri. — UNI
	President to miss vote New Delhi, November 30 President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will not be able to cast his vote in tomorrow’s assembly poll as he will be out of the national Capital, the schedule for which had been chalked out earlier. The First Citizen of the country is a voter from the prestigious Gole Market Assembly constituency from where Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is seeking a re-election. Mr Kalam was to exercise his franchise for the first time as the President. Rashtrapathi Bhavan sources told PTI that the President would leave for Pathankot in Punjab this evening to will present Colours to Army regiments in the Manun cantonment area. He would later visiting Hisar and Mohali, near Chandigarh, to present Colours to other Army regiments, the sources said. — PTI
	EC orders inquiry New Delhi, November 30 The Delhi Election Office has ordered an inquiry into allegations of misuse of the official position by Union Tourism Minister Jagmohan for seeking support for BJP candidate Poonam Azad in the Gole Market Assembly constituency from where Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is contesting. “I have asked the Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) and the SHO of Mandir Marg police station to inquire into the allegations and submit a report,” Joint Chief Electoral Officer Alka Diwan said. She said the Congress had alleged that the bags distributed in the Harijan basti area of the constituency contained a request from Jagmohan seeking vote for Azad. The Congress alleged that the minister was distributing paper bags and publicity material published by his ministry among voters. — UNI
	Early Metro service New Delhi: In view of poll in the national Capital, Delhi Metro will begin its services from 4 am in the morning to facilitate the movement of polling staff between Shahadara and Inderlok on tomorrow. The early beginning of services would be restricted for the polling day only, a spokesman for Delhi Metro clarified today. — PTI
	Rajasthan Sister vs brother at two seats Tribune News Service Ajmer, November 30 In at least two constituencies — Alwar and Ajmer (East) in Rajasthan — sisters are opposing their brothers. With Minakshi deciding to fight as an independent against her brother, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, the sitting MLA from Alwar, differences in the royal family of Alwar have come to the fore. Similarly, the differences prevailing in the Bhati family of Ajmer, which has complete control over 40,000-odd votes of the Koli community, have also come out in the open with Mr Anita Bhagel, the adopted daughter of Shankar Singh Bhati, filing her nomination on the BJP ticket against her brother and Congress candidate Lalit Bhati. Members of the Koli community vote en masse for the candidate whom Shankar Singh supports. Although Shankar Singh has not made any public appearance due to his illness, the word appears to be in favour of Anita. Lalit Bhati, while fighting as an independent from this constituency in 1993, had secured just about 200 votes while in 1998, after securing the support of his father, ended a winner with a margin of over 6,400 votes. He had won in 1985 also with the support of his father. The situation is quite the same in Alwar. The dispute over family property between the brother and the sister after the death of their mother, Mahendra Kumari, is out in the open. Interestingly, both Bhanwar Jitendra Singh and Minakshi live in the same palatial ancestral house but are reportedly not on talking terms after the death of their mother. The locals have always voted in favour of the royal family whether it was former king Pratap Singh or later his wife, Mahendra Kumari, and then Bhanwar Jitendra Singh. The BJP has decided to challenge the royal family by nominating a commoner, Pushpa Gupta. But it is going to be a fight between the two members of the royal family. Efforts were made to make Minakshi withdraw her nomination but she is said to have turned back all family members. Bhanwar Jitendra Singh’s father Pratap Singh, died in mysterious circumstances during emergency and his case was also referred to the Shah Commission. After Pratap Singh’s death his wife, Mahendra Kumari, decided to take over the mantle and was not only elected to the state assembly but also to Parliament. And after her death her son was given the pride of place by the locals, which is at stake this time.
	All set for poll in Rajasthan Girja Shankar Kaura Tribune News Service Jaipur, November 30 The fate of all candidates contesting elections in Rajasthan will get locked in electronic voting machines (EVMs) tomorrow evening. The counting will be done on December 4. The results will give people’s assessment of the work put in by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during his five-year tenure and the promises made by Vasundhara Raje. Vasundhara Raje and the BJP have nothing to lose. They are not in power in the state and a victory will only boost their chances in the general elections scheduled to be held next year. While the state administration has made adequate arrangements to ensure a peaceful poll, the police here is taking no chances and will be keeping a close watch on the developments through out the day. Besides the local police, Central forces, mainly the paramilitary forces, have also been deployed to ensure peaceful voting. Maximum vigil will be maintained at 9,000 polling booth that have been declared ‘sensitive’ and ‘hypersensitive’. The Congress and the BJP are expected to be involved in nail-biting finishes in which Independent candidates may play a vital role. There are 556 Independent candidates in the fray and some of them are considered to very strong in their constituencies. The candidates are leaving no stone unturned in the last few hours before the polling gets under way. Although the campaigning came to an end officially at 5 pm yesterday, all candidates continued with personal-level campaigning which mostly involved door-to-door contact with the voters.
	Where candidates elude voters Amarjit Thind Tribune News Service Bhag Singh Ki Dhani (Suratgarh), November 30 In the keenly-contested elections in Rajasthan where candidates are crisscrossing dusty paths to reach out to the voters, a large percentage of the electorate in this 300 km constituency have not been approached till yesterday. Suratgarh is probably one of the largest constituencies in the country with a population of over three lakh. A large part is situated along the Indo-Pak border and small villages are often inaccessible. The constituency has nearly 1,000 villages and ‘dhanis’, 400 gram panchayats, two panchayat samitis and big mandis like Gharsana, Suratgarh, Jaitsar, Sribijaynagar, Rawla, Ramsinghnagar, Anupgarh, New Gharsana and Raziasar. As many as 70 villages have no approach roads. Hence the candidates are totally dependent on local people. When a Tribune team visited this village, Mr Mahendra Singh and Mr Balwinder Singh said: “In the previous poll too no one came here.” Other villagers too echoed the similar sentiments. The major problems here are non-availability of water, erratic power supply, lack of basic health facilities and bad roads. Similarly, no party worker or candidate has approached villagers of Amarpura, which is 10 km from Suratgarh. Villagers, however, admit that it is impossible to cover the whole constituency. BJP nominee Ashok Nagpal says that his family and friends are trying to cover as many villages and ‘dhanis’ as possible. Sitting legislator Vilayluxmi Bishnoi says the government should do something about the size of the constituency. Several parliamentary constituencies have a much smaller area than Suratgarh and anyone who contests from this seat should be mentally and financially prepared. INLD candidate Susheel Middha says the distance between villages from north to south is nearly 300 km. So one can imagine the distances to be covered, he added.

