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It pays to be
heavyweight
6 ‘tainted’ MLAs in
fray
Jindal aims at
hat-trick
Assembly Seats
— FATEHABAD
Campaign Style
SP, BSP all out to oust
RJD
Nominees violating code: CPM
BSP nominee promises jobs in
Bollywood
People fed up with INLD, says Hooda
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It pays to be
heavyweight
Ambala, January 27 While about 30 Congress rebels are in the field opposing official party candidates in various constituencies, no one has dared to openly oppose the heavyweight leaders. When Mr Sharma was nominated from Ambala city, there was a virtual revolt among local Congressmen who dubbed him an “outsider”. The local partymen claimed that one of them would contest as a rebel. However, no one filed the nomination papers. Mr Sharma now seems to be comfortable in Ambala city and the Congressmen take his victory for granted. Rather the BJP candidate, Mrs Veena Chhibber, who could have been his main rival, is facing sabotage from within her party. Since Ambala has a mix of Hindi and Punjabi languages, Mr Sharma switches from one language to another in his about 10-minute speech. He says that the days of discrimination against Ambala in matters like government jobs and development works would be history after his victory. The Congressmen leave no stone unturned to tell people that he was the “high command’s man” and he would not have to beg before any state leader for getting justice for his constituency. The argument cuts ice with the local populace which has always felt that since Ambala had never been represented by a political heavyweight since the formation of Haryana, the successive governments had been ignoring their claims for adequate share in government jobs and development works. A former Haryana minister, Mr Nirmal Singh, who seems set to wrest the Naggal seat from the INLD for the Congress, agrees. He says that with Ms Selja as the Congress MP from Ambala and Mr Sharma as an MLA from the area, his struggle for justice to the people of the area would get a boost and it would no longer be easy for the Chief Minister, whosoever he may be, to ignore Ambala. The local Congress leaders admit both in Ambala and Kaithal that it would have been a futile exercise to oppose prominent leaders like Mr Sharma and Mr Surjewala. Since both are expected to be important in the Congress government, the local partymen want to be on the right side. On his part, Mr Surjewala, whose traditional constituency has been Narwana, from where his son Randeep, working president of the Haryana Congress, is taking on the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, makes it a point to stress that he had broken his links with Narwana and he would now stay only in Kaithal where he has purchased a house. Mr Surjewala opens his speech by telling his supporters from Narwana to go back so that he could establish a direct contact with the people of Kaithal. The Congress had allotted ticket from Naultha to Mr Brajinder Kadian, a former MLA, but it was changed in favour of Ms Prassini Devi at the instance of Mrs Gandhi. Mr Kadian, who was initially in a mood to revolt, changed his mind when he was told that Ms Prassini was a personal choice of the AICC President. Mrs Gandhi will start her election campaign in Haryana from Naultha tomorrow.
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6 ‘tainted’ MLAs in
fray
New Delhi, January 27 Mr Rathi was convicted by a lower court in connection with a murder case, though he says that he has been exonerated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a fact which he has mentioned in an affidavit while filing his nomination papers. Mr Karan Singh Dalal of the RPI joined the Congress just before the Rajya Sabha elections but was suspended from membership by the Speaker of the Assembly. However, his suspension was revoked by the Supreme Court while debarring him from voting rights. Mr Dalal has been given Congress ticket from Palwal. Mr Dalal is facing corruption charges as a minister in the Bansi Lal government. These cases were initiated by the Chautala government in 2000. Mr Dalal has also been saying that the charges were framed against him to humiliate him as a part of a political vendetta against him. Mr Anand Singh Dangi of the Congress has been facing corruption charges for the time he was Revenue Minister in the Bhajan Lal government. When Mr Chautala came to power, corruption cases were initiated against him. Mr Kartar Singh Badhana, a minister in the HVP-BJP coalition government, had revolted against the then Chief Minister Bansi Lal, which led to the formation of the Chautala government in 1999. He quit the HVP and joined the INLD to become the Cooperation Minister in the Chautala government. Later, he quit the INLD to join the BJP and unsuccessfully contested the Dausa Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan last year. Soon after he quit the Chautala government, a case of unauthorised mining was initiated against him. The case is pending with the CBI in Ambala. He is seeking re-election as a BJP candidate from Sohna. He also says that he has been implicated falsely. Former leader of the six-member BJP group Kishan Pal Gujjar, too, is facing corruption charges for the time when he was a minister in the Bansi Lal government. He is seeking re-election from Mewala Maharajpur in Faridabad district. The cases were initiated after he reportedly fell out with the Chautala government after supporting it from outside for more than four years. Mr Azad Mohammad from Ferozepur Jhirkha was elected in 1996 on the SJP(now INLD) ticket but now is the Congress candidate. He is also facing corruption charges. Rao Narbir Singh of the BJP from Jatusana and Congress contestant Bharat Singh from Dadra are also facing criminal cases under the anti-corruption laws.
