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East Delhi: BJP
faces bumpy road
2 fiery women vie
for Today’s poll
crucial for
Karunakaran’s
daughter fights to save family pride NRIs woo kin for
votes BJP will win over
40 seats in UP: Katiyar
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East Delhi: BJP faces bumpy road New Delhi, May 9 The odds appear to favour the younger Dikshit,
making his debut in the electoral battle where 26 contestants are in the fray
and his rival is banking heavily on the Vajpayee factor and the “India Shining”
campaign of the BJP. “But, he has hardly shone himself here in the
constituency during the three terms that he has been elected,” remarked Mr
Ravi Kumar, a resident of a DDA colony in Mayur Vihar. One voter in this
sprawling constituency, comprising 20 of the 70 assembly seats, described Mr
Tiwari sarcastically as the “missing MP” for having been rarely sighted. As
even a party worker, who sought anonymity said in a lighter vein “Tiwari hai
majboori kyunki Atalji hai zaroori.” But, this does not appear to carry
weight with much of the electorate except with the Poorvanchalis, euphemism for
migrants from Bihar, who play a crucial role in this constituency which has a
spread of resettlement colonies, group housing societies and a good number of
the business community. This constituency stretching from Narela in the north on the Delhi-Haryana border to Kondli and Ghazipur in the east on the Delhi-UP border, has an electorate of about 26 lakh with most of them being migrants. There is a substantial presence of Dalits, OBCs including Gujjars in the constituency which has thrown up different results in the Lok Sabha and assembly poll. “This
time we will vote for the hand,” said Sawan Kumar who is a regular fruit
vendor at the weekly Thursday fruit and vegetable market in Mayur Vihar “as
the sitting MP has rarely been sighted.” Several BJP insiders too admit that
the going would be tough for Mr Tiwari this time. The Congress got a shot in the arm when the Gujjar community recently decided to support Sandip Dikshit at a Mahasammelan which was attended by the Chief Minister. Once
considered a stronghold of the Congress with old war horse H.K.L. Bhagat having
been elected from here in 1971 for the first time and subsequently becoming the
“uncrowned king” winning the seat in 1980, 1984 and 1989. But the 1984
anti-Sikh riots proved to be his waterloo as he lost to the BJP candidate when
there was no looking back for the saffron outfit. However, much water has flown down the Yamuna since then and the Congress appears to be regaining ground and the seat is gradually coming into the grasp of the generation next of the Congress. In 1996, Mr Tiwari had defeated Ms Shiela Dikshit by 46,000 votes and three years later beat former Lt-Governor of Delhi, H.L. Kapur by nearly 82,000 votes riding on the Kargil factor and the Vajpayee wave. The
question again being posed is “would Tiwari be able to ride the Vajpayee wave
again.” — PTI |
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2 fiery women vie for Karol Bagh New Delhi, May 9 Congress
candidate Krishna Tirath and BJP’s Anita Arya are also trying to deal with
other problems like unemployment and lack of development in the constituency
that comprises residential areas and a commercial hub. Battling allegations
of “inaction” as a legislator, Mrs Tirath, three-time MLA, walks through the
meandering lanes and bylanes in the reserved constituency seeking votes for “bringing
about a change”. “Rozgar” for the people is the main issue here. People
are more concerned about employment which the Centre’s policies have played
havoc with, she says “Women’s security comes under law and order, which is
under the Centre’s control. It is not an issue. No one has talked about it
during my campaigning,” she says. “Anita Arya has done nothing for the
area. The condition of the constituency speaks for itself. Moreover, where is
the “feel good” factor here? People are fed up of her as she has not visited
the area even once.” On the public protests over the hike in house tax, she
said people’s complaints would be looked into when it is heard by the
committee appointed to look into the issue. “But people are not complaining.
They are happy with it now. If anything, whatever the committee decides would be
acceptable to all,” she says. Her rival, Anita Arya, sitting MP, exudes “101
per cent” confidence of a victory this time as well. “As a Mayor, people
know what I did for them. Nurturing the constituency has been my routine and not
an exception,” she says. My plank is development, she states emphatically.