BJP MLA injured in bomb attack

Bhopal, November 30
Supporters of the BJP and the Congress clashed at two places here leaving a Congress candidate from Bhopal along with six others, including two police personnel, injured. Trouble erupted after heated exchanges between supporters of BJP candidate from Bhopal (South) Umashankar Gupta and followers of Mr P. C. Sharma in Bhopal’s Ambedkar Nagar area last night.

The two groups indulged in stone throwing causing injuries to over seven persons, including Mr Sharma, who was admitted to Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal with head injuries, the police said, adding that two police personnel were also injured.

As tension mounted in the area, the police rushed to the site and resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control. Four persons had so far been arrested in this connection.

Fresh violence was again reported from the Habibganj police station area today when stones were allegedly thrown on Mr Gupta and his supporters during their door-to-door campaigning in the locality, the police said.

JABALPUR: A BJP candidate seeking re-election suffered injuries when he hit a wall while trying to escape a bomb attack on his house here, the police said. Attackers hurled three bombs at the home of Harendrajit Singh Baboo, a sitting MLA from Jabalpur (West), on Saturday night, the police added. He has been admitted to hospital.

DHAR: A magisterial probe has been ordered into the killing of a tribal BJP worker in alleged police firing at Panchgahti village in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said here on Sunday.

Dhar Collector Sanjay Dube said the probe would be conducted by Additional District Collector K.C. Jain.

Meanwhile, Dhar district BJP President Anant Agrawal condemned Saturday’s incident and alleged that the police had deliberately murdered BJP-Seva Bharti worker Laxman, the BJP demanded to register a case of murder against the guilty policemen. However, a senior police officer of the range maintained that the police opened fire in self-defence when it was confronted by the villagers. The police had gone to the village to serve a warrant against an escaped criminal on definite information. In the confrontation, four policemen also sustained injuries and were admitted to a government hospital. — PTI, UNI

