Constituency Profile
Ladakh
Sharp Buddhist-Muslim divide in highest seat
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Ladakh (Leh), May 1
The sprawling and strategically located Ladakh parliamentary constituency has always interested poll observers for the sheer unpredictability of its electorate. On the surface, this largest and the highest parliamentary constituency in India would hardly seem a seat of communal warfare, but deep inside the scenario is defined by sharp ethnic polarisation. The division between the Buddhist-dominated Leh and the Muslim-dominated Kargil districts seems complete. So much so that it has emerged as a major cause of concern among the authorities in charge of poll preparations this time.

Traditionally, the Ladakh parliamentary seat has oscillated between the Congress, a Buddhist-dominated entity, and the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (J&K NC) that flaunts its hefty Muslim base in Kargil. In the six Lok Sabha elections held between 1977 and 1999, the Ladakh electorate has sent Congress candidates to Parliament thrice, while the NC candidates have managed to secure the berth on two occasions.

This goes to prove that the population of Ladakh is more or less evenly divided between Buddhists and Muslims. The last document that offers some insight into the Ladakh’s social profile is the 1981 Census. It places the Buddhist concentration in Ladakh and Leh at 51 per cent and the Shia Muslim percentage, mainly in Kargil, at 48. Figures for the social profile of Ladakh have not since been known because the 1991 Census was not conducted in Jammu and Kashmir and the figures for the last Census are yet to be released. The division, however, is stated to be even.

This time the contest is likely between Ladakhi autonomists backed by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and the NC. The big fight is between NC’s sitting MP Ghulam Hassan Khan from Kargil and revered Buddhist leader Thupstan Chhewang from Leh. Chhewang is among the most vociferous supporters of Ladakh’s demand for a UT status. After losing the 1999 parliamentary elections on Congress ticket, he is now contesting as an Independent.

Main contestants notwithstanding, the BJP’s presence in the electoral battle this time is being viewed with intense skepticism. The BJP has again zeroed in on Buddhist leader Sonam Paljor to contest the 14th Lok Sabha elections from Ladakh. As in the past, he is likely to create fissures in the Buddhist vote bank, which has traditionally belonged to candidates patronised by the LAHDC.

Significant to note is the sharp turn of events since the 2002 Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, in which Ladakhi autonomists had managed to get all local parties dissolved in favour of the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) candidates. Both LUTF candidates were elected unopposed, even as parties like the BJP declined to contest as a mark of respect for the issue of autonomy.

Later, however, differences crept in between LUTF and the BJP because both the LUTF candidates went ahead to accept ministerial berths in the PDP-Congress government in J&K. This is one of the main reasons behind the BJP’s revival in Ladakh. The Congress continues to support Chhewang, who has affiliations with the LUTF.

Also in the fray as an Independent is Wazir Mohd Ali from Kargil. He is, however, not being tipped as much of a player in the ferociously battle for the Ladakh parliamentary seat, which will be hotly contested between Chhewang and Hassan Khan, who has a traditional support base in Kargil’s Muslims.

Ladakh: an overview

With its huge expanse of 1,73,266.37 sq km, the Ladakh parliamentary constituency is the largest in India It comprises Leh and Kargil districts, which are divided into two Assembly segments each. Leh consists of Assembly segments Leh and Nubra, while Kargil has two segments namely Kargil and Zanskar.

Going tough for Dashmunshi
Subhrangshu Gupta

Raiganj, May 1
Mr Priya Dasmunshi, the Congress MP from Raiganj in north Bangal, is contesting to retain the seat. He is the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha.

In 1996, he won the Howrah seat with the support of the Trinamool Congress. In 1998, Ms Mamata Banerjee put up her own candidate in Howrah which prompted Mr Dasmunshi to shift to his home district in Raiganj in North Dinajpur.

He won the Raiganj seat in 1999. In Ranganj, he suffers from an identity crisis and that is why he, accompanied by his actress wife Deepa, has to walk door-to-door to convince voters that he really belongs to Raiganj. He promises them that after winning the elections, he would be with them and would leave no stone unturned to mitigate their sufferings.

He says this time the CPM is not the threat. The threat is from his long-time old political “dada”, Dr Zainal Abedin (now in the Trinamool) who hails from North Dinajpur. Dr Abedin is no stranger to Raiganj. He has been an MLA from the district for two consecutive terms.

