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Fielding
Jayaprada ‘insult’ to Rampur Laloo,
Nitish to contest 2 seats each Supporters
on hold as nominees not announced yet EC asks
states to clear 12-cr payments Action
against DSP, SHO for ‘misconduct’ Voter
prefers NDA for LS; Cong for Assembly BSP
goes aggressive in Maharashtra 21
Assam MPs dropped this time Security
up at BJP, Cong offices Rural-oriented
Janata Party manifesto unveiled 13
polling booths ‘highly sensitive’
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Opinion polls never right on TN: Jaya Chennai, April 2 Refusing to give credence to the poll survey, especially with regard to Tamil Nadu, Ms Jayalalithaa said in a six-page statement here today that like the previous surveys, this would also keep its unblemished prediction record of “never been right”. She said the latest jointly commissioned poll conducted by A.C. Nielsen, has come out with “absurd results”, predicting a paltry number of seats for the AIADMK-BJP alliance and a runaway victory for the Opposition. “This is true to the script written by pollsters and their backers before every election in Tamil Nadu. This script has invariably been proved wrong since they reveal a total lack of understanding of the lifeline of democracy — the great people of this great country who exercise their choices and mind independent of all electoral arithmetic touted by the psephologists,” she noted. Even seasoned psephologists have often admitted that their opinion polls have mostly been wrong in the case of Tamil Nadu, she pointed out. “Given the dubious track record of pollsters in predicting the electoral results in Tamil Nadu, this latest survey, now trumpeted by the Opposition as a tonic to boost their flagging campaign, has to be dismissed outright,” she said. Ms Jayalalithaa, who refused to comment on the Indian Express-NDTV findings with regard to other parts of the country (the survey predicted 300 plus seats for the BJP and its allies), said most of the opinion polls employed questionable methodologies and inadequate samples. She said she never felt the need for intermediaries with poll predictions to sway the voters as she had always chosen the path of communicating directly with the people. ‘’With the sole exception of the year 1996, the people of Tamil Nadu have reposed their faith in me and on every occasion they had returned me and my party with resounding victories. The surveys that had predicted my defeat on each of these occasions got it wrong,’’ she said. In the 2001 Assembly elections, pollsters had initially written her and her party off and when the election neared, they said it would be a close contest, but the AIADMK won the election by a thumping majority. Similarly, in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections when the AIADMK had an alliance with the BJP, pollsters predicted just four seats but the combine won 30 seats and proved them completely wrong, she said. Again in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the pollsters held that the AIADMK would be wiped out, but it did exceptionally well on its own. Ms Jayalalithaa also flayed the ‘’favourite game’’ of newspapers and magazines in rating the Chief Ministers using a dubious survey methodology as though they were students in a class. In September, ‘India Today’ gave former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the number one rating, but he was voted out by the people in the recent elections, she pointed out.
— UNI |
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Fielding Jayaprada ‘insult’ to Rampur Rampur, April 2 In the city of the former Nawab’s empire, the prosperous landowners discussing elections or getting emotionally involved in the campaign of any political party is a bit of a nuisance. The partridge shoot usually takes precedence over a disinterested discussion on which political party has an edge in the Lok Sabha poll. But what about the ordinary folks? Certainly, times have changed and they have found their voice. After
Manadalisation, it is their vote that decides which party or combination shall rule India. Not in Rampur. They may not show the respect to the local aristocracy, but in public conversation, they know that being too assertive about their rights may prove physically injurious to the health of their community. There is no better institution than the “khauria club” that reflects the basic irreverence of the average
Rampuria. Khauria is a local slang for a combination of bitching and barking. There is no organised membership. It comes alive late after dinner and continues till the early hours. People just keep coming, tea and paan keep making the rounds. Since it is election season, they are at their devastating best in tearing to bits the chances of the candidates. Since Begum Noor Bano of the Congress is the sitting Member of the Lok Sabha from this constituency, it was as good an opening as any to start a discussion. Considering that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had won in 1952 from here and also the fact that it has returned Congress candidates eight times, the Begum Sahiba should have no difficulty in romping home. In the past, the former ruling family of Rampur has seen son, Micky Mian, being opposed by his mother. After his death, his wife Begum Noor Bano has been the Congress nominee for the seat. The khaurias have a different take on Begum Sahiba’s chances. “Arey woh yahan kub hoti