	MP to witness first poll after bifurcation Bhopal, November 30 Amidst foolproof security, about 37.8 million voters, including over 10 million women, will exercise their franchise through electronic voting machines (EVMs) tomorrow for choosing 230 members to Madhya Pradesh’s 12th Assembly. All polling arrangements are complete and this is the first time EVMs will be used throughout the state. As many as 11,859 polling stations out of a total of 42,276 have been declared sensitive. More than 46,000 polling teams are on their way to respective posts. The voting will decide the electoral fortunes of 2,171 candidates, including 197 women. Special security arrangements have been made for the places dominated by dacoits and Naxalites, besides other sensitive areas. The state’s borders with Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have been sealed. As many as 122 companies of the Central security forces have been posted in the state. About 13,000 Home Guard personnel have been requisitioned from Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Maharashtra. This apart, 20 battalions of the state armed force will also be deployed. This will be the first polling in Madhya Pradesh after the formation of Chhattisgarh. However, Madhya Pradesh will not have to tackle the severe extremist problem as almost all Naxalite-dominated areas fall in the new state. The main contest is between the Congress and the BJP, but the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Samajwadi Party and other outfits, besides rebel aspirants, have made the contest engrossing at some places. The elections are being fought over the development issue. The issue of power crisis and the pathetic condition of roads were vociferously raised by BJP leaders, while the Congress tried to make hay over its government’s work over the past decade. Chief Minister Digvijay Singh (Raghogarh), his deputies Jamuna Devi (Kukshi) and Subhash Yadav (Kasrawad), BJP Chief Ministerial nominee Uma Bharti (Malhara), Assembly Speaker Srinivas Tiwari (Mangawan) and his deputy Ishwardas Rohini (Jabalpur Cantonment) will be in focus. BJP General Secretary and MP Shivrajsinh Chauhan is trying his luck from Raghogarh. Leader of the Opposition Babulal Gaur is trying to win Govindpura for the eighth consecutive time, which will be a record. State Congress chief Radhakishan Malviya’s son Rajendra (Sanwer), his BJP counterpart Kailash Joshi’s son Deepak (Bagli), senior Congress leader Arjun Singh’s son Ajay (Churhat) and veteran BJP leader Sunderlal Patwa’s nephew Surendra (Bhojpur) are also in the fray. Former Chief Minister Govind Narayan Singh’s son Harsh is contesting as the Samanta Dal candidate from Rampur Baghelan, another ex-Chief Minister Virendra Sakhlecha’s son Omprakash is the BJP aspirant from Jawad and former Assembly Speaker Brijmohan Mishra’s daughter Archana Chitnis is being fielded by the BJP from Nepanagar. Besides them, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s nephew Anup Mishra (Lashkar-East), Congress spokesman and MP Satyabrata Chaturvedi’s son Nitin (Chandla) and Ms Bharti’s brother Swami Lodhi (Pichhor) are also in the fray. — UNI
	Result to influence agenda for LS battle Prashant Sood Raipur, November 30 The poll outcome in Chhattisgarh is likely to determine the agenda for the battle between the BJP and the Congress for the next Lok Sabha elections. Unlike three other Hindi-speaking states, the contest in Chhattisgarh has been bitter and personal. Reputations have been tarnished and family members of political players have borne the burnt of scathing attacks. There are indications that the next regime in the state will behave vindictively towards its political opponents. Top leaders of both the Congress and the BJP in the state have been embroiled in controversies which are set to become major national issues in the Lok Sabha elections. If Chief Minister Ajit jogi is facing allegations of using forged documents to gain political mileage, BJP’s most popular leader in the state is in the dock over ‘cash-on-tapes’ episode. The lid over the controversies will be lifted in the coming months and result of probes could depend on the extent of cooperation given by the next government in the