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For Ms Mamata Banerjee, the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll is a fight for her existence and survival in Bengal as well as in national politics where her popularity and acceptance have eroded because of her ‘immaturity and political adventurism.’
Mafia don, blast accused are PM’s rivals ‘Poppy politics’ pop up in Mandi Andhra film stars back TDP No party good: farmers The red-light voter Vote for secular parties, Catholics told
Managing time big challenge Jhakhar shifts constituency Kin of 7 ex-CMs in fray in Orissa
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FACE TO FACE Mattu wants to work for uplift of have-nots “MY resolve is to work for the upliftment of the have-nots and parents who cannot afford to provide education to their children beyond matriculation,” says Mr Darshan Singh Mattu, the CPM-Congress candidate from the Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency. A firebrand leader, Mr Mattu was born on August 8, 1953, in a middle-class family at Garhi Matton village in Garhshankar subdivision. He did his graduation from Patiala in 1972 and an ITI diploma before joining politics via the Students Federation of India, of which he remained the state president. Associated with the All-India Kisan Sabha as its central council member and as vice-president of the Punjab Kisan Sabha, Mr Mattu was jailed in 1972 for taking part in an agitation in Moga, spearheaded by Left student organisations. For opposing the Emergency, he was “blacklisted” in 1975. Regarding his plans, Mr Mattu, who claimed that he represented the secular forces, said apart from providing drinking water to the people of the Kandi area, his priority would be to ensure education for all. “It pains me when I see a large number of children leave school annually at the primary level and those who cannot afford education beyond matriculation. I want to do something for them and for ex-servicemen of the area. Instead of providing one crore jobs to the youth, the NDA government imposed a 10 per cent cut in employment in the government sector. Diesel prices have gone up from Rs 10.21 to Rs 21.45 during the past five years. Is this the feel-good factor they are talking about?” he questioned. Mr Mattu said if he was elected he would make efforts for providing rail links between Garhshankar and Ropar, Saila and Hoshiarpur, Jaijon and Una, and Talwara to Mukerian. He said he would also take up the issue of the Kandi canal project, which had been hanging fire since 1978. “Besides, there is no government college in our area and the problem of stray animals, which damage crops, is acute,” said Mr Mattu.
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Employment tops agenda of Avinash MR Avinash Khanna, the state BJP chief and SAD-BJP candidate from the Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency, has resolved to work for the upliftment of the people of his constituency by bringing more Centre-sponsored schemes for the development of the Kandi area and by making efforts to revive the industry and once world famed art and craft of Hoshiarpur. Listing his priorities, Mr Khanna, who is also a Hoshiarpur-based lawyer, MLA from Garhshankar and who has roots in the Sangh Parivar since his childhood days, said he would work for generating more employment avenues for people of the Kandi belt and create educational infrastructure in case he was elected as an MP from Hoshiarpur. “I feel sad when I see people of my area going abroad and to other parts of the country in search of job opportunities. Most people from the Garhshankar agree go to other parts of the country and work as labourers there. I will make efforts to create more employment opportunities for them near their homes. I think this can be done by bringing more Centre-sponsored schemes,” said Mr Khanna. He said despite a high literacy rate, Hoshiarpur had remained underdeveloped as mostly it had been represented by “outsiders”, who had no interest in its development. “We will implement our party’s agenda to provide potable and irrigation water to all by 2007. Despite education being a state subject, I will strive to create more facilities for higher education,” he said. Mr Khanna did B.Com from Jalandhar’s DAV College, LLB from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Diploma in Business Management from Mumbai. Initially, he practised as a lawyer at Garhshankar, from where he was elected as an MLA in 2002 after defeating the BSP candidate by 6,573 votes. In 2003, he took over as President of the state unit of the BJP. He said what pinched him the most was the backwardness of his district in the field of industry. For most of time, the Congress ruled here and I feel efforts were not made in this direction. There is a lot of potential to be tapped in the field of art and craft, for which Hoshiarpur has been known throughout the world. I will contribute my share by reviving the lost glory of this art,” said Mr Khanna.