The CPM has fielded Mrs Minati Ghosh, a former MLA, against him.

Calling Mr Dasmunshi a migratory bird, Dr Abedin alleges Mr Dasmunshi does not have any attachment with Raiganj and its people. He is a flying bird whose main interest is in Delhi and partly in Kolkata. Mr Dashmunshi’s followers contradict it and say he had brought the Raiganj on the tourism map.

81-yr Jakhar going on 76?
Manohar Prabhakar
Tribune News Service

Jaipur, May 1
Concealing age is not the prerogative of women, elderly politicians also tend to lie about their years. This is what Mr Balram Jakhar, Congress leader contesting from the Churu constituency, is alleged to have done while filing his nomination papers. The allegation has been levelled by Mr Jagdeep Dhankad, former Union Deputy Minister.

The date of birth of Mr Jakhar in the Lok Sabha records is August 23, 1923. As per this, he is already over 81 years old and one of the oldest candidates in the state.

In his nomination papers he has shown himself to be 76 years old. “This is a deliberate attempt to look five years younger in the eyes of the voters””, Mr Dhankad said, adding that the details legally required to be incorporated in the nomination paper were intended to provide accurate information.

Nominees’ wives woo women
Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

Sangrur, May 1
No woman is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Sangrur parliamentary constituency but wives of three high profile candidates are campaigning for their husbands. Woman voters, especially in the rural areas, listen to them patiently.

Mrs Harjit Kaur Dhindsa, wife of Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (SAD), Mrs Geetinder Kaur, wife of Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, (Akali Dal-Amritsar) and Mrs Shagun Khanna, wife of Mr Arvind Khanna (Congress) candidate are actively campaigning for their husbands.

Mrs Dhindsa has campaigned in more than 200 villages. She holds corner meetings or goes door-to-door to convince the voters to support her husband.

Mrs Mann is seeking votes on the basis of her husband’s performance as an MP. She states that Mr Mann had distributed development grants among all sections of society without any discrimination. She has campaigned in Sangrur, Barnala, Dhanaula, Bha-wanigarh, Malerkotla, Longowal and at several villages.

Mrs Khanna is seeking votes on the basis of social work being undertaken by her husband’s foundation.

Exit polls give twist to electoral script
L. H. Naqvi
Tribune News Service

Meerut, May 1
Most ancient cities have a past. Meerut has a past that should be removed from the records tracing its origin. A city that according to mythology was founded by Maya, father-in-law of Ravana, is bad publicity. Remove this blot and it will easily beat most other big or small towns of Uttar Pradesh as a fun place.

Thursday happened to be the last day of the six-week long annual Nau Chandi Mela that celebrates religious brotherhood. The shrine of a Muslim Pir and Nau Chandi Mandir sit cheek by jowl in the most congested quarters of the city. Both Hindus and Muslims turn up in large numbers to celebrate this unique feature of the city every year after the festival of Holi.

The end of the mela will mark the beginning of a serious bout of campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. Fun is the key to whatever happens in Meerut. But one can notice that the raising of the pitch of campaigning has injected a degree of tension in the air. Intelligence reports have recommended stepped-up vigilance in the run-up to the May 10 showdown to minimise the scale of violence that is associated with most electioneering in the Jat heartland.

The stakes are high for most parties, particularly after the exit poll predictions gave a completely unexpected twist to the electoral script. The Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate who is being backed by the Samajwadi Party seems to give up even before the fight has begun. To be fair, there are some keen political analysts who believe that the Samajwadi’s honeymoon with the Muslims is not exactly over. If it is indeed true, Mr Ajit Singh’s party stands a good chance of causing an upset, considering that the seat had gone to the Congress candidate in 1999,

If one were to go by the poster war, Haji Shahid Akhlaq of the Bahujan Samaj Party would appear to be streets ahead of his rivals. He has both money and the backing of a section of the Muslims to make the political calculations go haywire.

However, a more informed analysis of the electoral trends favours a direct contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed candidate of the Janata Dal (United).

Trust the Punjabis to get themselves in the frame. There were just a dozen Sikh families in Azamgarh and they were made to feel important by most contestants. In Meerut, the presence of the members of the Punjabi community is close to a lakh, comprising both Sikh and non-Sikh voters. Most of them control the moneybags and that makes their support a degree more important for most candidates.

