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Rajnikant’s personal choice is BJP
112 companies for Faizabad Blue blood fights battle of the ballot in Orissa
Chapra sees keen fight between Laloo, Rudy Campaigning picks up in Sirsa Local issues to prevail in Hamirpur
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Schools, colleges are Sarkaria’s priority MR Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria who is better known as ‘Sukh Sarkaria’ is one of the youngest Congress candidates who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time from the Tarn Taran constituency which was once called ‘Mini Khalistan’. The constituency is considered ‘Panthic seat’. Born on March 31, 1956, Mr Sarkaria took to farming after completing his B.Sc from the local Khalsa College in 1978. He was an active student leader in the college. Then he was elected Sarpanch of his native village unanimously. He became chairman of the Verka block samiti in 1995. He was only 39 years old when he was given Assembly ticket by Congress party in 1995 from Rajasansi (part of the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha constituency). However, being a novice, he lost the election to an Akali leader, Mr Veer Singh Lopoke, by a big margin of about 23,000 votes. Mr Sarkaria was nominated president of the District Congress Committee (Rural) in 1998 and came close to the masses. In 2002, he contested as an Independent candidate from Rajasansi when he was denied party ticket. Though the party adopted him a few days before the election, it was too late. He lost the election to the Akali candidate again, but by a thin margin. Q - Tarn Taran is considered ‘Panthic seat’. Do you think you can reach Parliament as a Congress candidate this time? A - It is wrong to say that Tarn Taran is an Akali-dominated seat. Whenever the Congress has fielded a strong candidate, it has won the seat with a convincing margin. Moreover, the voter of the area is now convinced that the Shiromani Akali Dal was no longer pursuing the demands of Sikhs in the right perspective, especially on the floor of Parliament. Q - On what basis can you claim that you will win the seat? A - I am closer to the voters as my Assembly segment is part of the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha constituency. On the other hand, the Akali candidate, Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala, is considered an ‘outsider’ for the constituency. Q - What will be your poll plank? A - If I win the election, I will spend most of funds from the MP quota on opening schools and colleges in this rural constituency as the Akalis have ignored the constituency despite the fact that voters have expressed faith in Akali candidates many times. Q - What will be your priority after winning the election? A - I shall endeavour to bring a special package for the residents of border belt who have been extending all help to the Army during the Indo-Pak wars. The voters of this constituency deserved a special treatment which has been denied to them for a long time.
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Majha’s economy is concern of Ajnala DR Rattan Singh Ajnala, sitting Akali MLA from the border constituency of Ajnala is a medical doctor by profession. It was after a chance meeting with the late Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, the then Shiromani Akali Dal chief, arranged by Bhai Ranjit Singh (former Jathedar of Akal Takht) that he joined active politics. Born on January 16, 1944, at Tanda in Gujarat (now in Pakistan), Dr Ajnala was only three years old when his parents had to migrate to Punjab in 1947. He did his matric from Khalsa School Begowal, pre-medical from Khalsa College, Jalandhar, and MBBS and MS from Medical College, Amritsar. After joining the PCMS, he became a medical college teacher in 1974. His wife Avtar Kaur is also a medical doctor. After resigning from government job, Dr Ajnala did private practice at Ajnala along with his wife for a long time. Dr Ajnala was given Akali ticket from Ajnala in 1985 which was a Congress pocketborough since 1952 and he won the poll. Since then, voters of Ajnala have been expressing faith in his leadership. Winning the Assembly election in 1994 was termed as the turning point for SAD. Q - You are considered an ‘outsider’ for Tarn Taran. Is it true? A - This is only propaganda. I remained part and parcel of the constituency being president of the District Akali Dal, Amritsar, for 18 years which includes this Lok Sabha constituency. Q - Your choice as candidate for Tarn Taran has caused a flutter in the local SAD and even sitting MP Tarlochan Singh Tur has turned rebel. Comment. A - Except for a handful of disgruntled Akali leaders, SAD in the Tarn Taran constituency is united. Q - List your achievements as an Akali MLA since 1985? A - I was instrumental in the transformation of the Majha region, including the installation of Ranjit Sagar dam and opening many hospitals and schools in the border belt during my stint as minister in 1997. Q - What will be your priorities if you are elected MP? A - I would raise voice on the floor of Parliament for opening trade with Pakistan which would transform the economy of the Majha region. I would ensure that farmers who have sufficient agricultural land across fencing are given sufficient time for cultivation. It would be my priority to get a thermal plant for Goindwal. I would spend most of my discretionary quota for the overall development of Khadoor Sahib, Tarn Taran and other historical towns. Col Partap Inder Singh Phulka (retd.), President BJP’s Sainik Morcha, Punjab, has resigned from primary membership of the party to protest against BJP command for not including the demand of Ex-servicemen of “one-rank, one pension” in its election manifesto. At the inaugural function of the election campaign of Mr Chranjit Singh Channi, here today, Colonel Phulka joined the BSP. Mr Biju Phillap, Chairman of the Minority Cell and Mr Harbhajan Dass, Chairman, Schedule Caste Cell of the district Congress, Hoshiapur, Mr Karam Chand Nirdosh, general secretary, RPI Punjab, Dr Dhani Ram, general secretary, Lok Jan Shakti, Punjab and Mr Hari Singh, senior leader SAD (B), Garhdiwala also resigned from their respective parties and joined the BSP.