hain? Woh to ya London mein hoti hain, yaa aram mein. What will the people get by electing her? She is her own worst enemy”. What about the Bharatiya Janata Party? The Rampur Lok Sabha constituency has returned the BJP, in spite of its predominantly Muslim electorate. The present candidate, Mr Rajedendra Sharma, has defeated the Congress in the past. So he should benefit from the general sense of disenchantment among the people with Begum Noor Bano. Unlikely, according to the
khaurias. He never nursed the constituency. There is some sort of a simmering of discontent within the cadres because their local candidate, Mr Shiv Bahadur Saxena, was denied ticket because of Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The BJP general secretary wanted ticket for his wife and Mr Sharma was considered a safe option who will leave Rampur if Mr Naqvi or his wife get permission to contest from here. Not Mr Shiv Bahadur, because he has local clout. The Bahujan Samaj Party candidate, Mr Afroze Ali Khan, is not taken seriously even by his own party. Since Ms Mayawati had to make a show of being sensitive to the needs of the minorities, people like Mr Afroze Ali play more than a small role in boosting the image of the BSP as a pro-minority outfit. It would be instructive to follow the fate of the 17 Muslim candidates contesting on Bahujan ticket. Surely, with the Begum
Sahiba, Mr Sharma and Afroze Ali suffering from serious handicaps, the Samajwadi Party candidate, Ms
Jayaprada, should be able to walk away with the seat on the strength of her Bollywood charm? No, according to the khauria club members. A local newspaper described the act of fielding her as an insult of the Rampur voters. “Kya hum bus eke filmi adakar kay laiq
hain?” screamed the headline in Urdu. “Haan agar Govinda ko khara kartey to woh hathon hath liya jaata
yahan,” they say. |
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Laloo, Nitish to contest 2 seats each Patna, April 2 The humiliating, and rather
unbelievable, defeat Mr Laloo Yadav had suffered during the last elections from
Madhepura, forced the Bihar strongman to throw his hat into the ring from his old Chapra Lok Sabha seat also. Laloo lost the elections from Madhepura, a Yadav-dominated seat, by a little over 30,000 votes to Union Minister and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav in 1999. Mr Yadav has once again decided to cross swords with Sharad Mr Yadav from Madhepura and also against Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and senior BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Chapra. The RJD president had his first tryst with electoral politics in 1977 when he made his maiden entry to Parliament registering a victory by a margin of around 3.7 lakh votes from Chapra. Subsequently, he tasted defeat from the seat at the hands of Mr Satyendra Singh (Janata Party) in 1989. Nitish, on the other hand, has successfully fought the Lok Sabha elections from Barh five times in a row since 1999 but he has also submitted his papers from Nalanda, considered a safer seat than Barh, given significant presence of his Kurmi castemen there. He had scraped through from Barh by a slender margin of a little over 1300 votes in the in 1999 poll. RJD’s Vijay Krishna is a formidable candidate against Nitish Kumar from Barh while Pushpanjay Kumar Sinha of the Lok Janashakti Party has entered the fray against the Railway Minister from Nalanda, the seat represented by Defence Minister George Fernandes in the dissolved Lok Sabha, Mr Fernandes has this time shifted to Muzaffarpur on popular demand. Among other political
heavyweights who, too, have entered the fray are LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Textiles Minister Shahnawaz Hussain, Union Minister for Small-scale Industries C.P. Thakur and former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra. — PTI |
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Supporters on hold as nominees not announced yet Rohtak, April 2 Since those already nominated by their respective parties have begun campaigning in a low key, most hopefuls have set up their offices for campaign but these are yet to become operational for obvious reasons. Although no prospective candidate wants to waste money and lose face in the end if he is denied the party ticket, putting up a brave front in front of their supporters is their compulsion. Hence, many of them have set up offices in their constituencies and their loyalists are going through the motions of planning a campaign to keep up the morale of their workers. In Rohtak, one of the hopefuls has even pasted large posters throughout the constituency projecting himself as the official party candidate though the party is yet to select its nominee for the seat. Another strong contender from a rival party has set up a camp office at his residence from where his close associates are operating. However, the functioning is limited to planning publicity campaign and creating infrastructure. Meanwhile, supporters of different contenders in the same party are spitting venom at one another. Likewise, in Sonepat, three main rivals are already into the campaign, forcing the hopefuls of other parties to do likewise without the final nod. This has left the party camps divided since there are more than two prospective candidates from the parties which are yet to announce their candidates. This is certain to affect the party’s chances when real campaigning begins since rival supporters will find it hard to campaign for another candidate of their party if those who they are backing now are denied the ticket in the end. In Hisar and Sirsa, the situation is more confusing. In the case of Hisar, the supporters of Congress hopeful Jai Parkash do not know which party they will ultimately campaign for. Mr Barwala has thrown broad hints to his erstwhile “Green Brigade” colleagues that he may go to