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CAMPAIGN STYLE
Cong faction for BJP in Hoshiarpur?
BJP, Cong evenly poised
Govt staff unhappiness a factor
Politically unaware, border women to toe men’s
line
Whisper campaigns do the
trick
Cops backing Cong, Akalis complain to EC
Rajgarh: a battle of prestige for Diggy
Raja
Voters polarised on caste
lines
Renaming district an issue
GRAPHIC: CANDIDATES IN FRAY |
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CAMPAIGN STYLE
Rohtak, May 3 Perhaps the BJP needed a high-pitched campaign to make an enthusiastic beginning. The party is contesting this seat on its own after a long time and its cadres are keen to leave nothing to chance. On his part Capt Abhimanyu Singh is ensuring that their enthusiasm is matched by his resources. No wonder the BJP flags dot the landscape throughout the constituency and almost every other vehicle in the area is flying the BJP flag. The BJP nominee moves about in style. His cavalcade includes a number of imported Toyota limousines. However, his own mannerism by contrast is extremely polite. He dresses-up in simple cotton kurta-pajama with a saffron cloth thrown over his shoulders. This serves twin purposes of revealing his Arya Samaj moorings and, at the same time, displaying the party colour. The Congress candidate Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and the INLD nominee, Major Gen Bhim Singh Suhag (retd) are using Indian vehicles for their tours. Though mannerism does not betray the BJP nominee’s extremely wealthy background, other things do. For instance, copies of a 55-minute VCD documenting his life are being distributed and shown freely throughout the constituency. This professionally produced documentary provides glimpses of his life as an Army officer, his beliefs in the Arya Samaj values and his new found interest in politics and social service. Other leading candidates have not found a match for this. By way of publicity material they are confined to posters, banners and buntings which too are outnumbered by those of the BJP. Their problems were further complicated by aspirants for the party ticket in the next Assembly poll who pilfered flags and other publicity material for their own use later on. In the case of the Congress as well as the Indian National Lok Dal, only hired vehicles or those owned by ardent party supporters carry the party flags. However, the BJP flag can be seen on three-wheelers and maxi-cabs engaged as usual in their business of ferrying commuters. Though rival candidates allege these vehicles are being paid for flying the flag, BJP men maintain it is a sign of their support among the masses. The efforts of the BJP and the INLD nominees are being supplemented by senior leaders. Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala is visiting the area regularly to canvass for his nominee. For the BJP, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed an election meeting at Jhajjar yesterday. In contrast Mr Hooda is campaigning on his own assisted by his family members and supporters. The lack of resources is obvious in the campaigns of HVP candidate Usha Ahlawat and BSP nominee Geeta Grewal. Their presence publicity-wise remains confined to their isolated pockets of influence. Probably the only common aspect in the campaign is the increasing stress on personal contact with the voters. The result will ultimately reveal whether media-savvy demeanour pays dividends in predominantly rural constituencies or not. |
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Cong faction for BJP in Hoshiarpur?
Garhshankar/Mahilpur, May 3 Information gathered revealed that there was a general feeling among the people that the Congress had made a mistake by allotting its pocketborough to the CPM’s Darshan Singh Mattu though the Communists do not have a mass base here. Secondly, the party had also erred in not renominating Charanjit Singh Channi, who is now the BSP candidate and is said to be going great guns. Thirdly, the district Congress is a house divided and a powerful faction does not want to let Channi win at any cost. Hence, the unsavoury decision to support BJP’s Avinash Rai Khanna. This despite a fiat from the party high command and CM Amarinder Singh that all-out efforts are to be made for the victory of the CPM candidates in Bathinda and Hoshiarpur. Following the warning a few days ago, the Congress workers and leaders fanned out in the countryside, but sincerity was lacking. The leaders dutifully accompanied their alliance partners but did not make additional efforts essential to win a poll. Workers cited financial constraints and lack of coordination. They also added that in the absence of adequate funds, it was impossible to run the campaign full steam. Similarly, it was hard to explain to the voters that if they wanted to vote for the Congress, they would have to press the button along the hammer and sickle symbol of the CPM. The people also pointed out that Channi had nurtured the constituency and was easily accessible during his tenure. Had he been renominated, he could have won the seat but his disadvantage is that he is now the BSP candidate. Party insiders point out the hostility against Channi is too deep-rooted and the fire-fighting efforts by senior leaders have failed to douse the flames. A powerful section of the district unit ensured that his candidature was scuttled at the top. Caught in a cleft stick, Congressmen faced with the prospect of CPM winning and claiming this seat the next time and Channi emerging victorious chose the hard way out — spread the word to vote for the BJP. Congress circles are abuzz over this development but a majority is keeping on the right side of the dominating faction, party sources revealed. |
