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Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala releases the INLD manifesto in Chandigarh on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph
It’s pay-back time for sons
Bhajan kicks off campaign on nostalgic
note
Fear of EC keeps campaign low key
CPM releases manifesto
Poll observers for Kaithal
State of Parties
— Ekta Shakti
SYL major poll plank of
BJP
Rohtak, January 20 Punjabis and members of the backward classes in Haryana are sore with the political parties about what they call as “their failure to give them their rightful share in the ticket”. Both these communities feel that the ticket allocation is not commensurate with their population in Haryana.
Patna, January 20 RJD president Laloo Prasad today released his party’s manifesto for the February Assembly poll, promising to wage a decisive battle to weed out corruption at all levels, make the police machinery stronger and effective and set up a “vikas sena” to accelerate the pace of development. RJD resident Laloo Prasad Yadav releases the election manifesto of his party in Patna on Thursday. — PTI photo
BJP vows to bring ultras to mainstream Ranchi, January 20 The ruling BJP today announced to continue its efforts to bring the extremists to the mainstream under a the new Ratnakar Yojna and take measures to protect the life and property in Naxal-affected areas of the state.
Notification for second phase issued
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INLD promises 5 lakh jobs
Chandigarh, January 20 Only a single line about the SYL issue figures in the manifesto while agriculture, which was an obsession with the INLD in the bygone days, too, has been accorded secondary status in the booklet released by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala here today. The manifesto talks about accelerating the pace of development in the state at such a rate that the average per capita income would become Rs 50,000 per annum. "This means that an average Haryanvi family consisting of a husband, wife and two children will have an income of at least Rs 2 lakh per annum," the manifesto says. The manifesto, dedicated to "youth and total development", also promises the creation of five lakh jobs during the next five years and jobs to at least one member of every family. It says a “yuva vikas vahini” would be constituted and it would provide jobs to at least 20 youths in each village. A yuva vikas fund, having a corpus of Rs 100 crore, would be created to provide interest-free loans as well as low interest loans to the youth for self-employment after the completion of education. This fund would also be used for awarding scholarships, besides grants to meritorious students for going abroad for higher education. It also states that all industry located in Haryana would have to conduct campus interviews and reserve 20 per cent jobs for the
local youth. The manifesto also mentions the setting up of a single window yuva seva in all schools, colleges and universities. The single window would offer various services ranging from the issuance of driving licences to caste certificates. It says that the INLD would oppose the "proposed" withdrawal of MSP by the Congress-led Central Government and adds that Haryana's share of river waters would be brought to the state through the SYL. It also promises to introduce a health insurance scheme, adequate representation to business community in various institutions, and the setting up of sports nurseries by all government departments to train players for the 2008 Olympics.
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Chautala for ban on poll surveys
Chandigarh, January 20 “The agency which conducted the survey was ignorant about Haryana politics. It wrote that the Congress was out of power in Haryana for the past 15 years whereas in reality the Congress was out of power for nine years,” he told reporters after releasing the INLD’s manifesto. He said he would make a formal complaint to the Election Commission and seek a ban on the publication of results of such
surveys. He said the Congress was a divided house in the state and the Congress workers were an unhappy lot as all that the senior leaders had done was to secure ticket for themselves and their nearest relatives. “More than 30 rebel candidates are in the fray in the state and this phenomenon will help the INLD,” he said. On the BJP’s promise that small farmers in the state would be given power free of cost, Mr Chautala said the then NDA-led Central Government had not taken up any step for the generation of power in the country. “Availability of power is the biggest problem the country is facing but the earlier government had not done anything to improve the power scenario,” he said.
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Chautala’s brother bows out
Sirsa, January 20 He, however, vowed to free the people of Haryana from the “clutches of the oppressive rule” of Mr Chautala by canvassing against him all over the state in the coming days. Today was the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers for the February 3 elections in Haryana. Mr Pratap Singh, a former MLA, had filed his nomination on January 17, a little after the Chief Minister submitted his papers. He said he would launch a “pol khol” campaign across the state against the Chautala family to expose its misdeeds. “Now I won’t be confined to Rori and, therefore, will be able to travel throughout the state,”
he said. He alleged that his brother was a billionare and spending huge amounts of money on his campaign. Congress candidate in Rori Jagdeesh Nehra was also a millionaire and had no dearth of funds for the electioneering, he alleged. “I am no match for them in this regard. Let the two ‘naags’ (snakes) fight between themselves,”
he said. — UNI
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It’s pay-back time for sons
Chandigarh, January 19 In the Lok Sabha poll INLD chief and Chief Minister O.P. Chautala, HPCC President Bhajan Lal and Congress MLA O.P. Jindal had campaigned for their respective sons, Ayay Chautala, Kuldip Bishnoi and Naveen Jindal. Now it is the turn of the three high-profile sons to campaign for their respective fathers, who are in the electoral fray in the Assembly poll. While Mr Chautala is contesing the Narwana and Rori seats, Mr Bhajan Lal is contesting from his traditional Adampur constituency and Mr O.P. Jindal is once again trying his luck from Hisar, a seat which he had won in the last Assembly poll. In the Lok Sabha poll the elder Chautala had campaigned for his son, Ajay Chautala, from the Bhiwani seat while Mr Bhajan Lal had also campaigned for his son Kuldip Bishnoi, from Bhiwani and had ensured his victory.