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A fight for survival for Mamata Kolkata, March 25 In the mid-eighties, Mamata became a vital anti-Marxist force in Bengal. She had often been a threat to CPM supremo and Chief Minister Jyoti Basu. She became a national leader in a short span of time, causing worry to many Marxist stalwarts and Congress leaders. In the 1984 Lok Sabha poll, Mamata fought against CPM stalwart Somnath Chatterjee in the Jadavpore constituency and defeated him. Since then, she has won three successive Lok Sabha elections in 1993, ’98 and ’99. In the 1989 elections, however, she had lost to the CPM candidate, Ms Malini Bhattacharyya, a lecturer of Jadavpore University. Rajiv Gandhi made her the Yuva Congress President. His successor Narashima Rao offered her a ministerial berth (junior minister in charge of sports) as a prize for her fight against the CPM, which she accepted. But she resigned soon because she preferred staying back in Bengal to strike at the Marxists against their “misrule”. She made a vow to bring back the Congress to power in Bengal by dethroning the CPM. But because of her arrogance and political intolerance, she soon became a victim of groupism in the party. She built an alternative force in the party in challenging the AICC leadership and virtually ran a parallel party within the Congress for some time in Bengal. In August, 1998, she ultimately left the Congress and formed her Trinamool Congress with an handful of followers. But soon she got by her side a large number of the Congress MLAs after TMC’s massive victory in the 1998 Lok Sabla polls. The TMC won six seats and the Congress the lone Malda seat with A.B.A Ghani Khan Chowdhury as candidate. And then started Mamata Banerjee’s real turning point to actively enter into the national politics when the Vajpayee-led NDA was ruling the country. Mamata’s TMC won eight seats and she had nine members in Parliament, including one in Rajya Sabha after the 1999 polls. The BJP leadership offered her the coveted Railway portfolio which she accepted and soon jumped into action in re-building the Railways network in Bengal. But later on the Tehelka issue, she suddenly stepped out of the ministry, demanding the resignation of Defence Minister George Fernandes. On the eve of the 2001 Assembly poll, she severed all ties with the NDA and forged an electoral alliance with the Congress, probably keeping an eye on the citadel of power at Writers Buildings. But the Assembly election results were a disaster for the TMC. It did not get any additional seat by seat-sharing with the Congress. Mamata then had no option and she was again back in the NDA. Mamata has now realised that she had unnecessarily developed an enmity with the NDA and BJP leadership. The coming elections are an opportunity for her to rebuild the lost faith and confidence in the BJP.
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Cong banking on Rahul for its revival in UP Lucknow: All eyes are on Rahul Gandhi, the 33-year-old scion of the Nehru dynasty, to revive the fate of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. He is contesting the election from Amethi, virtually the pocketborough of the Nehru clan, having sent Sonia, Rajiv and Indira Gandhi to the Lok Sabha before. Rahul’s entry into politics was a bit of a surprise, as many expected his younger sister Priyanka to take on the mantle. The explanation being proffered is that the patriarchal dynamics of Uttar Pradesh dictated the decision as the people would allegedly be more ‘comfortable’ with the male heir of the dynasty. “We want Priyanka to join active politics and contest elections from Sultanpur or Allahabad,” secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Shiraz Mehandi said. Another section in the Congress says that as Priyanka has more mass appeal, she would act as poll manager for her mother Sonia Gandhi, contesting from Rae Bareli and her brother Rahul. If Priyanka seems to be more politically suave, Rahul is more of a novice, so to say. He has conspicuously stayed clear of the limelight. A graduate of St Stephen’s College, he was earlier living in London, working as a financial consultant in an investment