the BJP is he is denied the party ticket. In Sirsa, supporters of Ms Selja are tearing their hair apart in frustration not knowing whether their leader will contest from there or Ambala. Likewise, Congress cadres in Ambala are keeping their fingers crossed not knowing who they have to work for ultimately. In Bhiwani, which is likely to witness the battle of the Titans, the Congress and BJP cadres are cooling their heels in full battle gear, not knowing which General will lead them to the battleground. “It is a war-like situation. We have deployed the troops and laid the mines. But we do not know who will command us. In the end it could boomerang on us. The troops could get scattered projecting different candidates and the Generals could be treading over minefields laid by their own forces,” said a retired Army officer, who has organised the campaign of a national party in many elections in the past. Lastly, fund raising is also on hold. “No one would give a dime to me till I am officially declared as the party nominee. And if this confusion continues for a few more days, my rivals will drain many of the resources,” lamented a ticket hopeful from a national political party. |
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EC asks states to clear 12-cr payments New Delhi, April 2 The Election Commission (EC) here has written to the state chief secretaries to clear the payments immediately. Transporters claimed that delay in payments was a violation of the instructions of the EC, which had cleared the payments to the states and asked them to release the payment promptly. Mr O.P. Aggarwal, Chairman, All-India Transporters Welfare Association (AITWA), a body representing over 60 per cent of the truck operators across the country, alleged, “We are running from pillar to post for the past many years to get about Rs 12 crore due towards state governments. Though the EC has cleared the payments, state officials are delaying the payments wherever operators have declined to pay commission.” He disclosed that about 2 lakh trucks were requisitioned by the states for the last Lok Sabha elections across the country, on the behalf of the EC to transport ballot boxes, election parties and other material to lakhs of booths. But the state governments, including those of Bihar (Rs 60 lakh), MP (Rs 50 lakh), UP (Rs 55 lakh), Punjab (Rs 7-8 lakh), Haryana (Rs 7 lakh), Orissa (Rs 10-12 lakh) and Jharkhand (Rs 10 lakh) have still to clear the payments of truck operators. On the demand of truck operators, the EC has now written to the state chief secretaries concerned to clear the payments. In a letter dated March 26, it has directed to the states and UTs, “In the current General Election to the Lok Sabha, only vehicles registered in the districts concerned should be requisitioned and vehicles, which are in transit, whether loaded or empty, should be exempted from requisitioning.” The letter noted that “only the minimum required number of trucks should be requisitioned and any vehicle(s) found extra of the requirements should be released immediately after making payment for the detention period.” The EC has also directed the state governments to revise the rates of requisitioning the vehicles taking into account the escalation of costs. Welcoming the decision of the EC, Mr R.D Bansal, president of the association, said, “The EC has ordered that truck operators should not be harassed and rates should be revised. We urge that rates should be at least Rs 1000 for a truck and Rs 500 per day for a tempo, keeping in view the increase in prices and pending payments should be cleared.” The states should requisition trucks from respective districts only, he added. |
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Action against DSP, SHO for ‘misconduct’ Chandigarh, April 2 Sources in the Punjab Police headquarters reveal that the DSP’s transfer has been recommended by the authorities concerned, while the SHO has been placed under suspension on the basis of a complaint alleging misconduct. Sources, however, declined to identify the officers. They said the election cell of the Punjab Police had received a large number of complaints. Instructions had been issued to district-level police officers to deal with the complaints expeditiously. Though the exact number of such grievances was not immediately known, the sources confirmed that complaints were “pouring in” everyday. The elections for 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state are scheduled for May 10. Confirming the information about the issuance of instructions regarding expeditious disposal of complaints, Punjab’s Additional Director-General of Police (Operations) Shashi Kant said a substantial number of complaints were against police personnel. Giving details, the ADGP asserted that a large number of complainants were against local police officials for “affiliations” with various political parties. Others sought transfer of police officials on the ground that they had been deployed at the same place for the past many years. As such, they had developed vested interests and might help in rigging during the poll. The sources said just before the announcement of elections, the transfer of all non-cadre officers was sought, but the plea was rejected by the police authorities as “there was nothing wrong with it under the relevant rules”. Regarding the procedure, the sources said a reply was sought from the official concerned as soon as a complaint was received against him. If required, an inquiry was also ordered. As the Model Code of Conduct was in force, the probe report, along with other documents, was then sent to the Election Commission of India for further proceedings. Action was taken on EC recommendations alone, the sources added. |