A large section of the Punjabis has expressed its resentment over being ignored by the local BJP leadership. They have traditionally supported and even campaigned for the saffron party. But not this time. They may even secretly work against the candidate being supported by the BJP. That should make it much easier for the Congress to retain the seat.

However, the outcome of the election would depend on the nearly 45 per cent Muslim vote. Bazaar gossip sees it splitting among the Congress, the Samajwadi-backed candidate and the BSP.

But representatives of the community say that most of them have decided to back the Congress. So, should the bookies place their money on the Congress retaining the seat? Why not? It has very deftly changed last term’s winner with a Brahmin candidate. The change may make the difference between victory and defeat keeping in mind the role that the caste factor now plays in influencing voters.

Factors at Play
It’s local issues shining
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Bilaspur, May 1
There is no “India shining” or “Sonia shining” in Himachal Pradesh as local issues dominate electioneering for the four parliamentary seats.

Even the common electorate is hardly enthused by the lofty concept of “India shining”. Moreover, the “feel good” factor is not identified with the achievements of a political party or the performance of the government but depends solely on the personal well-being and perception of the individual elector.

Personality cult seems to be alive, be it the BJP or the Congress. While the BJP is seeking votes in the name of the Prime Minister, for the Congress in Himachal it is the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, who is regarded as the only star campaigner.

“I have heard of the “feel good” factor, but it is not the BJP as a party that should rave about it. The sentiment should be felt and echoed by the common man,” feels Naresh Dhiman, a post-graduate of Ichhi village in the Kangra Assembly segment, who works as a part-time teacher. “I am 29 years old and jobless and had it not been for the carpentry work I have learnt, I would have been starving,” he says .

When it comes to the leadership of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, voters, including women, do not rate her too highly. “ I am opposed to the propaganda that Sonia Gandhi is a foreigner. As per the Indian tradition and culture, once a woman marries a citizen of the country, she must be accepted as one of us,” feels Manjula Devi, of Mataur village. She hastens to add that as far as giving vision and able leadership to the country is concerned, her first choice is Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

With an unemployment figure of 11 lakh in a small state like Himachal, a majority of the youth are worried about the grim job prospects in a state, having very little industry or other employment opportunities. “It is with great difficulty that my parents educated me up to Class XII, but with jobs getting scarce, I quit college and opened up a dhaba as I have to support my family,” says Rakesh, resident of Nadaun in Hamirpur. Be it the Congress slogan of “Congress ka haath garib ke saath” or BJP’s “India shining” the common voter is not much impressed and considers all this as part of election gimmicks.

Another issue which affects ex-servicemen, especially in the districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Una and Mandi is that of “One rank one pension” and enhancement of their pension. With successive governments promising to grant them the “one rank one pension”, they are dismayed with politicians as this has still not been granted to them.

Lack of irrigation facilities irking voters for 30 years
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Chotte Bahadur Ke (Ferozepore), May 1
Unbelievable, but true! Lack of irrigation facilities can also be a prominent election issue in this state, which was the pioneer in introducing Green Revolution in the country, mostly on the basis of its wide network of canals.

But for scores of residents living between the Ferozepore-Abohar road and the Indo-Pak border in this parliamentary constituency, the lack of irrigation facilities, and at places complete absence of it, has become a major issue to confront the candidates seeking their votes.

Most of these residents are peasants and have no means of livelihood other than agriculture. The farmers have to rely on canal water only as the underground water level is sinking and the cost of boring deeper tubewells escalating.

The finest example of the successive governments’ apathy is Laxman Canal, named after a Congress leader of the area, Mr Lachman Singh. He had got the canal constructed in the early 1970s to cater to the irrigation needs of the area.

But more than 30 years after the canal was dug up, it is yet to be brick-lined. The canal bed, as well as its banks, is still kutcha. The canal is one of the main issues people talk about here. It is the lifeline for these people.

The canal criss-crosses through the belt, sometimes touching the International Border and the Abohar road and is the only source of water for several villages. But because it is not brick-lined, the water does not reach most of the areas depending on it.

Further, because of the kutcha banks, people living near upstream indulge in theft of water. The level of the banks has also gone down because of soil erosion, causing overflowing of water at various places.