— UNI
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Bhajan kicks off campaign on nostalgic
note
Mandi Adampur, January 20 After being felicitated and presented with garlands and cash by his supporters, Mr Bhajan Lal, accompanied by his wife and former MLA Jasma Devi, addressed a gathering in front of his family shops at the local grain market. Overwhelmed by the welcome, he thanked the people for their whole-hearted support and cooperation and promised to work for their betterment. The Congress leader maintained that he had come to “hand over responsibility” of the election to the people of Adampur. “It is your election and and I give you the responsibility of getting me — your son and brother — elected with a record margin,” he said, exhorting the people to placate their friends who had any grouse. Mr Bhajan Lal said since he had to address poll meetings in the entire state, it would not be possible for him to give full time to his own constituency. “However, I have decided to cover all 60 villages in my constituency within four days, beginning today. After that, I will move on to other places, leaving the rest to you,” he said. It may be mentioned here that the Adampur Assembly segment has been Mr Bhajan Lal’s stronghold since 1968. He defeated former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal in 1972 and Haryana BJP president Ganeshi Lal in the last
elections. In all, he has been elected seven times from this constituency and is in the fray for the eighth time. His wife Jasma Devi won an Assembly election once from the same segment. The former Chief Minister claimed that there was a wave in favour of the Congress in the state and the party would win with a thumping majority. He promised to redress all grievances of the people after the Congress came to power in the state. The Congress candidate for the Bhattu Assembly seat, Mr Kulbir Singh, was present on the occasion. He expressed gratitude to Mr Bhajan Lal and pledged to make sincere efforts for the development of his constituency after he
was elected. Interestingly, Mr Bhajan Lal sought support for the Congress candidates in the state and mentioned the names of some of them. He started with Hansi nominee Amir Chand Makkad and then went on to Mr Dura Ram from Fatehabad, Mr Kulbir Singh from Bhattu, and so on. However, he did not mention the name of noted industrialist and Hisar MLA Om Prakash Jindal, who is the Congress candidate for the Hisar seat. Given the present equation between Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Jindal, whether the lapse was inadvertent or otherwise is anybody’s guess.
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Fear of EC keeps campaign low key
Rohtak, January 20 Firstly, the observers sent by the Election Commission are ensuring strict implementation of the code of conduct thereby restricting the number of vehicles used by the candidates. Till the assembly elections in 2000, most candidates would use more than double the number of vehicles allowed. This time any unauthorised vehicle is impounded and the expense is added to the candidates’ account. This has curbed the excessive use of loudspeakers. Consequently, the campaign is less noisier compared to the past elections. The use of loudspeakers in late evenings and early mornings has been banned. Special permission for using loudspeakers for meetings is now mandatory. The implementation of the code has also checked printing and pasting of posters. Since every poster must carry the number of copies printed, the candidates are finding it hard to exceed the limit on expenditure on this count. As a result, public and private buildings have fewer posters on the walls. The infighting in the Congress is reflected in the posters printed by party nominees. While a portrait of Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the candidate concerned are the common factors, the third picture on the posters is that of the leader of the faction to which the candidate belongs. While in the Rohtak and Sonepat areas, the posters carry a picture of Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in the Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani and Sirsa areas, Mr Bhajan Lal’s smiling face adorns the posters. Similarly, in the Jind and Kaithal areas, the posters carry pictures of either the Surjewalas or Mr Birender Singh. The campaign offices lack the hustle and bustle generally associated with elections. Most state offices of parties are located here. Unlike the May 2004 Lok Sabha poll, these offices are deserted during the day. These offices are crowded for short periods in the morning when party workers gather to leave for their respective areas and late in the evenings when they return and exchange notes. Not many candidates are running round the clock makeshift kitchens this time. Though the candidates cite EC guidelines as reason, workers say that the candidates have different reasons for tightening the purse strings. While a particular party’s candidates feel they need not spend much because they are taking their win for granted, some other party nominees have done so because they feel their chances are slim. So far street urchins have not been able to lay their hands on small party flags and brooches as the candidates are not distributing these any more. Even otherwise, very few households are accepting party flags for hoisting on their roofs. Thus whatever election publicity material the candidates have has also been lying unutilised so far. If the trend continues for another few days, this will be one of the most inexpensive campaigns in Haryana. However, this does not mean the candidates are short of funds. The coffers of most recognised party candidates are already full.
