ENCOUNTER: Kangra Lok Sabha Seat
Caste factor not to work: Shanta

BJP stalwart Shanta Kumar has never revelled in being politically correct. He considers himself to be more of a conscientious writer than a politician despite being in public life for almost four decades.”

The writer in me always inspires me to tread the path of truth. Politics is not a profession for me but a vehicle to serve the people,” he says. He has authored more than 20 books, including poems, novel and short stories.”

Twice former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh and a former Union Minister, he has often suffered for speaking out his mind but he has never flinched from adopting a political stance that may run counter to the official party line.”

It happened during the BJP Goa Convention, when he criticised Mr Narender Modi for failing to control communal violence in Gujarat. He lost his job as a Union Minister after he publicly flayed the Dhumal regime in Himachal for failing to deliver as a result of which the party lost the Assembly polls.”

“I have no regrets for speaking the truth even if I have had to pay a price for that,” says Mr Shanta Kumar, who is endeavouring to enter the Lok Sabha for the fourth time.”

He started his political career as a RSS pracharak in 1952 before unsuccessfully contesting the Assembly elections for the first time from Palampur in 1967. He has won four Assembly elections in 1972, 1977, 1982 and 1980. Having remained the Chief Minister twice, he is still considered to be the tallest BJP leader from the lower part of Himachal.”

Without caring for vote politics, which was far from his mind, he strictly adopted the “no work, no pay” policy against the employees. He came to be known for his administrative acumen but that did not endear him to voters.”

Surprisingly, it is his dream project of setting up the Vivekananda Medical Institute at his home town Palampur, which has become his biggest bane as the Congress has made it the main election issue.

“Playing the card of caste politics is nothing new for the Congress but people of Kangra have always rejected it and this time too it will not work,” feels Mr Shanta Kumar on being projected as anti-OBC.

Chander Kumar for top priority to tourism

A five-time Congress MLA, Mr Chander Kumar, is one of the tallest leaders from the OBC belt of Himachal, who is the party’s choice for taking on BJP stalwart Shanta Kumar from the Kangra segment.

Starting his career as a school teacher and later as a college lecturer, the 59-year-old leader is firmly entrenched in the political arena, having remained a minister on several occasions. He has represented the Guler Assembly segment for five terms.

It is for the first time that he has taken the electoral plunge into the Lok Sabha elections by filing his nomination from the Kangra parliamentary constituency. Although a reluctant candidate, Mr Chander Kumar, enthusiastically started his campaign, fully aware of the tough challenge from Mr Shanta Kumar.

Apart from being a non-controversial leader with a clean image, he is known to be a trusted lieutenant of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. With more than 25 per cent of the electorate in Kangra being constituted by OBCs the caste break-down is definitely in his favour. He accuses Mr Shanta Kumar of being anti-OBC as he went to the Supreme Court against the recommendations of the Mandal Commission.

Despite being a senior minister in the Vajpayee Government, Mr Shanta Kumar could not get any major industry or big project for Kangra, Chamba or any part of the state,” he says about the performance of the BJP leader as a minister. He says as promised by the BJP leader neither has the cement plant come up at Sikridhar in Chamba nor jobs given to local people in the Chamera phase-II project.

Since serious allegations have been levelled against Mr Shanta Kumar in the setting up of the Vivekananda superspeciality hospital at Palampur and alleged misuse of his office as a minister for raising funds, he should come out clean on the issue by clarifying his position,” feels the Congress leader. He says he would want to give top priority to tourism, which should be promoted as an industry in the state, along with hydel power generation. “In order to generate employment opportunities we need to set up some eco-friendly industries so that the educated youth can get jobs,” he says. Having interest in environmental issues, he has presented a lot of papers on land use planning and occupational structures for the unemployed youth.

Disillusioned voters remain indifferent
Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, April 23
It has been a lacklustre campaign in this border constituency of Punjab. Even when the two main contenders, MP Vinod Khanna, and five-time MP Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder filed their nomination papers, the public appeared to be indifferent.

The mood of the people was articulated by the Independent MLA from Dhariwal, Mr Sucha Singh Chhotepur, who said the people had little choice. Gurdaspur had remained backward, he said, asking “Why should people show any interest?

His views were reflected by a 70-year-old cobbler, Atam Chand of Dhariwal, who said Gurdaspur always had powerful representatives. There were so many ministers from here like Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, Raghunath Sahaipuri, Mr Khushal Behal and the Speaker, Dr Kewal Kishen, besides Mr Vinod Khanna as the Union Minister, but still Gurdaspur remained backward.