bank and has stayed away from media glare. The only media exposure he had was when, accompanied by his sister, he went to Amethi in January last on a three-day tour. The two went from village to village, inquiring about the well-being of the people. Recently, Rahul courted a controversy, courtesy Juvenitta, his Colombian girlfriend. They were first photographed together watching the 1999 World Cup in England. Rahul was accused of ‘immorality’ after staying with Juvenitta at a resort in Kumarakom, Kerala. The Harvard-educated Rahul currently owns a computer consultancy firm in New Delhi. Political pundits say that it is unlikely that Rahul, who has spent most of his adult life in the USA and Britain, will be able to rejuvenate the failing fortunes of the ‘Grand Old Party’ of India. Political analysts say that the Congress may have a more modest goal: that of reviving the party’s fortunes in the key electoral battlefield of Uttar Pradesh. Rahul, who was involved in the running of the Amethi Congress office, might play a crucial role in ‘galvanising’ the cadre in UP. However, some Congress leaders do not agree. Chief spokesman of the UPCC Akhilesh Pratap Singh said: “Rahul is Rajiv’s son and Indira’s grandson. People see an image of Rajiv in Rahul. Local leaders have even coined a slogan ‘Rajiv dikhenge tumko, Rahul ko jab dekhoge (you will see Rajiv when you look at Rahul)’. He said the entry of Rahul into politics would galvanise Congress workers. “We are already on the upswing, with Rahul’s entry we are destined to do better,” he said.
Rahul to file papers on April 5
Lucknow, March 25 Congress sources said Rahul will visit the prestigious Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh with his sister Priyanka before filing his papers. ‘‘He will interact with the people and party workers before filing the nomination,’’ said a senior party leader today.
— UNI
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Mafia don, blast accused are PM’s rivals
Lucknow, March 25 While on Tuesday, social activist Swami Agnivesh announced in New Delhi his plans to take on Mr Vajpayee, media reports from Mumbai suggested that a 1993 Mumbai blast accused, Aziz Ahmed, planned to fight the Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow. Recently, mafia don Om Prakash Srivastava, alias Bablu Srivastava, had expressed his desire to contest the LS poll against Mr
Vajpayee. Talking to mediapersons here, Bablu claimed he had already approached several parties to give him ticket for the LS poll. “But, so far, no party has shown any interest since the PM is slated to fight from this constituency,” he added. “I have all plans and preparations to contest from Lucknow,” he asserted. On his eligibility to fight the poll, Bablu claimed he was not convicted in any case so far. Swami Agnivesh said the Gujarat riots had changed his views about Mr Vajpayee, compelling him to fight against the Prime Minister in the May 5 poll. According to the social activist, he would use minimal resources to contest. The Swami plans to go door-to-door to seek a mandate from the electorate. Media reports quoting Mumbai blast accused Aziz Ahmed said he wanted to fight against the PM to highlight “police torture and problems being faced by the minority community.” Claiming to be innocent, the 45-year-old said he was framed by the police in the serial blast case. According to him, the Indian Union Muslim League might give him a ticket. The Samajwadi Party has already announced fielding of Dr Madhu Gupta against Mr Vajpayee, while the BSP — after considering the name of ex-government employee Rakesh Mohan Saxena — is thinking of Nasir Ali Siddiqui. With this, the efforts mounted by the state Congress to field a joint candidate against the PM have failed. The UPCC had appealed to opposition parties to go for a joint candidate to avoid a split in secular votes against Mr Vajpayee. Last time, Dr Karan Singh was the Congress candidate against Mr Vajpayee. Though the BSP is yet to announce its candidate officially, gynaecologist and state SP mahila sabha president Madhu Gupta would shortly file her nomination. Mr Vajpayee would file his nominations on April 13, the BJP had recently announced.