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BJP, Cong evenly poised
Sriganganagar, May 3 The BJP was initially sure of getting this seat, especially after its success at the hustings in the recently held Vidhan Sabha elections. When the Congress fielded a novice — Master Bharat Ram — as its candidate, it had seemed a win-win situation for the BJP. This constituency, along the Indo-Pak border, comprises three Assembly segments in Sriganganagar district and five in Hanumangarh district. As the feeling of having an MP from Hanumangarh district of this constituency gained momentum among a majority of voters, residing in Hanumangarh district, the BJP was left with little choice but to campaign aggressively and play the development card. Mr Nihal Chand has promised to ensure that water is available for irrigation, farmers of Rawatsar, who have not been paid compensation for 47.50 acres of land temporarily acquired by the Defence Ministry is paid, and promised to get roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojna. The BJP leadership also made efforts to win over the MLAs in Hanumangarh, and now enjoys the support of Mr Bahadur Singh, MLA from Nohar, who was supported by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) during the Assembly elections, and Dr Suresh Chaudhary, Independent MLA from Bhadra. With this, the BJP has the support of MLAs from four of the five Assembly segments in Hanumangarh (Tibbi and Sangria seats were won by BJP candidates). The Congress candidate, Master Bharat Ram, runs a school in Tibbi, and hopes to get a good lead in Hanumangarh. Master Bharat Ram’s campaigning went off well with the district Congress closing ranks behind him. The issues he has addressed are similar to the BJP’s — water for irrigation, schools for children, and roads in the interior areas. |
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Govt staff unhappiness a factor
Faridabad, May 3 The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Haryana state government employees Organisation recently sent a memorandum to the main political parties. They have demanded from the parties to make public their stand on the policies of downsizing public departments, retrenchment, privatisation and adoption of the contractual system of employment. According to a JAC spokesperson about 20,000 employees in Haryana had been shown the door in the past four or five years. The authorities were still preparing various plans to get rid of more employees after the elections, he added. He claimed that except for the posts of policeman, teacher and some others, the government in the state had completely banned recruitment for the past about a decade. He said although the parties and their candidates has not yet replied to the JAC memorandum, a majority of the staff in Haryana had been unhappy with the policies of the NDA government at the Centre and the Chautala rule in Haryana. This factor could play an important role in election of the candidates. He said while there were about 3.5 lakh employees in state, the total vote bank of the staff in Haryana was around 16 lakh as there were four to five voters in the family of an employee on the average. Quoting the example of the Power Department of Haryana, a spokesman of the All Haryana Power Corporation Workers Union, said the workload in the department had increased tremendously since 1967, when the department came into being. He claimed that the number of employees in 2002 had been less than the staff strength of about 35,000 employees in 1967. He said there were only four sub-stations of 132 KV, seven sub-stations of 66 KV and 36 substations of 33 KV in 1967. But in 2002, the number of these substations had reached 78, 79 and 252, respectively. The number of transformers had gone up to 1,17,556 in 2002 from a mere 5,390 in 1967. He said the connected load had also gone up from only 372 MW to 8225 MW during this period. He alleged that Haryana was the first state to implement the policy of downsizing propagated by the Union Government when it circulated a letter in this regard in 2000. Mr Subhash Lamba , an office-bearer of the Sarva Karamchari Sangh, Haryana, contested the claim of the state government that it had provided about 50,000 jobs in the past about four years. He said while over a dozen departments had been closed down, the Power Department was on the ‘death bed’ as 65 per cent of its employees were at present aged 50 years and above. If no recruitment was done, the department would stand closed in 2013. He asked the state government to tell the people how many ‘retrenched employees’ had been provided reservation in the new recruitments done, as the ruling party leaders had been issuing such statements in the elections. |
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Politically unaware, border women to toe men’s
line