The show of strength organised by the two parties today reflected the indifference of the people. Police personnel deputed at the returning officer’s office outnumbered party workers and supporters. There was no enthusiasm and slogan shouting.

Gurdaspur presents a dismal picture. At the entry point to the city, there is usually traffic bottle neck. There is a level crossing which is narrow.

Mr Dewan Chand, a local, said he had seen the crossing like that for the 50 years. The Rajya Sabha MP, Mr Ashwani Kumar, who belongs to this area has a statue erected in memory of his father. Mr Dewan Chand said the crossing could have been widened with less than the amount spent on the memorial.

Mr Edward Masih, a shopkeeper, said it was Mr Ashwani Kumar alone who had overlooked the problems of the people. “They come, take our votes and do nothing”, he said. Be it Mr Vinod Khanna, Ms Bhinder or other local legislators or ministers, nobody as bothered about the masses, he added.

Since most of the parts of the district fall along the border, no industry is prepared to come here. Only the government could do something about it, but nothing has been done so far. He said Mr Khanna had declared that he would turn Gurdaspur into Paris but its condition is pitiable.

Mr Khanna denied having made such an announcement. “What I had said was if Paris could be rebuilt after the World War, why can’t we do so with Gurdaspur”, he said.

Poll Issue
Voters want Hussainiwala border opened
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Ferozepore, April 23
The opening of the Hussainiwala border with Pakistan has become an issue with all candidates so much so, that some traders have even started looking for a good piece of land along the Ferozepore-Hussainwala road where they feel the land prices would escalate. A petrol station is also coming up near Madhre village, 10 km short of the border.

Positive signals from traders in Kasur city of Pakistan has further raised the expectations.

The only hitch could be the objections raised by the defence forces. Certain officials of the BSF and the Army were averse to the idea. “This border is different from Wagah. There are certain sensitive spots whose sketches can be dangerous,” said an official. The armed forces have blocked the view over the Sutlej as the Pakistani army could easily spot any movement.

Nevertheless, there is hope. For the people it is not merely the prospect of trade, it would rejuvenate a “dying city”.

Before 1971, a large number of people held import-export licenses. They bought dry fruits from Pakistan and exported fruits like grapes over there. Mr Manohar Lal Jhanji and Mr Ashwani Jhanji, members of the Import-Export Association, remember the period when they profited by importing dry fruits from across the border and selling them in other parts of the state.

The biggest temptation is the export of wheat to Pakistan. “There is a big profit. Wheat sells at Rs 1, 900 per quintal in Pakistan while here it is Rs 600,” they say.

Another trader Chander Mohan is waiting for an opportunity to import sugar from Pakistan, which is cheaper.

Farmers hope that fruits and vegetables would also have a new market. Cosmetics too can be exported to Pakistan, they feel.

Mahesh Kumar, an auto rickshaw driver, says that “there is heavy rush on March 23, martyrdom day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial but otherwise the place remains deserted.”

If the border is opened, not only traders but also religious jathas could take this route.

The SAD-BJP candidate, Mr Zora Singh Mann, the Congress candidate, Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, Mr Inderjit Singh Zira (Independent), Mr Dhian Singh Mand (SAD-Amritsar) and Mr Mohan Singh Phallianwala, all have promised to take up the issue after being voted to power.

Mr Mann shows the letters he had written to the Central Government, and talks of his meeting with Pakistani government functionaries when he visited that country as part of a delegation of Indian parliamentarians last year as proof of doing his bit for the issue.

Bishnoi has the edge
Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service

Adampur, April 23
The INLD candidate, Mr Ajay Chautala, is the third favourite of voters in this Assembly segment of the Bhiwani Lok Sabha constituency. In the elections of 1998 and 1999, Mr Ajay had received overwhelming support of the voters from Adampur.

In the 1999 elections, he had polled 50,372 votes polled almost double the number of votes polled by his nearest rival from the Congress, Mr Dharam Vir.

The constituency is represented in the Assembly by Mr Bhajan Lal who has never lost an election from this constituency. When Mr Bhajan Lal fought the Lok Sabha elections from Karnal, his son Kuldeep Bishnoi contested from Adampur and retained the seat.

This time, however, the situation is different with Mr Bishnoi fighting the contest from Bhiwani.