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Hisar, January 27 Touring the constituency accompanied by family members, including his son Naveen Jindal who is Congress MP from the area, the two-time MLA says that “the first time I won, my margin of victory was 5,000 votes. Last time, I won by 14,000 votes and I am confident that in these elections, I will win by at least 30,000 votes.” The poor condition of basic facilities like roads, water, electricity and sanitation is a major issue. Mr Jindal accuses the INLD of being responsible for the problem in the predominantly urban constituency. “The corrupt practices of the Chautala government will lead to its downfall. People are sick and tired of the corruption and will vote for change, will vote for the Congress,” he says. He, however, seems to be facing strong opponents from within the Congress than outside. His opponents, including Independent contestant Hari Singh Saini, considered to be Mr Jindal’s main rival, criticises the sitting MLA for not spending enough time in the constituency. “Jindal never comes here. He had promised to transform Hisar into Paris but he has done nothing. The roads are in a bad shape. People complain of problems of water and electricity supply,” he says. —
PTI
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Assembly Seats
— FATEHABAD
Fatehabad, January 27 The district is known as the stronghold of the INLD due to the presence of Jat Sikhs and Jats. The Fatehabad and Bhattu Kalan seats are considered to be the most important in the district with stalwarts of the Congress and INLD contesting from there. FATEHABAD: Mr Dura Ram, Congress nominee, is a known face in the area. Nephew of HPCC, president, Bhajan Lal, he is an experienced politician who rose from the local municipality. In the 2003 byelection, he contested against INLD candidate, Swatantar Bala Chaudhary but lost. He was elected chairman of the zila parishad twice and also remained deputy chairman of the parishad. The INLD MLA from the constituency, Ms Chaudhary, was handpicked by the INLD chief to contest the 2003 byelection after the death of her father-in-law, Lila Krishan Chaudhary. After quitting her government job, she contested the poll. Though she admits to being inexperienced in politics, she has marked her presence after winning the poll. The BJP has fielded Ms Durgesh Arora, a new-comer, from here. RATIA (SC): The Congress has fielded, Mr Gurdeep Singh Gill from the Ratia (R) constituency. He is the son of Congress MP from the Sirsa parliamentary constituency and is contesting the Assembly elections for the first time. In 1994, he contested the local zila parishad election but failed to mark his presence. The NLD has fielded the Gian Chand Odh from here. Mr Ladoo Bajigar, a BJP nominee is a fresh face. He is trying his luck from the segment dominated by SCs and BCs. TOHANA: The contest is going to be interesting with rebels of the Congress, INLD and BJP having jointly fielded Mr Mangat Ram Lalwas. The Congress candidate, Mr Paramveer Singh, has been active in the state and local politics. He is the son of Mr Harpal Singh, former president of the HPCC. Mr Paramveer contested the Assembly poll in 1987 but lost. He was the state secretary of the Congress in 1997 and later headed the party at the district level in 2002. The INLD MLA, Mr Nishan Singh, is hopeful of sweeping the elections. He has quite an influence in the area. He contested the last poll and emerged as the winner. Mr Subhash Barala is the BJP candidate. He is the district president of the BJP and is contesting the poll for the first time. An active member of the BJP, he is the state president of the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP. BHATTU KALAN: Finance Minister Sampat Singh is a seasoned politician and is contesting from here. The BJP has fielded Mr Daya Nand Bainda, son of a former MP. The Congress has given ticket to Mr Kulbeer Singh.
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Campaign Style
Karnal, January 27 They were holding street-corner meetings, making every effort to reach out to the electorate. Visiting every locality in the constituency, the candidates are paying special attention to interaction with the people. The Haryana Mahila Congress President, Ms Sumita Singh, in an effort to reach out to every household for votes, chats with people, particularly women, to know their problems. She even notes down the problems and assures them that these would be resolved soon after the formation of the new government. Her campaign seems to be completely informal as she speaks to the people patiently sitting in a small ground in front or inside any building. The woman Congress candidate told The Tribune that she had been constantly on the move in her predominantly urban constituency on foot. “It is tiring, no doubt. But it is important that I go to each and every house of my town and nearby villages,” she added. Former Industry Minister of Haryana and BJP candidate Shashi Pal Mehta tries his best to embrace every male member of the family whose house he visits during a door-to-door campaign. “I am a local resident and know everybody, enjoy good relations with them and meet them with casual embrace in the traditional Punjabi style. Having a cup of tea and chatting while sitting with them comes to me naturally,” he said. On the other hand, the sitting MLA and independent candidate, Mr Jai Prakash Gupta, holds his hands together, even touches the feet of elders and speaks in a voice trying to convince the people that injustice was done to him by the Congress by not giving him the party ticket. Making a point to gain sympathy, he even speaks against Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala who he alleges, had got 19 false cases registered against him. Mr Dharam Pal Gupta (INLD) has so far confined the poll campaign to his community meeting them at their residences. By and large, he has taken little interest in the elections, as it was quite evident after having a chat with his supporters. It might be due to the fact that this seat was traditionally the bastion of the Congress and the BJP. The Lok Dal has won the seat only once in the past three decades.