— UNI
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‘Poppy politics’ pop up in Mandi
Mandi, March 25 The issue first came up last year when the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) along with Customs officials and the local police launched a massive campaign destroying the poppy crop in the valley and in Kulu district which also falls in the Mandi constituency. When the campaign was launched, both the principal parties in this hill state were quick to react and demanded that a legislation be brought forth to legalise poppy cultivation. The outgoing BJP MP from Mandi, Mr Maheshwar Singh who is again in the fray, in his numerous public speeches does not fail to broach the subject of legalising poppy cultivation. Last year, when the poppy crop was being destroyed, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, speaking at a public meeting in the Chuhar valley, had assured the people that his government would take all steps to legalise poppy cultivation. Chief Minister’s wife Pratibha Singh is likely to be the Congress candidate from Mandi and she too is expected to raise this issue to woo the voters of the valley. The Himachal Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Mr Kaul Singh Thakur in whose Assembly segment (Darang) the valley falls has always been sympathetic to the cause of the poppy cultivators as he has maintained that the local people have no other source of livelihood. Mr Kaul Singh too was considered for the Mandi constituency by the Congress high command. The Chief Minister has gone on record criticising the NDA government for not cooperating with the state government in resolving the poppy issue. Former Himachal Chief Minister and leader of the BJP in the legislature Prem Kumar Dhumal claims credit for highlighting the poppy cultivation issue in the valley. In fact, during the period of the Dhumal government, a resolution was brought in the state to provide legal status to the poppy crop. The vote bank of the valley that’s spread over 100 km along the Uhl rivulet has prompted the rival parties to pose as champions of the poppy cause. “More than 20,000 farming families are directly dependent on the crop. If poppy is legalised, they would earn their livelihood honestly,’’ says Mr Maheshwar Singh.
— UNI
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Andhra film stars back TDP Hyderabad, March 25 Tollywood (as the industry is known here), the second largest in the country after Bollywood, has taken to the TDP in a big way for both the Parliament and Assembly elections in the state. The phenomenon of film personalities associating with political parties had started in the state after Telugu matinee idol N. T. Rama Rao’s entry into politics in 1982. Surprisingly, however, it is Naidu, who gave a red carpet welcome to the stars to join his party after he took over from his father-in-law in 1995. Film stars helped him during the 1999 Assembly poll campaign in a big way and Naidu suitably awarded many of them. A comedian has been a member of his cabinet. Well-known producer D. Ramanaidu was sent to the Lok Sabha and actress Jaya Prada got a Rajya Sabha nomination. She has left the TDP now to join the Samajwadi Party which has fielded her from Rampur. Naidu lacked the charisma that NTR had enjoyed among the masses and, hence, he needed a touch of glamour to sail through the first state elections he faced on his own. In the past eight-and-a-half years that he has been in power, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has come into his own and earned a name for himself within the state and outside as a modern, pragmatic and visionary political leader. Still, Naidu is aware that his hard-earned image of being a better politician than his Congress counterparts may not exactly help him beat the anti-incumbency factor on one hand and the separatist sentiments on the other in the ensuing elections. And when he chose once again to utilise the services of film stars to score a point or two over his rivals, the TDP leader, as is his wont, went the whole hog. “The (film) industry is behind him because he is one Chief Minister who has assiduously cultivated the people who matter here,” said a film producer, who did not want to be named. The patriarch of Telugu film industry A. Nageswara Rao, who was a Congress well-wisher till NTR’s death, has declared his support to Chandrababu Naidu. Superstar Chiranjeevi, whom the Congress vainly tried to woo into its fold in the past, is on friendly terms with the Chief Minister, and if rumours are to be believed, the actor’s brother-in-law Aravind, along with another producer-friend Aswani Dutt, will be fielded on TDP ticket.