Ferozepore, May 3 Even as the candidates are roping in their women relatives for canvassing in the elections, the fair sex is oblivious to the electioneering and has not shown any enthusiasm to take part in campaigning or attend rallies. Congress candidate Jagmeet Singh Brar was the first to take the help of his mother Jagdish Kaur, wife Amanpreet Kaur, two sisters, the wife of his brother Ripjit Singh and other women relatives in canvassing. Of late, Akali candidate Zora Singh Mann has also brought in his daughter-in-law to strike a balance and leave an influence among the women voters. But despite their presence, women are busy in their daily chores and have stayed away from the election scene. The women voters have huge potential to turn the tables. Of the 13 lakh-odd voters, 6.28 lakh are women. Of these, 55 to 60 per cent women have been casting their votes. “It is the non-participation of women in the run-up to the election day that is worrying us,” confided a campaign manager of a prominent candidate. “Women of this constituency, backward in many means from the other parts of the state, are still living in a male-dominated society and are far behind their counterparts in Punjab.” Jeeto, a young woman of Peer Khan Sheikh village was so shy with male ‘strangers’ that she first covered her head with the dupatta and then ran away when asked if she was participating in the electioneering. Raj Kaur, her mother-in-law, explained that the women would vote as per the directions of the head of the family, who was obviously a male. “Saanu aurtan nu ki patta. Mard hi jaande ne sab.” Women living the Indo-Pak border are the most backward. They are mostly confined within the boundaries of the house and are always given the back seat in gatherings as well. At Bahadur Ke village, women in a Rai Sikh family shared their excitement about casting their votes, of being decision makers. But when they were asked how they would decide her vote preference, the common answer was, “Jidda mard lok kehan (as the male members of the family would say).” “Ehna nu ki pata duniya da?” said an elderly male member of the family on being probed the choice of the women members further. Krishna Rani, Shimla Rani and Manjit Kaur of another family in Bajeke village were aware enough to say that they were bothered by issues like widow pension, old age pension and free bus fare for women. But were unanimous in their decision that they would toe the line of the men. The constituency is surely a nightmare for feminists. Interestingly, the Ferozepore Municipal Council has a woman, Ms Nirmala Sahota, occupying the post of president. This was done not because she had outplayed the male candidates but because of the rotation system. She too agreed that the women in this constituency largely remained busy in household chores and had a limited exposure to the outside world. “I fought elections to the MC for the first time as the ward from which my husband Ulfat Rai Sahota used to contest was reserved for women. I won and became president because of reservation,” was her candid admission. She was at a loss to explain the main issues confronting the women here and requested we talk to her husband. Mr Sahota said the main issue was that the women were backward and should be given equal status and opportunities like men. |
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Whisper campaigns do the
trick
Ladakh (Leh), May 3 Here in the mountains, they call it a whisper campaign. The rules of the game are beyond imagination. Unlike the large-scale political rallies that mark campaigning in the rest of India, Ladakh witnesses a silent movement in the name of electioneering. Political rallies are seldom held here, cavalcades are a rare sight, loudspeakers are used rarely, slander does not figure in political debate and inducements are out. Much of the campaigning in Leh and Kargil districts takes place by word of mouth rather than by display of might or money. Normally, the only expenditure the candidates incur is on transport to far-flung areas like Drass and Zanskar in Kargil and Nyoma and Khaltsi subdivisions in Leh. Such expenses alone run into lakhs because of scattered segments. While the Zanskar segment in Kargil lies a bit too far for campaigning, Nyoma in Leh is also inaccessible due to a difficult terrain. To overcome these roadblocks, the four candidates in the fray for the Ladakh parliamentary seat have evolved unique ways of campaigning. The norm is to target the village heads who then propagate the party’s programme in the remote areas. Sonam Paljor, the BJP candidate from Leh, explains, “the vastness of the constituency is a hurdle. It is not possible to visit every area or even half of these during the campaign period. It is best to reach out to people in person, summon panchayat heads and hand over election agendas to them. They then become party agents in far-off areas where party workers cannot reach in months, let alone few days.” Thupstan Chhewang, an Independent candidate affiliated to the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) is the only candidate in Leh to have held one rally a few days ago. Held in the main city, it attracted about 1,000 persons, most of them villagers. Chhewang is now in Kargil where he will campaign for two days by meeting the village heads. Meanwhile, the BJP’s Sonam Paljor, who is yet to campaign in Kargil, Drass and Zanskar, has requested the BJP high command for three star campaigners in Ladakh. These are Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Pramod Mahajan. It is yet to be seen if the BJP bigwigs would oblige the Ladhakis and that too, in this weather when it is raining snow in summer and nearly all Leh-bound flights are being regularly cancelled. While the BJP awaits star campaigners, Hassan Khan, the National Conference (NC) candidate from Kargil, is expecting Farooq and Omar Abdullah to visit his area. Wazir Ali, another Independent candidate from Kargil is also said to have a good hold over Kargil voters. Meanwhile, religious groups in Leh and Kargil are also significantly influencing the poll scene. The Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), which supports UT status for Ladakh, is covertly supporting Thupstan Chhewang. Many Muslim outfits are working overtime to ensure victory for the NC’s sitting MP Hassan Khan.