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Sinha faces uphill task in retaining Hazaribagh
Ranchi, April 11 After leaving the service in 1984, the External Affairs Minister joined politics as a member of the Janata Party and was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1988. From November 1990 to June 1991, Mr Sinha served as Finance Minister in then Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar’s Cabinet. In 1998, he entered the Lok Sabha on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from Hazaribagh by the highest margin of votes ever in the constituency. 1999 saw him returning to Parliament with an even higher margin of votes in the elections held in September. Hazaribagh has a total electorate of 11,80,058 of which 6,36,492 are males and 5,43,566 females. Mr Sinha became the Finance Minister in the Vajpayee government in 1998 and again in 1999 when the country went to the polls. He was shifted to the Ministry of External Affairs in a Cabinet reshuffle on July 1, 2002. This time, however, the victory or defeat of the stalwart would not only affect his political career but also give a new twist to the Jharkhand politics. The opposition Congress, RJD and other parties have put up a common Communist Party of India (CPI) nominee Bhubaneswar Mehta against Mr Sinha. Senior BJP leader and former Member of Parliament Mahavirlal Vishwakarma, who was a claimant for the seat, is also contesting as an Independent after not being nominated by the party. He has been expelled from the BJP on charges of anti-party activities. Mr Vishwakarma was elected to the Lok Sabha from the constituency in 1996 on a BJP ticket. Political observers say he would be a force to reckon with and can take away a major chunk of BJP votes, which would certainly affect Mr Sinha’s fortunes. The External Affairs Minister is also facing rebellion from a section of district party workers protesting the decision of the party high command to allot the ticket to him. Mr Sinha himself has admitted that a handful of party workers in his constituency were against him, but claimed it would not have any unfavourable impact. The Union Minister heads the state campaign committee with the responsibility to oversee the victory of the party’s 13 other candidates in the state. The BJP plans to bring in a number of star campaigners like Bollywood dream girl Hema Malini, actor-turned-minister Vinod Khanna, TV star Smriti Irani and BJP firebrand and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharati, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. If Mr Sinha scores a victory this time too he would be scoring a hat-trick not witnessed in the constituency so far. Apart from him, Hazaribagh has never elected any candidate twice on the same party’s ticket to the Lower House.