The canal starts from the Luthra headworks on the Sutlej near the Hussainiwala border and ends near Talliwala village near the Patan post. The main villages situated on its banks are Sekhan, Karma, Naulan, Bettu, Chinsinghwala, Gazniwala, Bahudar ke, Suava, Ladian, Chandiwala, and Bulle.

Puran Singh of Bahudar ke village, situated almost in the centre of the canal path rues that ever since the canal was constructed, they have been demanding it was bricklined. “We have been raising this issue in all elections and the candidates have been promising us to sort out the problem, but our condition has not changed much.”

Khan Singh of Gazniwala is equally appalled at the sad condition of the canal. Pointing to the dry bed of the canal, he said water is released once during the paddy season but that too does not satisfy the needs of the farmers. A majority of the people dependent on the canal are Rai Sikhs, a community having over three lakh votes in this constituency. The community is being wooed by all candidates.

Those of the community living in this area are pressing the candidates for solving the problem. They understand that because of the proximity to the border, the government is not inclined to spend money here. But argue at the same time that this and other canals serve as a defence line for the Army and if it is bricklined, the defence line would only be strengthened.

Cong leaders jump the gun, fight for CM’s post
Ramesh Kandula

Hyderabad, May 1
Smelling power even before a single vote has been counted, Andhra Pradesh Congress leaders are already squabbling over the Chief Minister’s post in anticipation of a victory.

Emboldened by the exit polls that projected the resurgence of the Congress, the race for the Chief Minister’s post is hotting up with several contenders trying to outwit one another in an internal power struggle that has been the bane of the party.

The exit polls, commissioned by all major television channels, showed a strong anti-incumbency factor against the Chandrababu Naidu led TDP government and pre-directed the victory of the Congress-Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) alliance.

Fearing that former Congress Legislature Party leader, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the most popular face of the party in the state, might be the automatic choice for the Chief Minister’s post, APCC president D. Srinivas has initiated moves to scuttle any such attempt by raising the issue of Telangana.

Mr Srinivas, a Telagana leader, sought to secure the help of the alliance partner, TRS, to demand that only a leader from Telangana should be elected the Chief Minister. Dr Reddy, known to have opposed the Telangana statehood demand, belongs to the Rayalaseema region of the state. The APCC chief, a backward class leader, also brought forth the demand to make a member of the backward class the Chief Minister.

While former Chief Minister N. Janardhan Reddy said he was ready to take up the post if the high command so directed, another former Chief Minister, N. Bhaskara Rao, also threw his hat in the ring. Former Union Minister and Dalit leader G. Venkata Swamy has pitched for a Telangana leader as the next Chief Minister.

An embarrassed Congress high command has issued a stern warning to leaders not to talk about the issue now. Congress Working Committee member in charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad, speaking to mediapersons in Delhi, said the fight over power-sharing even before the results were declared would lower the prestige of the party.

No candidate has the edge
Ravi S. Singh and Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, May 1
The authorities have almost cleared the administrative and procedural cobwebs to ensure a fair and smooth conduct of the elections.

The Election Commission has decided to provide electronic voting machines (EVMs) to each of the 1,511 poll stations in this constituency.Some extra EVMs would be kept as a stand-by.

The authorities have drawn up an elaborate security bandobust at the polling stations. Personnel deputed on poll duties have undergone a two-day drill. The three observers of the EC also partook of rehearsal.

Sources said more than 200 polling stations had been identified as “sensitive”. There are 904 villages in this constituency.

The electorate is having a difficult time deciding about the candidates. The contest will essentially be among the Congress,the BJP and the INLD.

Congress nominee, Avtar Singh Bhadana has his own set up of problems, just the way the other two contenders are facing difficulties. The main Muslim leaders of the Mewat area, falling in this contituency, Mr Tayab Hussain and Mr Khursheed Ahmed, recently resigned from the Congress as their claims for ticket were ignored. There are about four lakh Muslim voters in the constituency. Although officially they are non-committal, their supporters are supporting the BJP nominee, Mr Ram Chander Bainda.

Mr Zakir Hussain, Congress MLA from Taoru and son of Mr Tayab Hussain, and Mr Mehatab, son of Mr Khursheed Ahmed, are openly taking part in the BJP campaign.

Factionalism in the Congress is not helping Mr Bhadana’s cause. The supporters of former Chief Minister and president of the state unit of the Congress, Mr Bhajan Lal, are only paying lip-service in support to Mr Bhadana.

