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Monday,
February 11, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Going gets
tough for RLD-BJP Sonia
plays ‘coffingate’ Pilot’s
son joins Congress Weather no
damper on VIP campaigners
Civic
poll: voting cancelled in Mazgaon |
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1 dead as violence mars civic poll Bihar to release LDF V.P.
Singh: give Pervez a chance New
judges to hear cases against Hindujas Mahendra Kapoor gets Lata Award
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Going gets tough for
RLD-BJP Muzzaffarnagar, February 10 As the Muslim and Jat voters are almost in equal proportion here, the election has been usually on caste lines. The electioneering here is going on feverish pitch. A section of Jat voters, however, is dejected as BKU supremo, Mohinder Singh Tikait is sitting at his home puffing “hooka” in the company of the followers. He is not canvassing for any party. In contrast to INLD supremo O.P. Chautala, whose party has entered the election fray in UP ultimately, Mr Tikait seems to have adopted a neutral posture. He was also not in a position to annoy Mr Ajit Singh. Furthermore, Mr Tikait has a different thinking on the issue of creation of “Kisan Pradesh” or “Harit Pradesh” comprising Western UP districts. He also wants that a separate Bundelkhand comprising Janshi area should be created. Consequently, Mr Chautala’s party is unlikely to derive the benefit of Jat votes from among the followers of Mr Tikait. The results of nine seats in the area can be surprising. The RLD Supremo, Mr Ajit Singh, who so far has been reaping the fruit of his father Ch Charan Singh’s popularity and labour, will have to work hard to keep his hold intact. His only advantage is political alliance with the BJP. Despite this, his party faces a stiff challenge from the Congress in Jansath and Morna Assembly constituencies. The INLD candidate is giving him a trying time in Baghra. At other places, Mr Ajit Singh’s party is to fight with the BSP and SP candidates. The situation is unpredictable because majority of Muslim voters are keeping their cards close to the chest. But it is sure that Muslims are not going the BJP way. Only the diehard supporters of late Charan Singh among them will side with Mr Ajit Singh. The Muzzaffarnagar city seat has remained a citadel of the BJP for a number of years. There are about 90,000 Muslim voters out of total 3.25 lakh voters. The BJP has been playing the Swaran castes and communal cards against other parties. But this time, BJP candidate Kapil Dev Aggarwal is facing tough time at the hands of Mr Chitranjan Swaroop of the SP and Ms Mithlesh Pal of the BSP. The SP candidate is trying hard to make inroads in to the “Vaishya” vote bank of the BJP. The BSP is concentrating on winning over the Muslim voters. In fact, Mr Swaroop also belongs to the Vaishya community. The BJP had won this seat in 1993 and 1996 Assembly elections and polled more votes in 1998 parliamentary elections. Congress candidate, Subash Maheshwari is not cutting much ice amongst the voters. In all, 16 candidates are in the poll fray, including seven Independents. In Jansath (R), Congress candidate Deepak Kumar seems to be in a comfortable position. In the last Assembly poll, BJP and Lok Dal candidates were placed at the second position. The BSP has nominated Mr Mahabir Singh and the SP Mr Kabul Singh. In the last election, the Lok Dal had snatched this seat from the BJP. It happened so that the Muslims supported the Lok Dal because of the absence of SP candidate in the poll arena. The results again changed in 1999 Lok Sabha elections when the BSP polled the maximum number of votes followed by the Lok Dal-Congress alliance. The RLD-BJP candidate is Dr Yashwant Singh. There are 46,000 Muslims, 35,000 Dalits, 32,000 Jats, 16,000 Rajputs, 12,000 Vaishyas, 15,000 Brahmins and others. The Congress and the BJP-RLD combine are concentrating on Swaran and backward castes. The Congress candidate is also making inroads into Muslim votes. On the Jat majority Khatauli seat, there seems to be emerging a contest among the RLD-BJP axis, BSP, SP and Congress candidates. The rich sugarcane belt of Khatauli had always remained a bastion of support for the Charan Singh’s family. Naturally, Mr Ajit Singh is worried about keeping his control over it. But his only disadvantage is that Mr Tikait has not openly sided with him. Mr Tikait’s ancestral village Sasauli, which is also the headquarters of the BKU, is also situated near Khatauli. Both the BSP and the Congress have pinned their hopes on the votes of the labour which is working in the sugar mills here. The RLD-BJP has put up Mr Rajpal, SP Mr Parmod Tyagi, BJP Mr Akram Khan and Congress Ashok Kumar. In the last election Mr Rajpal had defeated Mr Sudhir Baliyan, a former minister, by a margin of 38,000 votes. On the nearby Kairana seat, where ISI agents form a large part of population here, RLD-BJP candidate Hukam Singh seems to be in a dominant position. He belongs to the Gurjar caste and is a minister for Parliamentary Affairs in the Raj Nath Singh government. His main adversary seems to be Mr Rajeshwar Bansal of the Samajvadi Party and Mr Sharafat Ali of the Congress. Mr Bansal is a big businessman of Shamli town. He commands big support in the town. It is a Muslim dominated seat where Muslims account for 76,000 votes, Vaishyas 28,000, Jats 34,000 and SCs and BSc 28,000. |
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Sonia plays ‘coffingate’
Dehra Dun, February 10 “Hamare vir sainikon ki shahadat ke bad unke kafan ka vyapar ho raha hai (after the martyrdom of our brave
soliders, they (BJP) are making profit out of their coffins),” Ms Gandhi told a well-attended election rally here on her second leg of election campaign in