— UNI
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Rajnikant’s personal choice is BJP
Chennai, April 11 Breaking his silence in the wake of reports that he would oppose the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance, of which the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) is a part, Rajnikant, confirmed that he had asked his fans to work for the defeat of PMK in the six constituencies where it is contesting. PMK leader S. Ramadoss had criticised the actor during the release of Tamil film ‘Baba’ two years ago, saying that some of his ‘mannerisms’ in the film had spoilt young minds. Addressing a crowded press conference, the actor, reading out a prepared statement, said for “various reasons”, he was unable to openly support any front. The actor said drinking water shortage was becoming a perennial problem in the state and linking of all major rivers was the only permanent solution. He has already promised to give Rs 1 crore from his personal funds for this purpose. He said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had recently promised to personally solve the problem and, therefore, he would cast his vote in favour of the BJP-led alliance. The BJP-led NDA government would come to power at the Centre after the poll, he claimed. Hitting out at the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the actor asked his fans to register their protest against PMK in a democratic way, though he would not compel them to vote for any particular alliance. Pointing out that he had never opposed Ramadoss at any time in the past nor used any ‘derogatory’ words against him, Rajnikant said he was more worried about the safety and welfare of his fans rather than opposing the PMK leader. Recalling the incidents following the release of ‘Baba’ two years ago, the actor said Ramadoss could have called him to explain that some scenes in the film tended to spoil young minds. “I would have either removed them from that film or avoided them in my next one.” “Is it fair and proper on the part of Ramadoss, an educated leader of a big party, to direct his cadres to indulge in barbaric, foolish and destructive activities like pulling down posters of the film, which has been produced after spending crores of rupees and call me all sorts of names?,” he said. On the registering of a ‘murder’ case against the PMK leader in connection with the recent attacks on his fans in Madurai, the actor said, “We will not spare Ramadoss from this case.” “Ramadoss was behaving like a ‘kingpin’ by indulging in violence. I am not opposing Ramadoss just for personal ends. I am opposing him for the welfare of the people of the state.” He appealed to his fans not to show any black flags or stick posters against the PMK. “Show your protests in a democratic way while casting your votes,” he said, giving an indirect hint to his fans to support the BJP. Rajnikant said he disliked corruption and violence in politics. The PMK leader was indulging in violence because of which many well-intentioned people were reluctant to plunge into politics, he said, without naming anyone. Stressing that he was a religious person, Rajnikant said if anyone attacked him for no fault of his, “I will not hesitate to hit back. I will commit these kind of mistakes any number of times.”
— PTI
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Faizabad, April 11 In Sultanpur district, eight ASPs, 15 Inspectors, 300 SIs, 300 head constables, 2,000 constables, 2,800 home guards and 18 companies of the security forces would be posted. In Barabanki, nine ASPs, nine Inspectors, 229 SIs, 585 head constables, 2,230 constables, 2,769 home guards and 13 companies of the PAC were being put on duty. The DIG said 6,746 polling centres had been constituted in the division out of which 1,439 were sensitive and 1,501 hyper-sensitive. In various districts of the division, 635 persons had been detained so far. He said 237 countrymade arms, 663 cartridges and 146 bombs had been seized while 15 illegal arms factories busted. Mr Agarwal said in order to check illegal liquor sale, 1,193 raids had been conducted and 727 persons arrested while 5,793 litres of illegal liquor were seized. He said out of the 51,269 licensed arms, 48,804 were certified and 18,340 deposited till March 31. Besides, 130 arms licenses had been cancelled. Faizabad Commissioner J.P. Sharma said the division consisted of nine Lok Sabha constituencies.
— UNI
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Blue blood fights battle of the ballot in Orissa Bhubaneswar, April 11 Interestingly, it is the royal families of the backward western Orissa that feature prominently in the electoral battle. In fact, Bolangir and Kalahandi, the districts that make the headlines for all the wrong reasons — from starvation deaths to child sale and drought — are in the forefront with their kings, queens and princes! Four members of the Bolangir royal family are in the electoral fray this time. While Anang Uday Singhdeo and Kanak Vardhan Singhdeo, both ministers in the Naveen Cabinet but belonging to the BJD and BJP, respectively, are again fielded in the assembly poll, Kanakvardhan’s wife Sangeeta Singhdeo is again the BJP candidate for the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat. A. U. Singhdeo’s son Kalikesh also makes his debut by contesting from the Saintala Assembly constituency as the BJD candidate. Kanakvardhan who was anointed the new king after the death of his father Raj Raj Singhdeo recently has been representing the Patnagarh Assembly seat since 1995. Sangeeta is also poised for a hat trick having won the Bolangir LS seat in 1998 and 1999. A. U. Singhdeo is the younger brother of the late king Raj Raj Singhdeo and he has been winning the Bolangir Assembly seat since 1990. Similarly, the Kalahandi royal family is not far behind. Bikram Keshari Deo belonging to the BJP is renominated for the Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat while his nephew Annnnant Pratap Deo was nominated by the Congress for the Junagarh assembly seat; but Anant Pratap Deo’s nomination has been rejected during scrutiny. Puspendra Singhdeo is the BJD candidate in Koksara assembly seat while Sugyani Kumari Deo, the queen of Khallikote and Usha Devi, the queen of Chikiti, are again fielded as BJD candidates from their constituencies. Pratap Keshari Deo belonging to the Aul royal family is a BJD candidate in Aul.Another scion of a royal family ornithologist Uday Narayan Dev is the Congress candidate in Mohana.Kamakshya Prasad
Singhdeo, former Union minister is the Congress candidate from Dhenkanal Lok sabha seat while his son Amarjyoti Singhdeo is making his debut as the Congress candidate in Gondia assembly
seat. They belong to the erstwhile royal clan of Dhenkanal. The Sorada Assembly seat would see a fight among the royals. While Kishore Chandra Singhdeo, son of the late king Anant Narayan Singhdeo who was elected in 1995, is fielded by BJP, the Congress has fielded his cousin Khirod Kumari Devi, niece of A. N. Singhdeo and daughter of Raja Padmanabha Singhdeo of Dharakote royal clan. Nitish Gangadev, son of Pradipta Gangadev of the Deogarh royal family, is the Congress candidate from the Deogarh Assembly seat. It may be recalled that the royalty had dominated the state’s electoral scene for more than two decades since the first election in 1952.