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Cops backing Cong, Akalis complain to EC
Kapurthala May 3 In a complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner, chief electoral officer, Punjab, and returning officer, they alleged the police was openly supporting the Congress candidate in villages and had removed banners and posters from houses of Akali workers. They alleged that flags had been removed from vehicles of Akali workers. They demanded the suspension of the SHO for intimidating the Akali workers. |
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Rajgarh: a battle of prestige for Diggy
Raja
Rajgarh (MP), May 3 A victory or defeat for either of the two would eventually reflect the decline of the royal family of Raghogarh. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh may not be himself in the fray here for the coming Lok Sabha elections, but it is virtually a contest between him and his brother, Laxman Singh, who crossed over to the BJP recently. The Congress nominee, Justice Shambu Singh, is apparently a guest artist only. The unusual battle is getting stiffer every day with Diggy Raja putting everything under his command to ensure the Congress’ victory and Mr Laxman Singh, riding on the “BJP wave” here, making an extensive tour of the constituency backed by the BJP’s strong cadre support. Mr Digvijay Singh, who refused to contest himself after the Congress’ drubbing in the Assembly poll and also rejected Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s idea of fielding his wife from here, is now feeling the heat within the party and seems to have realised the importance of winning the seat for the Congress. Using his personal image and rapport among the masses here, Diggy Raja is extensively touring the constituency and also holding at least six to eight public meetings in various villages along with Congress nominee Shambu Singh. Realising that the outcome of the recent Assembly poll is still ripe in the minds of the people, the former Chief Minister is trying to draw the attention of the people towards their primary issues by raking up the rise in edible oil prices and the poor price farmers are getting for their wheat. He also mixes up the issues of a spurt in the diesel and petrol prices to attack the central and state governments. Laxman Singh is going round the constituency justifying his joining the BJP and asserting that Mr Vajpayee is the only capable leader who could put the country on the path of speedy development. “I have joined the BJP only after due thought. Now I will never leave the BJP,” Mr Laxman Singh says in almost every public meeting or village meetings he is addressing in the run-up to the poll. “I did not join the BJP in haste, but only after giving much thought. Earlier, I used to ask for votes in the name of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and used to raise the issues concerning you in Parliament but I was forced to leave the Congress as its President, Ms Sonia Gandhi decided to support the candidature of Mr Ram Jethmalani, who was the defence lawyer of the assassins of Indira and forged an alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu, which is believed to be involved in the assassination of Rajiv,” Mr Laxman Singh says . Even as the two princely brothers are sweating it out, there is a mixed feeling about the contest as well as the possible outcome. “Is baar tho saheb chote raja hi jeetenge (this time the younger king will win),” Anand Pataria, a teastall owner, said at Sutalia village. His reasoning was that the people would have voted for the Congress had Diggy Raja contested himself instead of Shambu Singh because people have long-standing association with the Raghogarh royal family. However, this theory was discounted by Sanju, son of a farmer, when he asserts that a majority of the people here in Rajgarh, especially the Raghogarh Assembly segment, are still loyal to Diggy Raja despite the Congress drubbing in the Assembly poll and would vote in favour of Shambu Singh. This time round, the switching over of Laxman Singh, sitting MP, to the BJP has made the contest an unusual one. Earlier, the BJP used to attack the Raghogarh royal family in its quest to win the seat, but now with Laxman Singh being its candidate the aggressiveness in the BJP camp is missing Mr Laxman Singh had won this seat three times in a row (1996,1998 and 1999). |
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Voters polarised on caste
lines
Bayana (Rajasthan), May 3 Scheduled Caste voters, who constitute nearly 15 per cent of the total electorate, are likely to play a pivotal role in this constituency. This constituency halted the BJP juggernaut in the Assembly elections less than six months ago despite Ms Vasundhra Raje’s unprecedented victory in the Assembly poll the BJP could win only in two of the eight Assembly segments of this Lok Sabha seat — Bayana and Mahua. Though important political parties like the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal have fielded their candidates from here, the contest is mainly between the two traditional rivals: the Congress and the BJP. The Congress has fielded Mr Mahendra Singh Jatav, a former IAS officer. The BJP has given the ticket to Mr Ram Swaroop Koli, a youthful low-rung RSS leader. The RSS cadre is fully mobilised to ensure Mr Koli’s maiden entry into the Lok Sabha. However, Mr Koli is getting fitters from Independent candidates like Janaki Devi Koli and Mool Chand Koli, who can make a dent into the sizeable Koli vote bank which he hopes to encash. The BJP candidate derives solace from two things. One, the Bayana Lok Sabha constituency, which used to be a Congress fortress until 1984, embraced the BJP from 1989 onwards and this embrace has not shown any signs of loosening ever since. The BJP has won from here in all previous four Lok Sabha elections. Secondly, Koli is a youthful candidate with a clean slate and he is leaving no stone unturned in wooing the voters. The people here seem to be impressed with his style of touching elders’ feet and seeking their blessings and votes. |
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| HOME PAGE |
Renaming district an issue
AMROHA: Losing your way and then asking for directions does not arouse suspicion. After an aimless round of the dusty little township we decided to stop at the office of a property dealer. Mr Shajar Iqbal Usmani turned out be amazingly well informed on issues other than real estate.