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Voter prefers NDA for LS; Cong for Assembly Bangalore, April 2 Karnataka may well emerge as a laboratory for a certain pattern of future voting in India – vote BJP/NDA in the centre, and a regional party or the Congress for the state. This pattern was already apparent in 1999, especially in the urban areas, with the voter going with the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha seat, but preferring a Congress or a local candidate for the Assembly (the Bangalore South Lok Sabha seat and the Binnypet Assembly constituency as an example). With the BJP projected to do better this time, though still losing out overall to the Congress, that pattern may become more entrenched, especially in a state repeatedly going in for simultaneous elections to the state and the Centre. S.M. Krishna is up against two acto-turned-politicians in Chamarajpet. The BJP has fielded Mukhyamantri Chandru (the first name Mukhyamantri is a title Mr. Chandru got for famously playing the role of a chief minister in a film a couple of decades ago). The Janata Dal (Secular) headed by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, has fielded a star, Anant Nag, who, like Chandru, is not a new entrant to politics, and can be considered to be a veteran. There is a cautious expectation that Krishna and his Congress party will win. The expectation evident in the fact that the BJP has so far not projected a chief ministerial candidate in the state. State BJP leader and former union minister Ananth Kumar though is still holding out the prospect of an “original BJP candidate” for the post. A measure of anti-incumbency against the Congress as a whole cannot be ruled out, for especially in the hinterland, there is dissatisfaction about classic concerns of sadak, bijli, and pani. Karnataka has major power deficit and water shortage problems, which the coming summer is expected to aggravate. This disaffection in the rural areas may indeed be one reason why Krishna shifted his constituency from Maddur village, about 70 km from Bangalore in Mandya district. Moreover, Chamarajpet is relatively small, with less than a lakh of registered voters, leaving himself open to some jibes by his opponents about his lack of confidence. It is considered a relatively safe constituency for him, with sitting MLA R. V. Devaraj of the Congress still popular there. Maddur, though, cannot really be considered unsafe for Krishna and the Congress, (in spite of widespread anger among Mandya farmers over the way the state handled the Cauvery waters dispute) and there is speculation that Maddur might be used to secure another Congress seat, even for someone like the CM’s wife, Prema Krishna. The filing of nomination at Chamarjpet was done with just a few hours to spare on Wednesday, leading to bedlam and chaos at the ARO’s office, with Chandru accusing Congress workers of throwing stones and blocking entry. More drama was added with 1994 BJP winner Pramila Nesargi reportedly bursting into tears when Chandru also filed his nomination on the BJP ticket. Another interesting dynamic with implications at the national level is the alliance between the BJP and the JD (U), headed at the national level by George Fernandes. B. Somashekar heads the JD (U) in the state, and was hoping for a better alliance deal than the one the party has got now – just 25 of the 224 Assembly seats, and four of the 28 Lok Sabha seats. Somashekar would like to have an “NDA type” government in Karnataka. In his reading, they will make a good combination, as the BJP mainly represents the upper castes, while the JD (U) can take the Dalits, minorities and other backward classes along with it. The BJP has also taken on board the controversial former CM Bangarappa, who has the support of many backward classes, though it remains to be seen whether his switch from the Congress to the BJP, and his rejection of his son Kumar Bangarappa, is forgiven by his followers. Kumar Bangarappa followed his father to the BJP, but went back to the Congress when his father preferred his other son Madhu for the Sorab ticket in Shimoga. |
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BSP goes aggressive in Maharashtra Mumbai, April 2 Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP leader Mayawati is flitting in and out of the state, holding rallies in pockets with substantial Dalit populations. Ms Mayawati has already held meetings in Mumbai and the neighboring Thane city. She has also covered Pune apart from meeting industrialists across the state. However, there is little enthusiasm for the BSP in Maharashtra though founder and Ms Mayawati’s mentor Kanshi Ram cut his political teeth in the state. Ms Mayawati’s rallies have been attracting small crowds, though response to the party has been picking up over the years, say observers. In Pune, Ms Mayawati’s rally earlier this week drew barely 5000 people, a far cry from the tens of thousands of people who turn up for a rally by local strongman Sharad Pawar. Worse still, Ms Mayawati has had to answer questions from reporters who wonder if she is out to split the secular vote and benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party. “People charge me with trying to help the BJP but after my experiences with them in UP how can I do that?” Ms Mayawati retorts at every encounter with the media. She, however, admitted that the entry of the BSP would split the anti-BJP vote. Ms Mayawati’s foray into Maharashtra has drawn barbs from other politicians who are vying for the Dalit vote. Leaders of the four factions of the Republican Party of India, founded out by Bhimrao Ambedkar, have accused the BSP of playing a Trojan Horse for the mainstream political parties. While three of the RPI factions are allied with the Congress , the fourth headed by Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of B. R. Ambedkar, is contesting two seats on its own hoping for a friendly fight with the BJP. Dalits account for 13 per cent of the population in Maharashtra. However, with the community throwing up no leaders, their votes are split among smaller parties weakening the Dalits’ bargaining power. |