Confident of her “work and performance” over the years, she brushes aside
the “incumbency” tag, saying, that “Development that the country has seen
during NDA rule under Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the development that my
constituency has witnessed would stand by me in good stead,” Ms Arya says. On
Mrs Tirath, she says the Delhi government’s failure to provide the basic
amenities of a metropolis to its people would spell her doom. “Water shortage
in colonies, seepage in sewer lines in her Baljit Nagar legislative constituency
and the draconian house tax on the hapless common man — is this what ‘development’
stands for in the Delhi government’s way of things? ” she asks. “This
time I would work for special security outside girls schools and hostels,
increased patrolling during night time and special cells to address their
grievances,” she says. “My padyatra has revealed that people want timely
water supply, adequate electricity and clean colonies. This is what has not been
provided to them in the five years of Congress rule.” The man on the street
remains unimpressed with this hair splitting over who is to be blamed for his
plight. Ramesh in Karol Bagh market is unwilling to ‘sit idle’ this time.
“Is baar vote to zaroor karenge.” Keeping his cards close to his chest, he
says, “Jo kaam kare hai, woh jitega...(only those who have worked, will win)”. People
like Mr V.K. Soni in East Patel Nagar say, “We do believe that the Congress
has done some work here. The colony is in good shape. But that could be because
several ‘politicos’ live here. Still, we feel the way things are, it’s
fine.” However, East Patel Nagar forms only a part of the constituency. The
difference is palpable in West Patel Nagar itself. Also the main chunk of voters
are those who live in the slums of Baljit Nagar, the bylanes of Prasad Nagar and
in the crowded Beadonpura. — UNI
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Today’s
poll crucial for RLD, SP Lucknow:
The May 10 elections in Uttar Pradesh will put the ruling alliance of Samajwadi
Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal to test. Elections will be held for 18 seats,
spread over western parts of the state. The RLD of Chaudhry Ajit Singh is
contesting 10 of these seats. In the 1999 parliamentary election, the RLD has won just two seats while its ally Samajwadi Party had won three. The BJP had the largest share of seven seats followed by Congress four. “This
time, the RLD-SP alliance will win more than 10 seats. We will sweep this phase
of election in Uttar Pradesh,” Anil Dubey, the state general secretary of RLD
told The Tribune. “We are a potent combination and are getting support from
all quarters of society,” he said. This is the first time that the RLD and
SP are contesting election together. The RLD holds sway over the Jat votes,
which is in majority in this region while Yadavs and a section Muslims are
supporting the SP. “Combined together, RLD and SP have over 40 per cent of
vote share,” Ram Saran Das, the state president of Samajwadi Party said. The third phase will seal the fate of RLD chief Ajit Singh, who is contesting from Baghpat. His sister Gyanwati is the RLD candidate from Mathura while Anuradha Chaudhry, Irrigation Minister in the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, is contesting from the western UP constituency of Kairana. The fate of Ram Gopal Yadav, younger brother of Mulayam Singh Yadav would also be decided in the May 10 poll. He is contesting from the Yadav-dominated Sambhal constituency. Among
other prominent leaders whose fate will be decided in this phase of election is
Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State for Heavy Industries, and mafia don-turned
politician D.P. Yadav. Gangwar is contesting from Bareilly while Yadav is
locking horns with Mulayam Jr. from Sambhal. |
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Maneka pitted against friend-turned foe Pilibhit, May 9 While there are a total of 14
candidates in the fray from this constituency, Ms Maneka is engaged in a
four-cornered contest with the Congress’ V.M. Singh, BSP’s Anis Ahmed Khan
and SP’s Satyapal Gangwar. The local BJP leaders had protested against the
decision to give a “rebel” ticket. They said during the 2002 assembly poll,
she ran a campaign against BJP candidates in Pilibhit and nearby constituencies
by fielding 10 candidates of her Shakti Dal. “Party workers have also not
forgiven Varun Gandhi for criticising Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee over
the coffin scam even while his mother was a minister in the NDA government ,”
a BJP worker said. With farmer-related and local issues taking a lead, the candidates are making efforts to impress the 12.85 lakh electorate. Mr
V.M. Singh had organised farmers’ demonstrators for minimum support price. Ms
Maneka would have to slug it out alone. She is seeking votes on her past work
and poll engagements. Apart from the Congress and the BJP, there are the BSP and
SP candidates who also wield influence in the constituency. Their poll plank is based on local issue. They ask voters to elect a local candidate. SP
candidate Gangwar has developed several pockets of influence among voters who
think local issues are of prime importance. Mr Gangwar reads out extracts from
the pro-sugarcane farmer speeches delivered by SP chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in the state legislative assembly. — UNI
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Karunakaran’s daughter fights to save family pride Mukundapuram, (Kerala), May 9 Yet unlike many of her peers, she wants to be described
first herself as “Papa’s own girl”, though seasoned enough to stand on her
own feet and fight by now. In the prestigious fight to save the pride of the family in the pro-Congress fort, she is in a tough battle against CPM, backed Independent and former state minister Lonappan Nambadar. The BJP has fielded Mathew Paily in this constituency, covering the seven Assembly segments spread in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. Though
she started with just Papa’s coveted address, within no time Padmaja has put
her own stakes to national attention. She was bold enough to announce a firm “no”
to hartal and bandhs in a state marked by militant trade unionism. A business
entrepreneur herself Padmaja set another precedent by hiring a professional
public relations firm — Corporate Relations — to finetune her campaign. She
manages her garment export business. IT firm and is the producer of Malayalam
television soaps, besides running a recording studio. Having spent long years in this constituency and being the campaign manager of his father last time, every nook and corner and small and big faces of the area are known to her. After
campaigning till night, she sets out very early the next day, this time towards
the hilly terrain of Sholayar to meet the Tamil-speaking labourers in tea
plantation. As a seasoned campaigner she waves past party workers, addressing
small corner meetings and visiting homes on the way to 90-km distant tribal hub.