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SP, BSP all out to oust
RJD
Buxar, January 27 The prime objective of both the UP leaders is not only to spread their parties’ influence in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, but also to take “revenge” on Union Railway Minister Laloo Prasad
Yadav. In the present scenario, when the winning margins are going to be very low, the SP and the BSP are going to make or mar the chances of established parties and their candidates, throwing up electoral results which may startle many, political observer Ram Bachan Rai says. The SP and the BSP have fielded candidates in all the constituencies and are employing every trick to ensure that the RJD and its allies are defeated. In the 2004 general election, the Buxar Lok Sabha seat was won by the BJP as the upper caste dominated constituency elected Mr Lalmmuni Chaubey for the fourth time. In the 2000 Assembly elections, the RJD had won the lone seat of Brahmpur. The BSP had won the reserved seat of Rajpur but the winning MLA Chedilal Ram switched over to the RJD to become a minister in the Rabri Devi government. In the Buxar city seat, MLA Sukhda Pande of the BJP is trying to retain the seat but the fight is tough as in the multi-cornered contest, she has many odds against her. The CPM candidate, Alyosha, and the Lok Janshakti Party and the Congress, along with 14 other candidates are making it difficult for her. The SP has fielded Bhojpur singer Om Prakash Yadav. In the neighbouring constituency of Dumraon, the SP has fielded its state president Dadan Singh Yadav who was personally picked up by Mr Mulayam Singh. He had won the seat as an Independent in 2000 and had joined the RJD to become a minister in the RJD government. He left the RJD to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and now he is with the SP. He is contesting another seat of Bikramganj in Rohtas district and his wife Usha Devi has been fielded by the SP from the Jagdishpur seat in the Bhojpur district. Dadan Singh says that “he has joined the SP to take the state on the road of development which is not possible till Bihar is under “Lalooraj”. “I know that anybody in the RJD who tries to undertake anything for development becomes a threat to Laloo Prasad”, he says. Similarly, Ms Mayawati is addressing meetings telling the electorate that it should teach a lesson to “traitors” who had abandoned the BSP to join the RJD after the 2000 election. She has given ticket to forward caste aspirants in an area which has a dominance of Brahmins, Rajputs and other upper castes.
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Nominees violating code: CPM
Hisar, January 27 At a news conference organised here today, the CPM candidate for the Hisar seat, Mr Satbir Singh, said Congress candidate Om Prakash Jindal, INLD nominee Sumitra Mahajan and Independent contestant Hari Singh Saini had already spent much more than the amount allowed for canvassing. Mr Satbir Singh alleged that these candidates were trying to influence the voters, especially the youth, by providing them liquor. He said the CPM would bring these facts to the notice of the Election Commission. The CPM nominee lamented that none of these candidates was raising the issues which were of importance to the people. He remarked that even the national parties were silent on issues like the provision of basic amenities, education and health services, unemployment and regularisation of unauthorised colonies. He said instead, these parties and their candidates wanted to win the poll by exploiting the electorate in the name of religion, caste and community.
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BSP nominee promises jobs in Bollywood
Bhiwani , January 27 Mr Anup Tanwar, a small-time actor in Bollywood and who has also worked in a number of Haryanavi films, is in his election campaign in the run-up to the February 3 Assembly poll, promising the people jobs in the film industry. “For the past 15 years, I have been working in movies and I know that there is no dearth of openings in the film industry, not only for actors but also behind the scenes, for example as technicians,” says Mr Tanwar. Citing unemployment as one of the biggest problems in the constituency, the BSP candidate, who hails from the area, says he is willing to help the youth of Mundhal to find work in the film industry. The 37-year-old actor-turned-politician says if he becomes an MLA, his priority would be to provide employment to the people of the area. “I have not come here as a political leader but as a social worker. I want to help people,” says Mr Tanwar. About his own film career, he says he initially acted in Haryanavi films before he made his Hindi debut in the Dev Anand-directed film “100 Crore.” “I have done a number of negative roles as my physique, my look is suited to villainous parts,” says Tanwar, who names films such as ‘Mahir’, starring Govinda, and “Arjun Deva” and “Kathron ke Khiladi”, which have Mithun Chakravarty in the lead. —
PTI
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People fed up with INLD, says Hooda
Sonepat, January 27 Talking to mediapersons at Larsauli PWD Rest House, 12 km from here, today he said that the people of the state were fed up with the style of functioning of the INLD government headed by Mr Om Prakash Chautala and they wanted a change in the government. The Congress, he said, was an alternative and it could provide stable, clean crime-free government. He said that the Congress would get a two-thirds majority and form its own government in the state. Mr Chautala, he said, had lost the faith of the people and he (Mr Chautala) had already seen the rehearsal in the Lok Sabha elections.
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Having won from the Hisar
Assembly constituency twice consecutively, MLA and Congress candidate O.P. Jindal hopes to score a hat-trick.