Mr Mahinder Kumar, a trader in Adampur Mandi, said Mr Bishnoi was the clear favourite in Adampur followed by Mr Surinder Singh of the Haryana Vikas Party and Mr Ajay Chautala.

Asked how Mr Ajay Chautala fared better than the Congress candidates in the two previous elections despite this constituency being a bastion of Mr Bhajan Lal, he said: “The two Lals (Bhajan Lal and Om Prakash Chautala) have an understanding. Mr Bhajan Lal had indicated to the voters of Adampur that they should vote for Ajay Chautala”, he alleged.

Mr Sahib Ram, a farmer, said it was spread by word of mouth that Mr Bhajan Lal would like the people to vote for Ajay Chautala. In those elections, Mr Bhajan Lal did not make efforts to mobilise voters in favour of the Congress candidates.

Mr Anil Mittal, a trader, said Mr Bhajan Lal had nothing to do with the votes polled by Mr Ajay Chautala. “People of Adampur wanted to stop HVP candidate Surinder Singh from winning from Bhiwani. Mr Surinder Singh was a candidate in 1998 as well as in the 1999 elections. People voted for Mr Ajay Chautala as he was the strongest candidate challenging the HVP nominee.

People wanted Mr Surinder Singh to be defeated because of the alleged illicit liquor trade during the term of the HVP Government”, he said.

Mr Pyarelal Manjhu, a farmer said the political interests of Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Chautala were similar and it could bring them together.

“In the Congress, Mr Bhajan Lal’s most important rival is Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda who is a Jat. Mr Chautala, himself a Jat, also will not like a Jat leader of stature to emerge. The Hooda factor brings Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Chautala together”, he said.

Mr Dhanraj Lohia, a trader, claimed that Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Chautala had already decided that this time Mr Bishnoi would win the Bhiwani seat.

Youngsters battle it out
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 23
The Kurukshetra Parliamentary Constituency in Haryana assumes significance because of the Chief Minister’s younger son, Mr Abhay Singh Chautala, contesting the Lok Sabha seat from there. Also of interest is that two youngsters, both of whom are contesting the Parliamentary elections for the first time, are at the centre of the poll fray.

Though the contest in this constituency will be multi-cornered, with about half-a-dozen prominent parties fielding their candidates, the closest fight is expected to be between the youngsters, Abhay, and the Congress candidate, Naveen Jindal. Several Independent candidates are also expected to be in the fray.

While Abhay, who is contesting the poll on the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) ticket, is the sitting MLA from Rori, this is Naveen’s maiden political venture. Abhay had won the Rori seat in his first political venture during the previous byelection. Naveen is an industrialist and his father Om Parkash Jindal had won this seat during the 1996 General Elections.

Abhay was given the party ticket for Kurukshetra at the cost of the outgoing MP, Kailasho Devi Saini. In the 1999 General Elections, Kailasho Devi had defeated her nearest rival Om Parkash Jindal of the Congress. She got about 62 per cent of the total votes polled. Prior to that in 1998, she had overcome her nearest rival, Kuldip Sharma, also of the Congress.

The past 10 General Elections (since 1967) have seen Congress candidates coming to power on four occasions, with different parties wresting the seat during other elections. In 1998, Kailasho Devi had contested on Haryana Lok Dal ticket. The party was later renamed INLD. Om Parkash Jindal had won the seat in 1996 on the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) ticket, but later contested on an Congress ticket.

The BJP has fielded Gurdial Singh Saini, who had won the seat in 1989 on the Janata Dal ticket. Since there are a large number of Saini voters in this constituency and the INLD has denied ticket to Kailasho Devi Saini, the BJP is hoping to garner the support of the Saini community.

The HVP, headed by former Chief Minister Bansi Lal, has fielded its general secretary Jatinder Singh Kaka. He had contested the 1999 elections from this constituency also. The Ekta Party has also fielded a candidate, Jagmeet Singh Saini.

The Kurukshetra Parliamentary Constituency includes the Assembly segments of Yamunanagar, Shahabad, Radaur, Pai, Pehowa, Guhla, Kaithal, Pundri and Thanesar.

There are a total of 11,61,679 registered voters in this constituency, out of which over 5 lakh, comprising about 45 per cent of the total electorate, are women.

The voter turnout in this constituency, however, has been declining. From 75.33 per cent in 1996, it slipped to 71 per cent in 1998 and then fell to 68 per cent in 1999. The all-time high during the past 10 elections was reported in 1977, when the voter turnout was over 79 per cent.