Mr Bainda is also facing a difficult time with the electorate asking what he had done for this contituency during his three successive terms. A section of the BJP supporters is not happy with him and is not taking active part in his campaign.

Mr Hussain and Mr Ahmed’s support to the BJP nominee, is a negative development for the INLD candidate, Mr Illiyas Mohammad, who is from Mewat. However, he is expected to get a major chunk of the Meo-Muslim votes and a section of the Jat votes, due to the influence of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. There is, however, a strong anti-incumbency factor in the area.

Parties play psychological warfare
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 1
The mainstream parties are engaged in a psychological warfare to demoralise activists of one another and muster support of the electorate.

The parties are trying to convince the electorate that they have been voted in strength in the two phases and they are sure to win the other seats too.

Polling for the prestigious Anantnag seat is due to be held on May 5 and for the Udhampur and Ladakh constituencies on May 10.

The war of words is fierce between the PDP and the National Conference (NC). The NC is making efforts to retain the three seats of the valley while the PDP is bent upon knocking it out.

The PDP chief, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, has kicked up a controversy by entering various polling booths of Srinagar during the elections last week and grilling some women voters.

The NC was trying to corner her by complaining to the Election Commission that she had unauthorisedly entered the polling booths with the intention of scaring away the electorate that had braved the threats of terrorists to cast vote.

The elections have seen the former Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, back at the centrestage of NC politics. He had left the scene in the hands of his son Omar Abdullah in the middle of the crucial Assembly elections in 2002 when he flew to London. However, this time he is campaigning hard and will shift to Doda in the Udhampur constituency after the polling in Anantnag.

Karan gives Sukhbir competition
Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

Sukhbir Badal

Karan Brar

Faridkot, May 1
Those who think it will be a cakewalk for Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Sukhbir Badal in this parliamentary constituency may be in for a shock.

Though having started late, the Congress candidate, Ms Karan Brar, has built up enough pressure. This has forced the Badal clan to remain on their feet from dawn to dusk to counter any eventuality.

Faridkot cannot be dismissed as a constituency that has no competition. Various factors are playing a seesaw-like role and with the voters keeping their options close to their chest, only time will tell the direction of the swing.

Politically speaking, junior Badal has nurtured his constituency during the past five years when he was defeated by Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, sitting MP from Faridkot by 5148 votes. But Ms Brar is a novice and got party ticket out of the blue. The duration of her campaign is four weeks compared to Mr Badal’s campaign of five years.

The trifurcation of Faridkot is likely to play a major role in ensuing elections. The fact that Mr H.S. Brar had provided separate identities to Moga and Muktsar districts weighs on the minds of the residents of these two districts. In the Muktsar area alone, Mr Sukhbir Badal had trailed by 16,000 votes. To fill the gap, he is taking the help of his wife Harsimrat Badal for launching a vigorous campaign in the area.

Ms Brar enjoys a clean image among the masses while junior Badal is facing corruption charges. Political pundits feel that this factor is going to play a major role in the elections. But at the same time Ms Brar falls pale in comparison to former MP Jagmeet Brar, who is known for his oratorical skills. He has also represented Punjab issues at various platforms. He still enjoys a strong bond with the residents of the area. As many as 15,000 residents are said to be canvassing for him in the Ferozepore constituency and their absence in the Faridkot constituency on the voting day would create problems for Ms Brar.

The constituency, which is known as the fiefdom of Akalis especially Badals as eight Assembly segments out of nine are dominated by Akali MLAs is all set to see a contest of sorts. While Ms Brar has an edge over Mr Badal in Muktsar and Faridkot cities, there seems to be an Akali wave in Moga city. The rural voters are equally divided on electing both the candidates. The fact that grassroot Congress workers are annoyed with the party for not caring for them during the past five years is posing a threat to Ms Brar. They are not coming out openly to campaign for her.

Economic factors, including quick procurement and clearing of payment by the Congress government in the state, seem to the helping Ms Brar while the withdrawal of free power and water supply to the farm sector go in Mr Badal’s advantage.

The solution of the waterlogging problem in the area is also going in his favour. At the same time, Faridkot being a predominantly agricultural-rural constituency, substantial BJP votes in the form of commission agents favour him.

Moreover, the electorate of this area sees Mr Badal as a sure minister who would represent their problems at the highest level in the Indian democracy, while Ms Brar, if elected would only be an MP.