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CPM releases manifesto
Hisar, January 20 Senior CPM leader Prithvi Singh Gorakhpuria, Haryana unit secretary Inderjit and district secretary Prabhat Singh released the party manifesto at a news conference organised here today. The manifesto, which has been titled “Appeal to the Electorate,” includes issues like provision of loans at a cheaper rate, guarantee of employment, strengthening of the farm universities and other research institutes, setting up of a labour welfare fund, review of the privatisation policy, reinstatement of the sacked government employees and check on the diktats issued by self-styled panchayats. Addressing newsmen on this occasion, the CPM leaders asserted that the state voters wanted to get rid of the Chautala regime. They urged the people to dismiss the mafia rule, reject the BJP and vote for the CPM, which was a “positive alternative.” They accused the Congress of not playing a constructive role as the major opposition party, adding that instead of cornering the Chautala Government on issues of public concern, the Congress leaders remained engaged in factionalism and infighting.
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Poll observers for Kaithal
Kaithal, January 19 District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner Mr H.S. Malik said that Mr Anoop Kumar Dubey, expenditure observer for all constituencies; Mr J. Sudhakaran and Mr Rajesh Agarwal, general observers for the Kaithal and Pundri Assembly constituencies respectively, were staying at the PWD (B&R) rest house here. Two other observers, Mr Anand Madhukar Limaye and Mr Rajesh Bhushan , for the Pai and Kalayat Assembly segments, respectively were putting-up at the local canal
Rest House. Ms Archna Agarwal, observer for the Guhla constituency, was staying at the Guhla rest house.
— UNI
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State
of Parties
— Ekta Shakti
Karnal, January 20 They then wear saffron turbans or patkas on their heads and get ready to move out for the scheduled campaigning of the party. Basically confined to Karnal district only, the recently floated party had left some impact in the last Lok Sabha elections to become a strong pressure group in the area. It has spread its wings in the nearby districts of Panipat, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Ambala though with little influence. The one sight that raises the hope of every volunteer is Maratha Virender Verma, a bureaucrat-turned-politician who had been dismissed from the Haryana Civil Services by the outgoing government. His supporters shout slogans in his favour. The soft-spoken leader is challenging big stalwarts like Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, state Congress chief Bhajan Lal and Mr Bansi Lal and wants to change the present political set-up and bring in reforms both at the political and administrative levels by promising a transparent government. In a well-managed set-up divided into groups, the supporters visit every home and distribute pamphlets containing election promises. The most interesting thing about Maratha is that he has prohibited his volunteers from consuming liquor and other intoxicants. He asks them to be socially responsible and work hard. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the Ekta Shakti candidate from the Karnal constituency secured as many as 84,000 votes showing the party’s presence in almost every Assembly segment of Karnal and Panipat districts. This time the party has fielded its candidates in most of the seats of Karnal, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Yamunanagar, Ambala and Sonepat districts, besides a few others in the other parts of the state. The only chances of its victory appears to be in the Gharaunda constituency where it has fielded a rebel Congress leader, Kunwar Ram Pal, a two-time former minister. Another gamble would be at the Nilokheri constituency from where Maratha himself is contesting.
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SYL major poll plank of
BJP
Chandigarh, January 20 Mr Sharma said the BJP was the only party in Haryana whose legislators had
resigned from the state Assembly to protest against the Congress-led Central
Government’s reluctance to take action against Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh for the Punjab Assembly Bill on termination of water sharing agreements
between Punjab and other states. Mr Sharma also alleged that soon after the Punjab Bill was passed, Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi told at a public meeting at Kurukshetra that SYL was no more an issue in Haryana. The BJP leader also criticised the Congress for distributing the ticket to kith and kin of various Haryana leaders and said the presence of the rebel candidates in the fray would severely affect the prospects of the official candidates of Congress.