Once among the Tamil-speaking labourers, she labouriously switches over to their
language “Ungalude ponnai ninechuu votrikku (Take me as your daughter and vote
for me)”. Offering prayers at every kovil (temple) in the plantation settlements, dining with labourer families, exchanging pleasantries with the old and calling the workers by names, the glamour girl of politics proves her detractors wrong on her experience in the field. In
a constituency where a majority of the voters are women, she has her concrete
ideas for them to make them stand on their own. After managing the developmental
works for her father during the last term, she has prepared a blueprint of
development for the constituency. In the past 13 elections, it stood with the
Congress-backed candidates astonishingly 11 times. It returned pro-Left nominees
twice in 1957 and 1980. Even when the Congress lost all other seats.
Mukundapuram stood with them in 1967 surviving a huge wave. In 1980, the A K
Antony-led Congress faction was with the Left camp. At present, of the seven
Assembly segments under the constituency, six are with the Congress-led front.
Mr Karunakaran had a lead of 52,463 votes last time over his nearest rival EM
Sreedharan. — UNI
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NRIs woo kin
for votes Jalandhar, May 9 Though almost all
important candidates contesting in the three constituencies falling in Doaba
region — Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Phillaur — have attracted NRIs from the
UK, Canada, North America, the USA and Germany, the largest number is extending
support to Congress candidate Rana Gurjit Singh (Jalandhar), SAD-BJP candidate
Charanjit Singh Atwal (Phillaur), his rival and Congress candidate Santosh
Chaudhary, BSP candidate Charanjit Channi (Hoshiarpur) and Naresh Gujral
(Jalandhar). The NRIs, most of whom are elderly and have come with their wives are going door to door, particularly in rural areas, to impress upon their near and dear ones and relatives to vote for their respective candidates. Councillor
Balwinder Singh from Salouh in UK is campaigning for his friend Rana Gurjit
Singh. He who was a classmate of Rana’s brother Ranjit Rana at Dagshai Public
School. Mr Mukhtiar Singh Randhawa, based at London, is also campaigning for
Rana. He has toured a number of villages, seeking votes for Rana. “There are
many like Darshan Singh Nagra, a 73-year-old NRI from London, and a 72-year-old
Onkar Singh Nijjhar, who have been working round the clock despite their old age
handicap,” said Mr Tejinder Singh Bittu, the president of the Jalandhar
District Congress Committee. Balbir Singh Changiara, general secretary of the
North America unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), Mr Mohinder Singh
Mehsampur, president of the UK unit of the SAD, Paramjit Singh Bilga, based in
the UK and Satnam Singh Sahota, figure in the long list of NRIs, who have come
to extend their support to the SAD candidate from Phillaur, Mr Charanjit Singh
Atwal. In Phillaur, a number of NRIs are also campaigning for Congress candidate
Santosh Chaudhary and BSP candidate Pawan Kumar Tinu.
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BJP will win
over 40 seats in UP: Katiyar Lucknow, May 9 Even the exit polls were in favour of the BJP. “Though I do not
believe in exit polls, but these polls are an indicator to the prevailing
situation,” he said. “The exit and opinion polls have given over 30 seats to
the BJP in UP but I am sure we will win over 40 seats.” Mr Katiyar, said the
BJP would retain its previous seats. “The SP, the BSP and the Congress will
fight for the second, third and fourth positions respectively,” he said. |
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