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No party good: farmers KARNAL: Farmers in the basmati hub of Haryana, particularly in Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Panipat districts, are caught in a dilemma regarding which party to vote for. Be it the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), the Congress, the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the general perception among farmers is that none of the parties has stood by them to ensure procurement of paddy and sugarcane on the minimum support price (MSP) in the last few seasons. This has incensed voters in the Karnal and Kurukshetra parliamentary constituencies that fall within the districts of Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Panipat. The major issues of concern for the farmers in the region are inadequate canal water for irrigation, uneven power tariff and rising debt. Despite an anti-incumbency wave, no major party will be able to capitalise on it as all are “equally guilty” in the eyes of the farmers. In this situation, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the newly formed Ekta Shakti can make a dent in the traditional vote-bank of the INLD, the Congress, the HVP and the BJP in these two constituencies. Well-off farmers, who earlier used to have influence over small and marginal farmers in their area, may not be able to turn their community to favour a particular party. “None of the elected representatives or leaders of opposition parties came forward to help farmers get MSP for paddy and sugarcane. Now, let us see how they approach us for votes,” said Rajinder Singh Virk, a farmer of Indri in Karnal district. During the previous elections, people were in favour of the INLD-BJP combine due to Mr Vajpayee’s leadership and the Kargil issue. However, this time the BJP and the INLD have parted ways. Party affiliations notwithstanding, farmers may vote for a candidate who has a proven track record of sympathizing with them. Another issue is the rising debt on the farming community. The farmers have suffered heavy losses in the past few years due to the high power tariff and loopholes in the procurement of paddy and sugarcane. In Kurukshetra, the main demand of the farmers is the construction of the Dadupur-Nalwi canal, being termed as the lifeline of the farmers of the Radaur, Shahbad, Ladwa and Pehowa Assembly constituencies. The farmers first raised the demand for the construction of this canal in 1977, but since then no party came out with a concrete plan to construct this canal.
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Kolkata, March 25 The Mayor, the Nationalistic Trinamool Congress candidate for the Kolkata Northwest says, “as I have said earlier, I am for according the right to work to sex workers. I will definitely do something to make good my promise. I believe in working for the people and honouring my promises.” Chief Adviser to the Durbar Mahila Samannay Committee, an NGO working for sex workers in Kolkata, Dr Smarajit Jana, says “I am happy that Subrata Mukherjee has broached the topic of giving the right to work to sex workers. He is the first politician to have shown real understanding of issues that dog sexworkers.” He says, “Like the Mayor, let other candidates of other parties, the CPM and the Congress speak specifically and pragmatically what can be done to improve the lot of these exploitated denizens.” For the 12,000 sex workers of the metropolis resident mostly at Sonagachi in North Kolkata times have begun changing since the 2000 municipal corporation elections, when they interacted with candidates to discuss basic amenities for themselves. “In a way it was direct participation. Sex workers felt that they could not be ignored anymore. The trend will be repeated once more in the Lok Sabha elections,” Jana said. The scenario has changed. “As seen in the civic polls, this time too all major contenders are coming over with commitment to improve the condition of these hapless women. But it remains to be seen how much of it is translated into real action,” Jana said. Pusha Rani, a sex worker, says things have changed as far and water supply and street lights are concerned. But such matters as rowdyism in the area, police harrassment and education for their children were issues that were still to be resolved. “No candidate has so far been able to do much about these issues despite promises,” she says, “though we have voter identity cards now.”
— PTI
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Vote for secular parties, Catholics told Mumbai, March 25 Though the body has not asked Christians to vote for any particular party, members of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party allege that the body along with local parish priests have always campaigned for the Congress. The BCS is active in almost all neighbourhoods with a substantial number of Christians. Officials of the sabha refused to say whether their statement meant that Catholics should not vote for either the Shiv Sena or the BJP. There about 25 lakh Christians in Mumbai, most of whom are Catholics. They are concentrated in parts of the suburbs like Bandra and North Mumbai. A large number of traditional East Indian Christian villages fall in the Mumbai North constituency. The Christian vote in this constituency, represented by Union Petroleum Minister Ram Naik, can tilt the balance against any candidate should they vote as a block, observers say. But this rarely happens. Naik has successfully cultivated the minority Christian and Muslim communities for over three decades. BJP sources note that even the Babri masjid demolition did not have any effect on Naik’s electoral prospects. Incidentally, a section of the BCS has come out in support of the Shiv Sena. George Abraham, a member of the BCS and a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, has come out in support of Shiv Sena candidate in North West Mumbai Sanjay Nirupam. He justified his decision, saying that Nirupam had taken up matters pertaining to the Air-India Employees Guild which Abraham heads. Apart from its recommendation on voting for secular parties, the BCS and Catholic Church have exhorted Christians to come out and vote on polling day. Church officials say a large number of Christians, particularly from the upper income bracket, do not show up to vote on polling day, thereby marginalising the community.
