INLD, Swami encounter anti-incumbency wave
Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 5
Two anti-incumbency waves are sweeping the Karnal Lok Sabha constituency. One wave is against the Chautala Government, which now seems to be more or less a common factor in Haryana. The other wave in the constituency is against the sitting BJP MP from Karnal, Mr I.D. Swami, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs.

Both are trying to encounter the anti-incumbency waves in their own style. The ruling Indian National Lok Dal is trying an experiment of combining its traditional votes with those of the Punjabi community by fielding from here Transport Minister, Ashok Arora, who represents the neighbouring Kurukshetra Assembly constituency.

Mr Swami, a popular face with the news channels, has tried to blunt the anti-incumbency factor against him by campaigning extensively in the constituency. Since he was sure of his renomination by the BJP, he had started campaigning much earlier than his rival candidates of the Congress, Dr Arvind Sharma, and Mr Arora. He also depends heavily on the Vajpayee factor, which is influencing the electorate to an extent. A cinema owner, who had been voting for the Congress in the past, says this time he would vote for the BJP because he wants a stable government at the Centre.

The INLD is repeating its experiment of combining Punjab votes with its traditional vote-bank of the agricultural communities in general and the Jats and the Jat Sikhs in particular after tasting success in the Yamunanagar and Fatehabad Assembly byelections. The INLD had fielded candidates belonging to the Punjabi community from both seats. However, political observers say that the ruling party succeeded at these places because the government had a long term. Now the Assembly elections are due within months of the Lok Sabha elections.

They point out that the winning margin of the INLD candidate in Fatehabad had drastically reduced as compared to that in Yamunanagar.

Mr Swami is also being helped by the presence of a rebel Congress candidate, Mr Kuldeep Sharma, in the field. The son of Mr Chiranji Lal Sharma, a four-time Congress MP from Karnal, Kuldeep, who practices law here, has a strong group of enemies as well as friends. He has workers in villages also. A former Finance Minister, Mr Satbir Singh Malik, is working for him in the Naultha Assembly segment, which is considered to be a stronghold of the INLD. He is also likely to get support from the factions opposed to the Haryana Congress President, Mr Bhajan Lal, within the party. Dr Sharma is believed to have been sponsored by Mr Bhajan Lal.

Deeper the dent Kuldeep makes into the vote-bank of the Congress, rosier will be the situation for Mr Swami.

Mr Arora has to struggle hard to get the support of his Punjabi community. Having the image of a soft-spoken person, Mr Arora is unable to convince his community that its interests are safe under the Chautala Government. He has also to take time off from his campaign to seek votes in his home constituency of Kurukshetra for Mr Abhey Singh, younger son of the Chief Minister.

Mr Ram Chander Jhangra of the Haryana Vikas Party is banking upon the votes of the Backward Classes, which again will be the loss of the Congress candidate.

Despite the presence of 20 candidates in the fray, the constituency seems to be heading for a triangular contest.

Gill gives tough fight to Indora
Shubhadeep Choudhry
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, May 5
Mr Atma Singh Gill, the Rip Van Winkle of Haryana politics, has thrown a tough challenge to Mr Sushil Indora, INLD nominee from this reserved constituency.

Mr Gill, (67) had become an MLA from the Ratia assembly constituency in 1987. When his candidature was announced by the Congress, INLD leaders rejoiced, feeling that the seat was being given to them on a platter.

The job, however, does not seem easy now.

Sirsa, being the home district of Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, it has received liberal funding from the state government. Projects set up in Sirsa include a university named after Devi Lal, a sugar mill, and an engineering college, also named after Devi Lal.

Mr Indora’s plank is development of Sirsa by the INLD government.

The anti-incumbency mood is, however, a strong factor in the constituency despite the development works.

Former Union Minister, Ms Selja’s decision to contest from Ambala instead of Sirsa gave a blow to the possibilities of the congress in Sirsa. Not only was Mr Gill considered a poor substitute for Ms Selja, many local party functionaries left for Ambala to work for her.

His being a Sikh has clicked because a sizeable chunk of Sikh voters of this constituency, who would have otherwise voted for the INLD, are now expected to vote for the Congress.

The Kamboj community’s new found hostility toward the INLD, resentment against the repressive tactics by the party for the victory of its candidates in the elections to the Dabwali municipal committee and the support extended by left parties to the Congress are some of the other factors working in favour of the congress candidate.

The INLD has been traditionally strong here. A large number of INLD workers from Sirsa have gone to Kurukshetra and Bhiwani from where Mr Om Prakash Chautala’s sons are contesting.