Uttaranchal. “Instead of admitting its mistake, the BJP has lost its balance over the issue,” she said. “The country is seething with anger and people are stunned following the coffin scandal,” she said and asked the people to question the BJP as to why such scandals were taking place under its rule. Addressing three rallies in
Tehri, Dehra Dun and Hardwar districts, Ms Gandhi attacked the BJP for frequently changing its Chief Ministers in Uttar Pradesh and
Uttaranchal, saying that the move had brought only “destruction” of the two states. “The BJP is under the wrong impression that it can win elections by misleading people through the change of guard. In Uttar Pradesh, the party has changed three Chief Ministers in five years while in Uttaranchal just within one year, the Chief Minister has been changed,” she said. The Congress President asked people whether these changes had brought any change in their lives. Stating that the BJP had “not done any favour” by creating the new state of
Uttaranchal, she said “the state was created largely because of the long struggle carried out by people belonging to this region” with the support of the Congress. Accusing the BJP government in Uttaranchal of failing on all fronts, the Congress President said “youths are facing unemployment problem. Farmers are living in misery. Industries and mills are lying closed and crimerate is going up,” she said. “The same wretched system, which has already destroyed Uttar Pradesh, is being imposed in Uttaranchal also (by the BJP),” Ms Gandhi alleged. “Is the purpose of politics only to grab power? Instead of working for the welfare of people, the BJP is only concerned with its own selfish ends,” she alleged. Congress General Secretary Gulam Nabi
Azad, in charge of election affairs in Uttaranchal Suresh Pachori, state Congress president Harish Rawat and senior Congress leaders N.D. Tiwari and Vijay Bahuguna were also present.
PTI |
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Pilot’s son joins Congress Jaipur, February 10 In his first political debut at the rally on the 57th birth anniversary of Rajesh Pilot, Sachin pledged to follow the path of his father and carry forward his unfinished work. Thanking the rallyists who comprised people from Dausa Hindoli, Alwar and Bharatpur districts, the young scion declared he would not play politics with the farmers and the downtrodden. Flanked by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior Congress leader Bhajan Lal from neighbouring Haryana, Sachin said “I am joining politics to uplift the poor farmers living in hutments and who required not only education but also food.
PTI |
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Weather
no damper on VIP campaigners Dehra Dun, February 10 A total of 927 persons are in the fray after the date of withdrawal of nominations. The six national parties taking part in the elections in Uttaranchal have fielded 259 candidates, while the two-dozen odd local parties have put up 260. The largest number, however, constitutes the Independents — 345. Some of these are expected even now to declare support for party candidates, but a large majority will stay in the contest. As for their part, national political parties have let loose all their persuasive powers and plan to provide an additional boost by roping in not only the political bigwigs but also the celebrities. After star-campaigners Atal Behari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna
Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj, who have organised whirlwind tours of the various constituencies, it could well be the turn of Pramod
Mahajan, Ajit Singh and Kushabhau Thakre for the BJP. Also pitching in have been local MPs, B.C.
Khanduri, Manvendra Shah and Manohar Kant Dhyani. As for the Congress, Ms Sonia Gandhi’s tour of Srinagar
(Garhwal) on Monday last is being counted as a great success. Congress sources said here that even though Congress Chief Ministers Ajit
Jogi, Ashok Gehlot and Digvijay Singh, have already made rounds of the various constituencies here. The party could spring a surprise in calling Mrs Priyanka
Vadra. Samajwadi Party cadres did not sound too sure of a visit by the party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the state, but did not rule out a visit by Amar Singh - Big B combine. “Our leader Mayawati has already been here and will be coming again”, Pyare
Lal, an old BSP hand, said. Chances have also brightened for a campaign round by NCP’s Sharad Pawar following the visit by Tariq Anwar here on Thursday. In addition, as a last ditch measure, chances are that celebrities too might be made to do their bit for the candidates. While Hema Malini and Vinod Khanna are being spoken of with regard to the BJP, Rajesh Khanna could be wooing votes for the Congress. According to political observers, the average voter had already seen much of the political jamboree but could expect more fireworks in the run-up to the Assembly polls, to be held here on February 14. |
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Civic poll: voting
cancelled in Mazgaon Mumbai, February 10 Tension prevailed in the Mazgaon area when Samajwadi Party (SP) activists took strong exception to the absence of the name and symbol of party nominee Jasmine Shaikh from the ballot paper. Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who hails from the Mazgaon area, told reporters that polling has been postponed. The State Election Commission has not yet announced a new date for polling. Stray incidents of stone-pelting in the sensitive area of Nagpada in central Mumbai caused tension there, the police said. However, situation was immediately brought under control, they added. In response to a boycott call given by the Agri Yuvak Sanghatana, residents of 10 villages on Ghodbunder in Thane did not cast their votes. It is protesting against the inclusion of the villages within Thane Municipal Corporation limits.