Hooda pitted against ex-servicemen
Raman Mohan
Tribune News Service

Rohtak, April 23
The political ground that has historically witnessed the Titans battle it out within its precincts is this time preparing for a showdown involving a former Army General, a former Army Captain, the widow of a former Army Colonel and a seasoned politician.

The Congress nominee for the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who defeated former Deputy Prime Minister, the late Devi Lal, thrice from here is being challenged by Maj-Gen Bhim Singh Suhag (retd) of the Indian National Lok Dal, Capt Abhimanyu Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Mrs Usha Ahlawat, widow of a former Colonel who has been put up by the Haryana Vikas Party.

Incidentally, all three opponents of Mr Hooda are contesting a parliamentary poll for the first time.

Rohtak which is considered as the political capital of Haryana has never let political parties and their leaders take its support for granted.

This seat comprises the nine Assembly segments of Hassangarh, Kiloi, Rohtak, Meham, Kalanaur, Beri, Sahlawas, Jhajjar and Badli. There are 10,42,468 voters in the constituency. Interestingly, the male voters outnumber the females by a huge margin of 9 per cent. No wonder that this is the first time in 52 years that political parties have dared put up women candidates – Mrs Usha Ahlawat of the HVP and Dr Geeta Grewal of the Bahujan Samaj Party. The latter is Mr Hooda’ s estranged daughter-in-law. Incidentally, she is not the BSP’s first choice. She was picked up after the original nominee, Mr Lokendra, was injured in a shootout and opted out of the contest.

Unofficial figures indicate that this is a predominantly Jat seat with the members of this community accounting for over 4 lakh voters. The Brahmins come next with around 90,000 voters followed by migrant Punjabis (Arora Khatris) whose number is about 87,000. Members of the Scheduled Castes, backward classes and other non-Jat communities put together almost equal the Jat voters but they remain divided on caste lines.

Of late, the constituency’s large population of serving and retired defence personnel has asserted itself. The say that they have gained is there for all to see. In 1999, the INLD put up a retired Army officer who won. This time, barring Mr Hooda, the rest of the important candidates have an Army background.

The constituency’s electoral history shows that the BJP has had a major influence on the outcome of the poll whenever it has entered the contest in alliance with a regional party. This is the first time that it is contesting the seat on its own with its former allies putting up their own candidates. Therefore, the contest this time is a litmus test for the party which considers Rohtak as its strongest base. It will also be a personal challenge for BJP stalwart Sahib Singh Verma as the party nominee is related to him and got the ticket courtesy Mr Verma.

Heavyweights with Sirsa link
Sushil Manav

Fatehabad, April 23
The Sirsa (Reserved) parliamentary constituency is not among those constituencies of Haryana where the eyes of the media is focused but it has earned importance for a different reason. Over six persons belonging to areas falling under this parliamentary constituency are trying their luck from other constituencies. These are other than those candidates who are contesting from this constituency itself.

Mr Ajay Singh and Mr Abhey Singh, the sons of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, are trying their luck from other constituencies. While Mr Ajay Singh is locked in a battle with Mr Surinder Singh, son of Mr Bansi Lal, and Mr Kuldip Bishnoi, son of Mr Bhajan Lal, in Bhiwani, Mr Abhey Singh is contesting from the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency.

The ancestral village of Mr Bishnoi falls under the Sirsa parliamentary constituency.

Mr Surinder Singh also has a Sirsa connection. His maternal uncles live in Bothan Kalan village of this district.

Ms Selja, (Congress), who is contesting from the Ambala (Reserved) constituency, too, has her roots in Sirsa. She is a two-time MP from this constituency.

Mr Ram Chander Bainda, a three-time MP from the Faridabad parliamentary constituency, is also a resident of this area. His native village, Khabra Kalan, falls in Fatehabad district. He is contesting from Faridabad on BJP ticket.

Dr Sushil Indora, Mr Mahavir Prasad, Mr Atma Singh Gill and Mr Rair Chand who are candidates of major parties are contesting from here.

Constituency Profile: Sriganganagar
A direct fight between Congress, BJP
Ruchika M. Khanna
Tribune News Service

Sriganganagar, April 23
This Lok Sabha constituency consisting of the Assembly segments of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts, is headed for a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP. Mr Nihal Chand Meghwal (BJP) is defending his berth in this reserved constituency, and is pitted against Master Bharat Ram Meghwal (Congress).