This seat is prestigious for the Chief Minister. Mr Sampat Singh, Finance Minister, is in charge of the campaign here and Mr Chautala is slated to come here on May 8 and stay put till the polling is over on May 10.

Mr Ranjit Singh, another son of Devi Lal, recently joined the BJP and has been assigned the job of campaigning for the BJP candidate from this constituency.

Voter is silent in this hill state
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Renuka (Sirmour), May 5
Despite almost eight weeks of hectic campaigning, the voter is silent and his indifference is causing anxiety to the Congress and the BJP, the two main contenders, which are locked in a grim electoral battle in the state.

Never before has the state been witness to such a long spell of electioneering. It had been in the election mode since February last when the Lok Sabha was dissolved. In fact, the government did not present a regular budget and opted for a vote-on-account.

The Congress kicked off its campaign with a two-day roadshow of Mrs Sonia Gandhi covering three of the four parliamentary segments. The BJP organised workers conference in each constituency which were addressed by national leaders of the party.

Thereafter, the state leaders took charge of the campaign. However, electioneering gathered momentum only towards April-end and it reached a feverish pitch with the visits of Mrs Sonia Gandhi; Congress president, Mr L.K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister; and Mr Arun Jaitley.

The strenuous effort put in by experienced campaigners has so far failed to move the voter who is keeping the political parties on tenterhooks. There is no discernible wave in favour of any party, though the Congress and the BJP are both claiming that they would make a clean sweep.

Unlike other states, the political parties are not resorting to hi-tech electioneering and are more keen on making personal contact by organising small meetings, flags and banners are few and far between. While the use of polythene bags is banned to protect environment, such flags are being freely used by political parties. A few big colourful posters could also be seen but the candidates are preferring small handbills to put their achievements and agenda across to the electorate.

The final phase of campaigning will see star campaigners like Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi address election meetings. Mr Vajpayee is scheduled to visit the state on May 8, the final day of campaigning but the venue of his meeting has not been finalised so far.

The unseasonal snow and hailstorm hampered campaigning for about four days.

The tribal areas received a heavy snow fall and at one time it looked that polling may have to be deferred. However, the weather has since cleared and the entire state will go to the polls on May 10.

Campaign peaks in Mandi
Our Correspondent

Mandi, May 5
With barely four days left for electioneering to end, stalwarts of the two main parties — the Congress and the BJP — are desperately campaigning in this prestigious parliamentary constituency, where Mrs Pratibha Singh, wife of the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and Mr Maheshwar Singh, two-time BJP MP from Mandi, are the main contestants.

Mr Virbhadra Singh today addressed five public meetings at Leda, Saigloo, Ner Chowk, Gagal and Dehar in this district. He promised that the Congress if voted to power at the Centre, would look after the interests of the youth, farmers, workers and weaker sections. The priority of the party would be to solve the problem of unemployment.

He said ever since the Congress government came to power about 13 months ago in the state, the thrust of the government had been to generate self-employment.

He alleged that the tenure of the BJP government in the state and the NDA at the Centre had been marred by scams. He said while the Dhumal government indulged in widespread corruption in the state by selling jobs and taking commission in awarding power projects, the NDA government earned notoriety for a number of scandals, including Tehelka and coffin. He described the BJP rule in Himachal as a “dark era”.

Claiming that he had old emotional bonds with the Mandi constituency, which he himself represented twice, Mr Virbhadra Singh declared that large-scale development of the area would be taken up in the constituency by the state government.

The Chief Minister criticised the BJP candidate, Mr Maheshwar Singh, for allegedly neglecting the Mandi constituency during his tenure and added that he had been a silent spectator in Parliament.

In sharp contrast, he assured, Ms Pratibha Singh would leave no stone unturned for the development of the constituency.

Meanwhile, a former Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, while addressing a series of public meetings at Padhar, Kanwahal and other places in the district yesterday, stressed that the main issue before the people was a choice between “stability and chaos.”

He said the Congress came to power in Himachal Pradesh by misleading the people and spreading canards. They had been now disillusioned with the Congress and the results of the elections would prove it, he asserted.

He said during its tenure, the BJP, with the blessing of the Prime Minister, launched a number of big, small and mini-hydel power projects and laid the firm foundation of a prosperous Himachal Pradesh.

Mr Dhumal said Mr Sukh Ram would not be able to tilt the balance in favour of the Congress. He was no more a force to reckon with.