PTI |
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1 dead as violence mars civic poll Mumbai, February 10 Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray could not cast his ballot despite expiry of six years of disenfranchisement imposed by the Election Commission in 1995 as his name did not figure in the revised electoral list. In Nagpur, 26-year-old Kushal Bhat was stabbed to death by a group of 10-12 attackers when he was soliciting votes for NCP candidates. The police fired in the air in Solapur to disengage clashing groups and in Mazgaon area of central Mumbai to disperse clashing activists of the NCP and Mr Shiv Sena. Polling in a ward in the same locality was cancelled after the name and symbol of Samajwadi Party candidate was found missing from the ballot paper. Booth capturing was reported from a ward in Nagpur, state Election Commission sources said, adding that re-polling would be held tomorrow at the booth as well as at the adjacent one. At least 21 persons were arrested for bogus voting in Thane district and the metropolis.
PTI |
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Bihar to release LDF
Patna, February 10 Samata Party spokesman and Legislative Council member P.K. Sinha, and deputy legislature party leader in state Assembly Upendra Kushwaha had said earlier that they would begin a fast unto death protest tomorrow for the release of the remaining LDF of Rs 25 lakh. Samata Party state president Raghunath Jha and Legislature party leader Umashanker Singh had told reporters that the decision to go on the fast unto death had the moral support of the BJP, JDU and the Lok Janshakti Party. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister reviewed the progress of different schemes being implemented under the LDF and issued necessary instructions to the officials concerned to release the remaining LDF amount of Rs 25 lakh for early execution of schemes recommended by the legislators, an official statement said.
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V.P. Singh: give Pervez a chance Varanasi, February 10 Speaking to mediapersons here, Mr V.P. Singh said India should not quit the peace process and must initiate immediate steps to ease tension on the Indo-Pak borders in the wake of a massive troop mobilisation. He recalled that when he was the Prime Minister he had tried to resolve tension on the Sino-Indo border through dialogue with China. He also insisted that the government should include the Hurriyat in any negotiations between India and Pakistan for resolving the Kashmir issue. Referring to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) dogged approach on the temple issue in Ayodhya, the former Prime Minister said it was only a poll ploy and would vitiate the communal situation in Uttar Pradesh. The VHP leaders are ‘unreliable’ as they violated the agreement reached with the Congress in 1989 at the time of shilanyas, he said. He alleged that the Rajnath Singh government’s formula of job reservation for most Backward Castes was unreasonable as the interests of the Kurmis and Lodhs was ignored. The former Prime Minister was here to mobilise public opinion on the issue of the misuse of development funds allocated to MLAs. Mr V.P. Singh also took part in a ‘padyatra’ from Lanka to Seer Goberdhan village as part of his campaign.
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New judges to hear cases against Hindujas New Delhi, February 10 According to an order issued by Registrar General of the Delhi High Court Bharat Bhushan, Additional Sessions Judge Prem Kumar would conduct trial in the Bofors case while Additional Sessions Judge V.K. Jain would hear the cases against Sukh Ram. Mr Prem Kumar would be the fifth Special Judge to hear the Bofors case. The special CBI Court at Tis Hazari presently holding trial in these cases had already been informed about the new appointments through an order issued on February 2. The Registrar-General has requested the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training to “make immediate arrangements for court accommodation adjacent to the Patiala House Court Complex so that the Special Courts could start functioning immediately.”
PTI |
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Mahendra Kapoor gets Lata Award
Indore, February 10 Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Minister Ratnesh Soloman gave away the award, carrying Rs 1 lakh in cash and a citation, to Mahendra Kapoor at a function here.
UNI |
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Food poisoning makes 50 ill Varanasi, February 10 |
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PWG threat to doctors Nellore, February 10 Hooch tragedy Morena (MP), February 10 |
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Members boycott samiti meeting Hanumangarh, February 10 The issue of National Nutrition scheme at the rest house of the panchayat samiti was raised with fervour by the samiti members. The members also discussed the availability of medical facilities in the villages. The president of the panchayat
samiti, Ms Krishana Godara, also did not attend the meeting. |
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