Though Mr Nihal Chand got a headstart in his campaign, as his candidature was certain from the beginning, his rival from the Congress, has now put him on the defensive. Master Meghwal, who is trying to gain entry in the Lok Sabha for the first time, is out to give him a tough contest.

The BJP had assumed that the going would be easy in this constituency as the Congress candidate had been chosen from the grassroots’ level. Master Meghwal is a private schoolteacher in Tibbi and he has only won a local body election so far. Internal politics in the BJP and the rank and file of the Congress throwing its weight behind its candidate, has ensured that there will be a neck-and- neck fight between the two candidates.

So far there is no cohesiveness in the BJP campaign and certain MLAs nurse grudges against Mr Nihal Chand. What goes in his favour is the numerous development works carried out in the constituency during his recent term, including the awarding of compensation of Rs 49 crore to farmers whose lands had been temporarily acquired by the Army for laying land mines in 2002 and getting the long-pending demand of a broad gauge rail link between Sriganganagar and Sarupsar.

Master Meghwal was chosen considering the sizeable number of Meghwal votes he could garner from his community. The Meghwals comprise the largest segment of voters and the constituency has a history of sending a member from this community to Parliament.

Six other candidates are in the fray. The CPI candidate, Mr Shyotram, and BSP candidate M.R. Naik have their “dedicated” votes and are unlikely to hit the Congress or the BJP vote bank. The remaining four candidates are contesting as Independents.

This constituency comprises three Assembly segments in Sriganganagar district and five in Hanumangarh district. The Vidhan Sabha seats of Karanpur, Kesrisinghpur and Sriganganagar (Sriganganagar district) and Tibbi and Sangria (Hanumangarh district) are represented by BJP MLAs while Nohar and Badra (Hanumangarh) are represented by the Indian National Lok Dal and an Independent, respectively.

A total of 13.4 lakh voters will decide the fate of the candidates. The electorate is heterogeneous, with almost four lakh voters belonging to the Scheduled Castes and about three lakh to the Sikh and other Punjabi communities. Jats, Brahmins, Sonis, Kumhars and Aggarwals form the remaining electorate.

18 Rajasthan nominees are millionaires
Manohar Prabhakar
Tribune News Service

Jaipur, April 23
Out of the 185 candidates remaining in the fray in Rajasthan, as many as 18 are millionaires. The richest among them is Mr Vedprakash who is contesting from the Bharatpur constituency on Congress ticket. He possesses property worth over Rs 60 crore. Next is Mr Meethalal Jain of the Nationalist Congress and is fighting from the Pali constituency. He owns cash and assets worth Rs 9.89 crore.

Nine of them belong to the Congress while six are from the BJP. Two of the candidates are Independents and one belongs to the Nationalist Congress. The richest BJP candidate is Mr Vishvendra Singh of royal lineage. Five candidates have declared no property against their names. They include Mr Shyopat Ram (CPI) from Ganganagar and the INLO candidate, Mr Dalip Singh, from Bikaner.

As regard education, 70 candidates have been only to a high school while two are semi-literate. Those who have studied up to class V number 23.

Nineteen of the total contestants are involved in litigation. Among such candidates, Mr Ranveer Singh Gudha who is fighting from the Jhunjhunu Lok Sabha seat on Lok Jan Shakti Party ticket, tops the list. He is involved in 22 cases. Mahant Chandnath of Haryana who is contesting from the Alwar constituency on BJP ticket is said to have been involved in a case of murder while the Congress candidate from Jaipur, Mr Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, is facing embarrassment because of his alleged involvement in a case concerning the glorification of “sati”.

Fight is between SP, BSP
L.H. Naqvi
Tribune News Service

ROBERTSGANJ: The names of two Lok Sabha constituencies can confuse an outsider. One is Maunath and the other is Sonebhadra. For some unknown reason the constituencies have been named after the tehsils located in these two districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Maunath is listed as Ghosi and Sonebhadra as Robertsganj. The people of Ghosi remember the contribution of late Kalpnath Rai in the development of their district with a sense of gratitude. Robertsganj is still waiting for a political messiah to pull it out of centuries of backwardness and poverty.

Last year the death of 18 children belonging to the Ghasia tribe between July and September was sought to be suppressed first by Ms Mayawati and later by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, who replaced her as Chief Minister during this period. But for the investigations by the Varanasi-based People’s Vigilance Commission for Human Rights, the starvation deaths may have gone unreported. In November, the National Human Rights Commission sought a report from the state government.