state. There is an apprehension in the Congress circles that some of its Central leaders may become targets of the BJP attack in the coming months if the Jogi government loses power in the state. “There could be an attempt to embroil party’s senior leaders in the controversies concerning the state,” said a Congress leader. BJP chief Venkaiah Naidu gave an indication of his party’s agenda in case of a victory in Chhattisgarh by promising to set up a commission to review major decisions taken by the Jogi government. He warned the state officials against partisan behaviour in the elections. Aware of the ramifications of the poll outcome for him and his party, Mr Jogi has been preparing for elections with his full might. The BJP put all its force in Chhattisgarh to shore up the graph of the party. Piqued at Mr Jogi’s attack on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP launched an aggressive campaign to portray Mr Jogi as “a liar and dictator”. Senior leaders of the party held election meetings in all constituencies to boost the morale of party workers. Sangh Parivar outfits were no less active, specially after Mr Judeo landed into a controversy. Mr Vajpayee spent considerable time blasting Mr Jogi in his election speeches and accused him of violating Constitutional propriety. If the BJP took credit for creating the new state, Mr Jogi sought to kindle the Chhattisgarhi pride by projecting himself as a son-of-the-soil who was taking on the well-entrenched sections of society in the interest of the poor. Mr Jogi has extensively toured the state in the past three years and tried to build a rapport with the people in rural areas. Going against his earlier declaration of not visiting Marwahi till the end of campaigning, he spent the last two days in his constituency. Appealing people for a more spectacular victory than the over 50,000 votes margin they gave him the last time, Mr Jogi toured all villages in his constituency in the past two days. He has been calling people by their names to give a personal touch to his campaign. Mr Jogi does not merely want to win the poll, but do it in a way that his critics are left with little to say. — TNS
	Aerial surveillance in Naxal areas Bastar, November 30 Equipped with night-vision devices, policemen and para-military forces stood guard with telescopic guns as aerial surveillance was mounted in the Naxal-infested areas of Chhattisgarh, which goes to the polls for the first time tomorrow. Polling stations in some of the remote Naxal-affected areas were turned into virtual fortress and gun-toting security personnel stood guard to avert any strike by ultras who have been creating trouble and attempting to thwart polling. Police patrolling in cities and villages has also been intensified as Naxal outfits like the People’s War and the Maoist Communist Centre have issued a boycott call. The local police will be assisted by Central forces — the CRPF and the BSF — particularly in the Bastar region comprising three districts of Jagdalpur, Dantewada and Kanker besides Sarguja, Korea and some parts of Rajnandgaon. — UNI
	Judeo’s son detained Jashpur (Chhattisgarh), November 30 Former Union Minister of State Dilip Singh Judeo’s younger son, Yudhveer, was today arrested here in connection with a fortnight-old case of a clash with Congress workers. Though the police confirmed that they had picked up Mr Yudhveer Singh Judeo on the eve of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, it declined to comment on the charges against him. However, police sources said Mr Judeo’s sons had clashed with Congress workers on November 16 when the minister resigned following the alleged bribery incident. Mr Judeo’s elder son, Mr Satrunjaya Pratap Singh, was arrested and later released on bail in connection with the clash while the police was on the lookout for his younger brother. Yudhveer alleged that the Ajit Jogi Government was trying to browbeat BJP workers with such moves, realising that power was slipping from the Congress hands. He expressed apprehensions that he may be put behind bars for the next two to three days to prevent him from being in touch with party workers. Union Minister of State for Mines Ramesh Bais condemned the arrest of Yudhveer. — UNI