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Punjabis, BCs feel let down
Rohtak, January 20 Leaders of the Punjabi community (comprising basically those who migrated here after Partition) say that only seven Punjabis have been given the Congress ticket this time as against 14 in 1991. They claim that going by their population the community should have been given 17 seats. Likewise, they claim, other parties too have ignored their claims. On the other hand, members of the backward classes feel that the Sainis, Gujjars and Yadavs have cornered nomination at the cost of other communities among the BCs such as khatis (carpenters), lohars (blacksmiths) and nais (barbers) though their population far exceeds that of these three communities. Dr Sarvdanand Arya, a former Vice-Chancellor and once an acolyte of HPCC chief Bhajan Lal, but now a BJP leader, says Punjabis as a linguistic group account for 22 per cent of the population. However, he says, political parties have so managed the figures that the Census report puts this figure at only 7 per cent. He says this has been done by counting Punjabi Brahmins, Guptas, Khatris and other communities as locals as it suits them to keep the community divided. Dr Arya says the figure of 7 per cent given in the Census report means only the Aroras and the Punjabis as a complete linguistic group. Mr Subhash Batra, a Congress leader and former minister, agrees with this assessment and says that never before has the Congress given so few seats to the community. He says Punjabis constitute 25 per cent of the population and they have a rightful claim on 22 seats. He says even in 1991 the community was given 14 seats which number has been reduced to half this time. Mr Batra terms this as “a failure of the community leadership”. He says all leaders sacrificed the interests of the community and lobbied just for themselves. Otherwise, there is no reason why Punjabis should have been treated shabbily. Leaders of the BCs are equally disappointed. However, they have different reasons for feeling let down. Mr Satish Yogi, a prominent activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Yogi Sabha, says the Sainis, Gujjars and Yadavs are “new BCs” while the khatis, lohars and nais are “true BCs”. But because the former are concentrated in a few pockets like Ahirwal for Yadavs, they corner a major share of the nomination. The really backward communities are scattered all over the state. He says the most backward among the BCs are the latter who have never been given their due by any political party because they were among the poorest communities in the state. He says the lack of due political share has contributed to their financial and political backwardness. Leaders of the members of the Scheduled Castes also have similar complaints. They say members of the so-called upper castes have been getting undue representation in the state polity for decades now. Mr Batra says he plans to convene a mahapanchayat of Punjabis before the polling on February 3 to highlight the issue and motivate the leadership to take steps to ensure that the community gets its due share in the next elections.
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RJD releases manifesto
Patna, January 20 Releasing the manifesto at a press conference here, Mr Yadav offered a slew of sops for the minorities, including opening a Urdu directorate under the Raj Bhasha Department, according the status of Scheduled Caste to extremely backward and deprived sections of the minority communities, besides posting employees knowing Urdu at all police stations in the state. He said if returned to power, the RJD would take effective steps for expanding the network of small-scale industries and ensure free education for women at all levels. He said his party would also work for providing employment to at least one person in every family of a farmer and labourer and said further steps would be taken for linking all villages with pucca roads. He told newspersons that it was the decision of the Union Cabinet to submit the interim report of the Banerjee Commission within three months of its constitution. He said after completion of the period, the report had been submitted and some of its important contents had been released as a press note. He said the Election Commission had never forbidden him from releasing the report and clarified that he had only distributed press note and had not given any additional material. He said people had the right to know about the facts emerging after the inquiry and the truth had come out. He said the EC was free to take action and look into the objections if raised by any party over the release of the report or about its timing. He said as per the Cabinet’s decision, he would table the interim report in Parliament too. — PTI, UNI
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BJP vows to bring ultras to mainstream
Ranchi, January 20 Releasing the 27-point manifesto at a press conference, BJP General Secretary Rajnath Singh said India was a country of great saint Valmiki, who was earlier a dreaded dacoit Ratnakar. Later, his heart was changed and he became a saint. Likewise, the BJP wanted to bring the extremists to the mainstream through the Ratnakar Yojna, he added. He reiterated that the BJP would retain power in the four-year-old state which was going for its first Assembly elections this February. They would speed up developmental activities in the Naxal-dominated areas and bring the extremists to the negotiating table in the interest To check extremist activities, adequate police forces with sophisticated weapons would be deployed. Special financial assistance would be given to next of kin of police and para-military jawans who lost their lives fighting the ultras, he said. Mr Rajnath Singh said his party had no bitterness with NDA alliance partners and they were contesting the elections jointly with the JD(U). On the other hand, the opposition UPA was a house in disorder and its alliance partners had divided over seat-sharing and were fighting the elections separately, he said. The manifesto pointed out that they were committed to introducing the “Annapurna Yojna” to provide foodgrains to the poor at the rate of Rs 5 per kg and Rs 3 per kg to the people below poverty line, including stipend to the unemployed youth. Salt would be provided at the rate of 25 paisa. The elections to all democratic institutions, including panchayats, would be completed within six months. Religious conversion would be checked and cow slughter banned in the state. Tourism would be given the status of industry and one person of each family would be provided employment. The BJP was also committed to giving land to Adivasi people living in forest land and establish a land bank. It would also constitute agricultural and youth commissions in the state to solve various problems, he added.
— UNI
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Notification for second phase issued
Patna, January 20 The notification, inviting voters of the specified constituencies to elect 86
representatives to the Assembly, said
nominations would be accepted till January The scrutiny would take place the following day, while the last date of withdrawal is January 31. Polling in the second phase of elections will take place on February 15, declared a paid holiday for all government offices and private establishments to facilitate the casting of votes.
— UNI
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