Sending letters to voters
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 5
Modern technology seems to be working perfectly in sync with the traditional mode of communication as candidates are busy wooing the electorate.

If a techno savvy BJP candidate from Hamirpur, Mr Suresh Chandel, is purveying his “performance” through a VCD highlighting the works done by him in the constituency, the old war-horse, Mr Shanta Kumar, BJP nominee from Kangra, prefers sending thousands of personal letters to reach out to the electorate.

It is the personal rapport with the electorate that the candidates have come to value the most. Instead of holding big rallies, the candidates are working to strike a personal chord with the voters. Big rallies were held only when national leaders like AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and Deputy Prime Minister, L.K.Advani visited Himachal. “I was surprised to receive a letter by Mr Shanta Kumar, seeking my support. It feels good, I will treasure it,” says Shonki Ram, a voter in Palampur.

“The very fact that you receive a letter from a leader of Mr Shanta Kumar’s stature, does the trick as the voter not only feels important, but is also highly impressed,” explains a Shanta loyalist.

A VCD brought out by Mr Chandel is being shown on the local cable network in the district headquarters of Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur. Apart from having shots of some of these completed projects, Mr Chandel has claimed that he has got 627 roads, 55 bridges, 325 serais, 288 school rooms and 68 play grounds completed from his MP’s Area Development Fund.

The candidates are also making the best use of folk artists who compose verses in the local dialect and sing paeans for the candidates.

For the Congress, the message conveyed by the party bigwigs that only those who are able to give a good lead from their assembly segment would find a place in the ministry in the impending reshuffle, is doing the trick. “Fortunately, this has done the trick for the party by galvanising all factions. Those who are already in the Cabinet and those aspiring to be inducted into it have now been enthused into campaigning vigorously,” says a Congress leader.

While most of the candidates are still relying on the low-profile campaigning, including corner meetings and door-to-door contact, in most places there is a virtual competition to flood the markets with the maximum number of banners, posters and bunting.

Having dinner with this feudal lord an honour
L.H. Naqvi
Tribune News Service

MORADABAD: Dhak Shaheed is a small Muslim village on the edge of the city. One can pick up useful tips on the art of political management here. It is this art that has helped Mr Masood Khan lead a life of semi-feudal splendour.

His family has its roots in neighbouring Rampur. His father chose to buy land in Moradabad to escape the tyranny of the temperamental Nawab. That was the first wise political step he took. The second was to settle the lower caste Hindus on the periphery of the village. Mr Masood Khan was told that “if you allow them to live in the village, they will raise pigs and cause social tension”. The third wise step was not to allow Muslim butchers to settle in Dhak Shaheed. The reason “They would slaughter cows and bulls and” get us into trouble”.

Mr Masood Khan has taken the art further. All top-ranking district-level officials, including the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police, on being posted to Moradabad consider it an honour to have dinner with him. He makes sure that almost the entire village turns up to see him play host to the high and mighty of the region. Kapil Dev, who calls him mamu, is among his non-political regular guests.

That is, perhaps, one of the reasons why politicians from all shades of ideologies seek him out at least at the time of elections. Mr Ashok Yadav, the Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha from Sambhal, invited himself to dinner with Mr Masood Khan merely to make use of his considerable influence among the Muslims in the region. Others too have had themselves invited. But it is impossible to make him share his political views on the current trends. The art of political management that he learnt from his father frowns upon an open display of political preferences. Mr Masood Khan knows that he would risk losing his feudal lifestyle if he surrenders his political neutrality.

However, he took us on a conducted tour of the village to help us get a political feel of the place . Dhak Shaheed is not just another village. We discovered that elections are “celebrated” here, not fought. We happened to be at the right place at the right time for a ringside view of what turned out to be a unique experience.

The celebration was linked to the wedding in the family of a village elder. Normally the “waleema” (ritual dinner hosted by the groom’s side) is held after the wedding. In Dhak Shaheed the feasting and festivities begin before the baraat sets out for the bride’s home.

The day it snowed in Srinagar, it rained heavily in Dhak Shaheed throughout the night. The fragile electricity poles collapsed. The “waleema” was held under the headlights of tractors. It was in between morsels of “desi murgha” and “naan” that we picked up hints about which way the political wind was blowing.