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Chapra sees keen fight between Laloo, Rudy His detention in jail during the Emergency was an additional qualification and Laloo Yadav was elected to the Lok Sabha from Chapra in north Bihar. The predominance of the upper castes (the Rajputs) in this region did not matter. For 1977 was an instance when caste and identity did not count. In 1989, when the situation was somewhat similar to that of 1977, Laloo Yadav won from Chapra for the second time. He has entered the poll fray in Chapra once again this time. But then, a lot of water has flown under the Mahatma Gandhi Sethu connecting north Bihar with Patna. The political discourse in Bihar has changed after August 8, 1990, the day V.P.Singh announced the implementation of some parts of the Mandal Commission report. And Laloo Yadav refused to look at Chapra as his safe seat. But then, after his stunning defeat in Madhepura, considered as safe a seat for an OBC politician as is Saharsa, in the 1999 elections, Laloo Yadav has been attempting a new ball game. He is no longer fascinated by the MY factor (a consolidation of the Muslims and the Yadavs) that has been his core strategy in all elections hitherto. The RJD leader’s idea this time is to revive the spirit of 1989 when the Rajputs went along with the Yadavs against the Bhumihar-Brahmin alliance. It is another matter that the Rajput-Yadav combination in the past was against the Congress in Bihar. And this alliance got strengthened with the Muslims deserting the Congress after the 1989 shilanyas and the communal strife across Bihar’s towns in 1989. That was the last time that the Congress was in power in Bihar. Laloo Yadav’s entry into the fray from Chapra is seen as part of this strategy for the whole of north Bihar. The fact that Laloo Yadav did bend over his back to humour Ram Vilas Paswan even while he cold-shouldered the Congress was clearly a part of this scheme. The Rajputs, after all, will go with Laloo Yadav (and against the BJP-JD(U) combine) only if they are assured that the Dalits too were on the same side. And it is no longer the rule here that the lords of the land (the upper castes) decided which way the Dalit votes were cast. Hence, to revive the spirit of the pre-Mandal days when the slogan was ‘Raghuvanshi-Yaduvanshi bhai bhai, anya jaath kahaan sein aai’ (there is no place for other castes when the Rajputs and Yadavs are of the same ilk), Laloo Yadav needed a leader from among the Dalits, whose number is indeed large in this region. This revival seems to be taking place. The strong association of the Bhumihars with the BJP-led NDA, particularly in the central Bihar districts is leading their traditional rivals, the Rajputs, to Laloo’s fold. The impact of Mandal, after 14 years, is indeed marginal. But then, this is the story from elsewhere. And in Chapra, where the Rajputs outnumber the Yadavs and where the BJP has established a distinct identity through its candidate, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the revival of the pre-Mandal spirit is indeed not happening. The popular perception is that the NDA is certainly going to return to power and that the MP from Chapra shall be someone who will be part of the new cabinet too lends a definite edge to Rudy. All this makes things a bit too difficult for Laloo Yadav in Chapra. But then, with Laloo Yadav as his rival, Rudy too is taking the campaign a lot more seriously. He may belong to the caste that dominates the political scene as much as the socio-economic life in Chapra. But then, Laloo Yadav is no light-weight and Chapra is all set to witness a keen contest.