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Sanjay not to campaign for father
Mumbai, March 25 An assurance to this effect was given by Sanjay during his recent meeting with the sena supremo. The sena has pitted Rajya Sabha Member Sanjay Nirupam against the Congress sitting MP Sunil Dutt in the North-West Mumbai parliamentary constituency. During his meeting with Mr Thackeray, Sanjay reportedly said that he was impressed by the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and developments achieved during the NDA regime. Incidentally, it was Thackeray who had backed the film actor when he was incarcerated in connection with the infamous 1993 Mumbai serial blast case.
— PTI
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New Delhi, March 25 The special advertisement campaign was being made by ad agency
Lintas, whose personnel were shooting at the Prime Minister’s Residence last night for nearly four hours, informed sources said. The camerapersons of the advertising firm captured some of the finest as well as anxious moments of the Prime Minister while watching the final moments of the match with his family at ‘Panchvati’ hall inside the Prime Minister’s house. The BJP is the client of Lintas which has been preparing all the election campaign of the ruling party for the forthcoming
Parliamentary elections. The promo was also likely to carry a special message from the Prime Minister.
— PTI
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Managing time big challenge Bangalore, March 25 Money being no constraint, parties are using choppers and aircraft to reach as many people as possible in the shortest possible time. The two major parties - the Congress and the BJP, have already booked copters in good numbers. The only air charter company in Bangalore, Deccan Aviation said that the two parties had booked helicopters two months before elections dates were announced. According to Capt G R Gopinath, Managing Director, Deccan Aviation Private Limited, as compared to 10 to 60 hours per month, the booking now stands at 90 hours per month.
— PTI
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Jhakhar shifts constituency Jaipur, March 25 During the peak of terrorism in Punjab, Mr Jhakhar shifted to Rajasthan to enter the Lok Sabha from Sikar in 1984. But he was defeated by veteran Haryana leader late Chaudhary Devi Lal in the same constituency in 1989, only to be returned again in 1991. Denied a ticket in 1996 following the hawala controversy and subsequent opposition to his candidature from Sikar, Mr Jhakhar was shifted to Bikaner in 1998 and won that seat. In the next year, the Congress veteran returned to Sikar to taste defeat at the hands of BJP's Subhash Maharia.
— UNI
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Kin of 7 ex-CMs in fray in Orissa
Bhubaneswar, March 25 A majority of them are sons while the others include a wife and a son-in-law. Five of them, including Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik, son of the late Biju Patnaik, are fighting the elections as Biju Janata Dal candidate while the remaining two are Congress candidates. The seven former chief ministers whose relations are in the fray are Biju
Pattnaik, H. K. Mahatab, R. N. Singdeo, Nilamani Routray, Nandini Satpathy, J. B. Pattnaik and Giridhar
Gamang. — Agency
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TDP, BJP SWAP SEATS EVM DEMO IN MEGHALAYA KARNATAKA’S BIGGEST LS
CONSTITUENCY
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FACE
TO FACE
“MY resolve is to work for the upliftment of the have-nots and parents who cannot afford to provide education to their children beyond matriculation,” says Mr Darshan Singh
Mattu, the CPM-Congress candidate from the Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency.
MR Avinash Khanna, the state BJP chief and SAD-BJP candidate from the Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency, has resolved to work for the upliftment of the people of his constituency by bringing more Centre-sponsored schemes for the development of the Kandi area and by making efforts to revive the industry and once world famed art and craft of Hoshiarpur.