If the mood in Dhak Shaheed was a reliable indicator, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav should banish the frown of concern from his brow. The anti-Samajwadi wave among Muslim voters had not reached this village. The anti-Mulayam feeling among Muslims could turn out to be essentially an urban phenomenon. At the bride’s place the festivities became livelier. The services of a group of nautch girls from Faridpur, a village of entertainers, were made available to the groom’s family and their guests. In between the usual dance numbers by the dancing girls the village elders slunk to a less noisy corner to discuss the political options. There was, perhaps a political message in some of the songs as well. “Parde mein rahney doe” was the suggestion of one performer. “Pyar kiya to darna kya”, sang her rival.

Moradabad’s honeymoon with the Congress had soured after the 1980 anti-Muslim riots. In 1998 the Samajwadi Party candidate defeated the BJP nominee by a fair margin.

However, in 1999 the BJP turned the tables by helping the Akhil Bharatiya Lok Tantrik Congress wrest the seat.

This time again the main combat is between the Samajwadi Party and the BJP. Will the rest of Moradabad follow Dhak Shaheed or vote differently?

No cakewalk for Aiyar this time
Arup Chanda
Tribune News Service

MAYILADUTHURAI: The name of this place in Tamil means “a bank of the river where peacocks dance”. There are no peacocks here anymore because of the severe drought over the past several years, but Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar is certainly “dancing like a peacock” in the Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency to retain the seat.

Mr and Mrs Aiyar have camped in this small town around 270 km from Tamil Nadu. This time it will not be a cakewalk for Mr Aiyar, who is contesting for the fifth time and had been elected twice 1999 and in 1991 from here.

In 1999, the AIADMK and the Congress had a tie-up and Mr Aiyar won with a margin of more than 40,000 votes by defeating his nearest rival of the PMK. This time the tables have turned. With the AIADMK having an alliance with the BJP, the Congress is tied up with the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance. Pitted against Mr Aiyar is AIADMK’s propaganda secretary O.S. Manian, who hails from this place.

There are many factor, that are working against Mr Aiyar. His continuous attacks against AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has reportedly led to her saying that his was one face that she did not want to see in the next Parliament.”

Mr Aiyar’s record in this constituency ever since he was elected in 1991 has been far from satisfactory. He is said to have laid at least 14 foundation stones of various projects but voters here say none of them has seen the light of the day.

Armed with recent pictures of the foundation stones, Mr Manian is telling the voters that Mr Aiyar had not done anything for their welfare.

“Forget about the DMK or the PMK workers, even Congress workers are not working for him. His arrogant remarks have alienated his own workers. It is an easy task for me to defeat him,” he says. The Congress campaign here seems to be a low-key affair. There is not much activity in Mr Aiyar’s constituency office.

For Mr Aiyar it is a question of political revival or death. Though he is batting on a tricky wicket, he is leaving no stone unturned. He is reminding the voters about his speeches in Parliament and how he succeeded in placing this constituency in the “consciousness of this country.”

Another setback for Congress
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 5
The Congress candidate from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency, Rana Gurjit Singh, today received another jolt when Mr Manvinder Singh Chahal, a Congress leader from Kapurthala and former senior vice-president of the Punjab Youth Congress, extended support to the SAD-BJP candidate, Mr Naresh Gujral, today.

Mr Chahal is the second Congress leader to extend support to the SAD-BJP after the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee secretary, Mr Sarwan Singh Cheema, joined the SAD yesterday. Kapurthala is the home constituency of Rana Gurjit Singh.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr Chahal, who had also contested the 1997 elections as an Independent from Kapurthala and had polled about 13,000 votes, said he decided to support the SAD as there was no place for an honest Congressmen in the present party set-up. “I served the Congress for 25 years with complete dedication but was ignored.

This forced me to contest as an Independent in 1997. But I rejoined the Congress.

However, there is still no place for right-thinking people in the party,” said Mr Chahal.

Mr Chahal announced his decision to support the SAD in the presence of former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral and Mr Naresh Gujral at their residence.

Levelling allegations against the Congress, Mr Chahal said the party in Kapurthala was being run by mafia and a prominent Congressman had offered him Rs 50 lakh for with drawing as an Independent during the 2002 Assembly poll.

“Not only this, they tried to lure me by offering a plum SSP posting for my brother, who is an SP.

But, I vowed not to allow Punjab to go into the hands of mafia,” said Mr Chahal.

Kalpana becomes ‘nightmare’
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 5
The Indian-born American woman astronaut Kalpana Chawla who was born here and died unfortunately in the Columbia crash last year, has become a ‘nightmare’ for the BJP and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leadership that had publicly announced to set up a medical college in her memory at Karnal.