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Campaigning picks up in Sirsa Fatehabad, April 11 Although only the ruling INLD and HVP have yet announced their candidates for the Sirsa seats, the Congress and BJP too have finalised their candidates from here. These parties have given a go-ahead to their candidates though these parties have not announced their names officially. The Indian National Lok Dal has fielded a member of the dissolved Parliament, Dr Sushil Indora from here. Dr Indora, a medical graduate by education, is seeking election for the third time in a row. The HVP has fielded Mr Rerh Chand, a party worker from Dhabi village in this district. The BJP, on the other hand, has finalised the name of Mr Mahavir Prasad from here. The Congress has finalised the name of Mr. Atma Singh Gill, a former MLA from Rattia, in this district. Incidentally, all four candidates belong to Fatehabad district. The INLD candidate, Dr Indora, has been campaigning ever since the elections were announced. Sirsa being the home district of the Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, Dr Indora was being considered favourite once the AICC secretary and former Union Minister Selja decided to contest from Ambala rather than her traditional constituency Sirsa. But the decision of the ruling INLD to field Mr Abhey Singh Chautala from Kurukshetra has come as a set back for Dr Indora as Mr Abhey Singh has been spearheading the election campaigns of Dr Indora in the past. The BJP candidate, Mr Mahavir Prasad, has also been campaigning in the constituency for the last more than one month. The BJP organised a rally of Union Minister Sahib Singh Varma here on March 2 and has been on the move since then. Mr Prasad, a law graduate from Delhi University, is the son of a former MLA from the Rattia Assembly constituency Peer Chand. Mr Prasad has been targeting urban voters in particular. The decision of Ms Selja to opt for Ambala has come as a relief to Mr Prasad and his supporters. The Congress nominee, Mr Atma Singh Gill, is a former MLA from Rattia. Brought to politics for the first time by former Deputy Prime Minister Chowdhary Devi Lal in 1987, Gill is now a Bhajan Lal loyalist. Gill is banking on the traditional Congress voters and also hopes to get good support from Sikh voters in the constituency. The HVP candidate Rerh Chand is lesser known in the constituency and he will depend largely on the campaign of Prahlad Singh Gillankhera, in charge of the party affairs .
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Local issues to prevail in Hamirpur Hamirpur, April 11 Mr Suresh Chandel of the BJP had won the seat last time in 1999 by trouncing Ram Lal Thakur of the Congress by 1,29,247 votes. Both the rivals are once again in fray this time . While Thakur will file his papers on April 20, Chandel will do so on April 22. As many as 10,61,741 voters, including 5,30,619 women, will exercise their right of franchise on May 10. Hamirpur district has the highest number of 1,65,237 female voters. The Congress, which is in power in the state this time, is trying hard to win the seat. The party had won seven Vidhan Sabha seats in the 2003 elections out of the 17 seats as compared to eight by the BJP. Two Independents, one each having links with the Congress and BJP, were also elected. The Congress launched its election campaign with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in the area. He has already addressed election meetings in all 17 Assembly segments of the constituency. His main thrust was to end corruption. He has also told the electorate that if the Congress is voted to power, the pace of development would increase. The BJP, on the other hand, has also organised a massive rally at Amb in Una district. Top party leaders Prem Kumar Dhumal and Shanta Kumar in presence of B.C.Khandoori, Union Surface Department Minister, addressed the rally. Suresh Chandel, party candidate and Suresh Bhardwaj, HP BJP chief, were also present. Professor Dhumal who hails from Hamirpur district and represents the Bamsan segment in the state Assembly has already completed a tour of all 17 Assembly segments by holding meetings with workers. Dhumal told the people that it was the BJP that was working for their benefit and development. If they voted for the Congress, it would be “suicidal”. The BSP has also come into the field this time by declaring its candidate in Mohar Singh Mastana, a retired state government officer. Mayawati, the BSP supremo, also addressed a gathering at Hamirpur recently and told the people to vote for the BSP to end the rule of majority communities. A visit to various parts of the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat shows that though electioneering has started, flags, posters and banners are missing this time. Only banners and buntings of the BSP are seen in various parts of the district. The people in all segments are keen to listen to all but will vote as per their own will. They feel that local issues will matter more this time, as they want development and not false promises. However, national level issues may also come up due to predominance of serving soldiers and ex-servicemen and their families in the constituency. There is an ex-serviceman or a serving soldier from every fourth house of the constituency. Women also play a major role in the elections due to their large number in the area. Women had tilted the balance in the last elections. The women this time are upset with the sharp increase in the prices of foodstuffs, failure of crops, shortage of drinking water and no jobs to their kin.
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Chapra, April 11