The region was famous for its mangoes (aam) and fresh water carp (rohu). Lack of interest in horticulture destroyed the mango orchards and the filling up of the pond finished Amroha’s remaining link with its name. There is controversy over the renaming of the district after Jyotiba Phule, a Dalit social reformer from Maharashtra. It has become an electoral issue in the constituency that had sent Mr Rashid Alvi to the Lok Sabha in 1999 on the BSP ticket. He has now joined the Congress following differences with Ms Mayawati, but is not in the electoral race this time. Lack of public interest in Amroha’s rich cultural and literally heritage has allowed non- issues to dominate the political discourse. There is no memorial in the town to celebrate its link with Kamal Amrohi and, through marriage, Meena Kumari. Few people remember Raees Amrohi, a literary son of the soil, who went to Pakistan but could not forget his association with India. He wrote an emotionally charged poem “O Hind jaanewale, mera salaam ley ja” in which he sent his greetings to the Ganga and the Yamuna and the seasons of India. A fanatic put a bullet through his head. Few people remember Sadiqain, the internationally respected painter and calligraphist. He learnt to walk on the soil of Amroha before embarking on his creative journey across continents and cultures. Mr Usmani offered to introduce us to Mr Sajjad Naqvi, a nephew of Sadiqain. His PCO booth in a crowded bazaar turned out to be a regular “adda” of political debate. It was another version of the “khauria” club of Rampur. Most of the loungers bore the same surname. That was all that was common between them. The Akalis would love to shake hands with them. On almost every issue two persons had three views. Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi would have been astounded by the gamut of political views his surname could represent in that overcrowded booth. Few people came to make calls. Most came to keep the debate going over cups of “chai” offered by the affable owner of the PCO. Mr Mahmood Madani, who is contesting as a Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate, has pedigree behind him. Those who are familiar with the political views of Maulana Asad Madani would know what to expect from him if elected. Mr Chetan Chauhan, the Mr 99 of Indian cricket, is now a regular BJP choice for this seat. He has won two and lost the same number of elections. Mr Vikram Singh of the Congress does not have much going for him except the mild wave across the country in favour of his party. Mr Alley Hasan Ansari, the billionaire bidi king of the region, is the BSP candidate. He is being seen as a spoiler of Muslim votes. The field is not complete. The electoral race in Amroha promises to be interesting than elsewhere because of a Punjabi. Somehow the divergent political views of the PCO booth loungers seemed to blend in favour of Mr Harish Nagpal, an Independent, stealing the electoral thunder. He is rich and the tales of his do-gooding have become part of local lore. He is to the needy of Amroha what Nawab Asifuddaulah was to his subjects in Avadh. His brother Mr Devendra Nagpal is a member of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha from Hasanpur. The work that he has done in his constituency is expected to help his brother. Should Mr Nagpal be declared the winner? There is just one final hurdle. Has he visited the local mazaar of Bichhoo Pir and sought his blessings? The keeper of the shrine places a live scorpion on the palm of the seeker to convey the Pir’s blessings. Was it a close shave for us or was the scorpion too emaciated to attack or had its sting been removed or was it the Baba’s way of including us in his charmed circle of the blessed ones? Thank you Baba for keeping your tail up. |
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