The tribal communities still live in abject poverty. But neither the BJP, which is fighting to retain the reserved seat, nor the Samajwadi Party nor the Bahujan Samaj Party nor the Congress has promised a better deal.

The political and administrative indifference has created pockets of Naxal influence in the territories touching Jharkhand.

Sonebhadra is also known as Sonanchal (land of gold) and Urjanchal (land of energy). Yet, in the period since Independence no worthwhile effort has been made to tap the mineral potential of the region. The same factors that resulted in the birth of Jharkhand may see a nascent movement for the creation of a separate Sonanchal gain momentum. “Uttaranchal kay baad Sonanchal; yehi humara nara hai”, reads a slogan coined by a tribal leader.

The political players are non-committal but local tribal leaders are demanding a commitment from the political parties to work for the creation of a separate state comprising Sonebhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli and Varanasi and some other backward parts of Purvanchal.

As of today the election is being fought on purely caste basis. According to local assessment the ignorant and backward electorate may choose between the Samajwadi candidate and the BSP because “the BJP has done nothing for the socio-economic development of the region”.

Cong, NCP set to give BJP  stiff fight
Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service

Panaji, April 23
The contest for the two Lok Sabha seats in India’s smallest state has got keener with the Congress-NCP alliance putting up a tough fight here.

The BJP, which won the two seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, has launched a high-pitched campaign to retain the seats. The party is banking on the state’s middle-class voters to return Panaji MP and Minister of State for Finance Shripad Naik and Murmagao MP Ramakant Angle to power.

The Congress-NCP coalition is relying on electoral arithmetic and the Catholics to upset the BJP figures. It has also received a boost with the church asking its members to support secular parties.

The Congress-NCP alliance has fielded former Chief Minister Churchill Alemao (Congress) from Murmagao and former Chief Minister Wilfred De Souza (NCP) from Panaji.

Contrary to expectations, the regional Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), which entered the fray at the last moment, is aggressively wooing BJP voters many of who were its original supporters. MGP leader and former Chief Minister Shashikala Kakodkar is running a spirited campaign in Goa’s economically backward villages, castigating the BJP‘s “feel good” factor.

Mr Alemao is on a strong wicket in the Murmagao seat with several MLAs campaigning for him.

The BJP’s “Mission Salcette”, aimed to make its presence felt here, hasn’t gone down well with the Christians here. “There have been a number of communal incidents in the past which is causing concern among the Catholics here,” says a senior church official.

In the last elections, the church had asked the voters to vote against “defectors” and usher in politicians with a clean image. This was seen as an indication by the church to vote for the two BJP candidates who had a clean image.

Last year, the VHP burned down a mosque after some Muslims had an altercation with the Shripad Naik. In December, VHP activists created trouble at the Bishop’s palace after allegedly unearthing a Shivlinga on the compound.

The BJP is banking on the development works here. “Goa has been declared as the best Indian state,” Mr Parrikar says referring to a magazine survey published last year.

The Union Government’s decision to turn Goa into a permanent venue to host the International Film Festival of India has also become a major campaign point with the BJP.

The MPs also hope to benefit from the beautification projects.

BJP wants Tripathi to withdraw
N.D. Sharma

Bhopal, April 23
The response that Mr Ashok Tripathi received from the public when he went to Rajgarh to file his nomination papers as an Independent has alarmed both the BJP and the RSS in Madhya Pradesh. This threatens to jeopardise the victory chances of Mr Laxman Singh, BJP candidate from Rajgarh, who has won the Rajgarh seat four times on Congress ticket.

The state BJP president, Mr Kailash Joshi, and RSS leader, Kaptan Singh Solanki will be going to Rajgarh to persuade Mr Tripathi to withdraw.

Mr Tripathi is a veteran RSS activist and had been active in the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, spearheaded by Mr Govindacharya. It was the reluctance of BJP workers of Rajgarh to accept Mr Laxman Singh’s candidature that seemed to have promoted Mr Tripathi to contest.

Mr Laxman Singh, during the 10-year regime of his brother Digvijay Singh, is said to have persecuted the BJP workers in Rajgarh.

There was a widespread protest by the BJP leaders and workers in Rajgarh against his induction into the BJP.

The BJP workers had held demonstrations in Bhopal and Delhi in this regard.

The Congress has fielded Mr Shambhu Singh, a retired judge of the MP High Court, from Rajgarh at the instance of Mr Digvijay Singh.