More than 14 months after her demise, the candidates of both parties are facing the consequences of non-fulfillment of the promise. Allegations and counter-allegations by the leaders of BJP and INLD against each other, particularly after their break-up has left the voters wondering on the credibility of these two political parties.

The BJP candidate and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr I.D. Swami, had announced on February 9 last year the establishment of a medical college at Karnal in the presence of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, at a function organised to mourn her death at the local Sanatam Dharam Mandir.

Earlier, the then Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr C. P. Thakur, in 2000 announced the setting up of a medical college at Karnal and trauma centres along all national highways in the state. Later, after the death of Kalpana Chawla, both the BJP and INLD leaders promised to name the medical college in her memory.

Satish Kalyan, a resident of Karnal, feels that with the setting up of a new medical college in Karnal, not only would the people of the area benefit, it would also reduce the burden on hospitals in the neighbouring Delhi and Chandigarh.

Mr Swami seems to be in trouble this time with the raking up of this issue. During poll campaign, he often gives a clarification on this issue, saying that the matter is still under the consideration of the Union Government. Interestingly, the INLD is criticising the BJP on this issue of not sanctioning the medical college as it is in power at the Centre.

The INLD candidate, Mr Ashok Arora, has further alleged that Ms Sushma Swaraj, Union Health Minister, has intentionally not sanctioned the medical college as she never got elected from Karnal despite the fact that she contested the Lok Sabha elections on three occasions from here.

The issue has acquired much significance at the time of elections that the poll managers of BJP have now scheduled a public meeting of the BJP at Karnal likely to be addressed by Ms Swaraj on Wednesday. Mr Shashi Pal Mehta, senior BJP leader and former Industry Minister of Haryana, told TNS that Ms Swaraj would bring proof regarding the issue to apprise the people of true position.

Kerala nominees undervalue assets
John Mary

Thiruvananthapuram, May 5
Election Watch Kerala, a civil society initiative led by prominent citizens, has found a gross mismatch between the declared and actual assets of many Lok Sabha candidates in Kerala.

Right in the forefront is M.P. Veerendra Kumar, a major stakeholder in the Mathrubhumi daily and the Janata Dal (Secular) candidate in Kozhikode.

According to the Election Watch, Kumar owns at least 50 per cent of the newspaper shares, valued at between Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore. But in the affidavit filed before the Election Commission, his shares and bonds are estimated at only Rs 113,000.

Shantivarma Jain, an independent in Kozhikode, is the richest candidate, with assets valued at — Rs 21 crore, followed by Congressman N.A. Mohammed (Rs 11.8 crore), Mr C. Udayabhaskar (BJP) Rs 6.8 crore, Mr Veerendra Kumar — Rs 4.6 crore and Ms Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of Congress leader K. Karunakaran, — Rs 2.6 crore.

A major suppression has been through undervaluation of landed property. For instance, a house in posh PTP Nagar here is shown to have a value of Rs 10 lakh while the actual market value must be thrice that figure.

Only about 10 per cent of the candidates (eight from LDF, five from the NDA and four from the UDF) have filed tax returns while the total declared assets of all the 177 candidates, including Independents, run into millions of rupees.

However, none of the mainstream candidates in Kerala has a criminal background unlike in other states. Karnataka has 68 candidates with criminal background. Most cases relate to law and order issues as part of political agitations.

CPM leader P. Karunakaran in Kasargod has 23 cases against him in connection with his participation in political agitations. Tribal leader, C.K. Janu, the Rashtriya Mahasabha candidate in Idukki, follows with 11 cases.

An Independent candidate has a case of attempted murder pending against him.

The UDF has three women candidates followed by the LDF (2) and the NDA (1).

The oldest candidates are Mr P.K. Vasudevan Nair (78 — CPI), Varkala Radhakrishnan (CPM — 77) and O. Rajagopal (BJP — 74) and the youngest include K.A. Thulasi (Congress — 30), C. Surendran (CPI — 36) and A. P. Abdullah Kutty (CPM — 36).

SAD workers booked
Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, May 5
Two SAD workers, Mr Major Singh and Mr Baj Singh of Khemkaran, have been booked for using abusive language and threatening a Congress worker . The police has registered a case against the accused.

Police sources told this correspondent yesterday that Mr Rajesh Singh, the Congress worker, was pasting posters of his party candidate here when Mr Major Singh and Mr Baj Singh. stopped him and used derogatory language.

Mr Virsa Singh Valtoha, senior Akali leader and the former member of the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board has demanded an inquiry into the matter.