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21 Assam MPs dropped this time Guwahati, April 2 The Congress, which swept the last parliamentary polls winning 10 seats, has replaced five candidates, including two sitting MPs. The BJP and the AGP have eight fresh faces each. The Congress has replaced sitting Karimganj MP Nepal Chandra Das with Mr Lalit Shukla Baidya. Mr Das had left the party to join the AGP and was nominated as the opposition candidate. Sitting Congress MP Abdul Hamid of Dhubri has been denied the ticket to be replaced by Mr Anowar Hussain. The Congress has also denied the ticket to three losers of the last elections — State Industry Minister Bhubaneswar Kalita (Gwahati), Mr Nripen Saikia (Nagaon) and Mr Premsingh Brahma (Kokrajhar). They have been replaced by Mr Kirip Chaliha, Mr Bishnu Prasad and Mr Derghara Mochahary, respectively. The BJP, which made considerable inroads in the last elections, winning two seats and finishing second in seven constituencies, has also put some new prominent faces including Dr Bhupen Hazarika (Gwahati). Union Minister of State for Water Resources Bijoya Chakravorty and sitting MP from Gwahati was denied the ticket by the BJP and replaced by Assamese cultural icon Hazarika, whose joining the party recently created a furore in the state. The AGP, which failed to win a single seat in the last elections, have also brought in new faces with prominent among them being former Home Minister Bhrigu Kumar Phukan (Gwahati), who recently rejoined the party after leaving it twice following differences with former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar
Mahanta. — PTI |
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Security up at BJP, Cong offices Imphal, April 2 Official sources on Friday said security personnel were deployed in the offices of the BJP and Congress and security measures in and around the Ministers’ Block where all ministers were having their offices were tightened. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh also instructed senior police and security officials to step up security measures at all vulnerable points, the sources said. Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) and Kanglei Yawol Kann Lup (KYKL) on Thursday banned poll-related activities of the Congress and BJP respectively for different reasons. The RPF in a statement alleged that the Congress-led Secular Progressive Front ministry had failed to prevent a series of alleged human rights violations by central forces in Manipur and also to develop the state. In a separate statement, the KYKL charged the BJP state unit president and candidate in Inner Manipur seat Th Chaoba Singh with being ‘an agent of the Centre to destroy revolutionary movement in Manipur.’ KYKL also claimed responsibility of the abortive attempt on the life of state BJP vice-president N Tombi Singh on March 30. Sources in the Congress and BJP denied the charges levelled against them by the two outfits.
— PTI |
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Rural-oriented Janata Party manifesto unveiled Bangalore, April 2 Attacking the ruling Congress and the BJP after releasing the manifesto, Mr Mallya said here “our vision is to make Karnataka the best state in south India in the next five years against set benchmarks”. The manifesto with “single-minded focus” on the problems Karnataka faces regarding water, assured banning of middlemen charging a high interest rate on loans, crop insurance and access to electricity for peasants. It also said steps would be taken to develop backward areas in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, compensate parents with food subsidy if a child attends school and implement “a-school-in-every village” scheme. The manifesto attacked the “dismal” performance of the Congress in the state blaming it for farmers’ suicides, lack of accountability, poor infrastructure development and for not providing potable water in villages. The Congress had been given a chance but had failed while the BJP did not deserve a chance to rule. “The image of Mr Vajpayee is not going to fool the people of Karnataka,” he said, adding that the Janata Party had fielded 105 candidates in the first phase and would put up 50 or 60 more in the second phase.
— PTI |
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13 polling booths ‘highly sensitive’ Jalandhar, April 2 Deputy Commissioner-cum-district returning officer Ashok Gupta at a meeting of senior civil and police officials to review poll arrangements here yesterday, said according to guidelines of the Election Commission it was decided to constitute 90 polling parties, having staff from Ludhiana, 21 polling parties from Amritsar and 512 polling parties from Hoshiarpur, while remaining 623 polling parties would consist of staff from Jalandhar district. He instructed the police to ensure security in and around highly sensitive and sensitive polling booths identified by the poll authorities. Persons having licensed arms were instructed to surrender them. |
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