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50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

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H A R Y A N A

What made voter drop INLD
Chandigarh, may 13
When the Haryana electorate punishes, it punishes hard. Who would know this better than the Chautalas, the ruling family of the state, who have been punished twice, first in 1991 and now in 2004.

Tabulated results of Punjab, Haryana, HP and J&K


Winners

Kishan S. Sagwan (BJP)
Kishan S. Sagwan (BJP)

Kuldeep Bishnoi (Cong)
Kuldeep Bishnoi (Cong)

Bhupinder S. Hooda (Cong)
Bhupinder S. Hooda (Cong)

Kumari Selja (Cong)
Kumari Selja (Cong)

Rao Inderjit Singh (Cong)
Rao Inderjit Singh (Cong)

Avtar S. Bhadana (Cong)
Avtar S. Bhadana (Cong)

Navin Jindal (Cong)
Navin Jindal (Cong)

Arvind Sharma (Cong)
Arvind Sharma (Cong)

Losers

Ajay Chautala
Ajay Chautala

Abhey Chautala
Abhey Chautala

I. D. Swami
I. D. Swami


Stories from Haryana towns falling in the National Capital Region are put in NCR Tribune.


YOUR TOWN
Ambala
Bhiwani
Chandigarh
Gurgaon
Hisar
Karnal
Sonepat
Yamunanagar


EARLIER STORIES

 

Congress demands resignation of Chautala
Gurgaon, May 13
The Congress has demanded the resignation of Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in the wake of a virtual electoral sweep in its favour in the state.

Anti-incumbency does Swami in
Karnal, May 13
The Congress candidate, Dr Arvind Sharma, defeated his nearest rival Union Minister of State for Home Affairs I.D. Swami by 1,57,753 votes, thanks to anti-incumbency factor against the NDA and the Indian National Lok Dal.

Adampur sealed fate of Kuldeep’s rivals
Chandigarh, May 13
The huge lead scored by HPCC, Chief Bhajan Lal’s son, Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi, Congress candidate from Bhiwani, from the Adampur Assembly segment party the Bhiwani Parliament constituency which sealed the fate of his rivals, Mr Surender Singh (Haryana Vikas Party) and Mr Ajay Chautala.

Sangwan makes hat-trick
Sonepat, May 13
BJP stalwart and Jat leader Kishan Singh Sangwan today won the people’s mandate for the third consecutive term from the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat. He defeated his nearest Congress rival and two-term MP Dharmpal Malik by 7569 votes. Sangwan polled 2,33,477 lakh votes while Dharmpal Malik scored 2,25,908 lakh votes.

Selja leaves rivals way behind
Ambala, May 13
Ms Selja, the lone woman candidate from the Ambala reserved parliamentary constituency, today achieved a landslide victory.

Killers of Lance Havildar roam free
Hisar, May 13
One year after his murder, the killers of a serving Army man, Lance Havildar Madan Singh, continue to roam free and threaten family members of the deceased who have been running from pillar to post seeking justice.

Father murders 8-month-old girl
Karnal, May 13
A father allegedly killed his eight-month-old daughter following a dispute with his wife and in-laws at Neval village, near here.

High Court
Pleas dismissed
Chandigarh, May 13
A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar and Mr Justice Rajive Bhalla on Thursday dismissed the petitions filed by two persons of Haryana seeking directions to the Returning Officer of the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency to allow them to contest the forthcoming elections.

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What made voter drop INLD
Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, may 13
When the Haryana electorate punishes, it punishes hard. Who would know this better than the Chautalas, the ruling family of the state, who have been punished twice, first in 1991 and now in 2004.

The wrath of the electorate cuts across the caste lines, proving the calculations of politicians and mediamen wrong. What more proof is required when the Indian National Lok Dal, the mainstay of which is said to be the Jats, loses badly in the constituencies like Pai and Naultha, which are Jat dominated. Interestingly, the voters of these constituencies voted in favour of non-Jat candidates.

The INLD has been virtually wiped out in the state. The Assembly segmentwise drubbing received by the INLD this time is more severe than that in the post-Meham mayhem 1991 elections. The party was then able to pick up 16 Assembly seats. But this year the voters have favoured them only in nine Assembly segments, which constitutes just 10 per cent of the total strength of the House.

The INLD has kept company with the Congress and the HVP, which were reduced to the single-digit strength in 1996 and 2000, respectively.

To add insult to injury, the voters of four Lok Sabha constituencies saw to it that the INLD candidates forfeited their security deposits. The most prominent party nominee to forfeit his security deposit is the state Transport Minister, Mr Ashok Kumar Arora, who contested from Karnal. The other INLD candidates who suffered this ignominy are Major Gen Bhim Singh (Rohtak), Mr Balwant Singh (Ambala) and Swami Dharam Dev (Mahendragarh).

To be fair to Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, he could not be faulted for lack of development, particularly in villages. But two factor mainly went against him. First, there was an atmosphere of terror in the state. Second, the people generally perceived that there was complete centralisation of power, consequently the “fruits of power” also, in the hands of the Chief Minister and his two sons. The people were waiting for the right opportunity to hit back and they did.

Perhaps, the ruling party was complacent after its victory in three Assembly byelections. It did not realise that except the Rori byelection held immediately after the Assembly elections, the element of fear of reprisals at the hands of the ruling party played a major role in persuading the voters to favour its candidates in Yamunanagar and Fatehabad.

In Yamunanagar, Abhay, the younger son of the Chief Minister, has secured only 14,753 votes against 51,183 polled by the winner, Mr Naveen Jindal of the Congress. Even Mr Gurdial Saini of the BJP has been able to poll 21,012 votes from here.

Similarly in Fatehabad, Mr Sushil Indora (INLD) could get 23,888 votes against 38,885 votes polled by Mr Atma Singh Gill of the Congress.

Surprisingly, the BJP, which picked up one seat of Sonepat where its candidate, Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan, won by about 7,500 votes by defeating the Congress nominee, Mr Dharam Pal Malik, put up a good fight. It finished second in the four constituencies of Karnal, Mahendragarh, Ambala and Rohtak.

It seems that the statement made immediately before the campaigning ended by senior Congress leader, Natwar Singh that the next Chief Minister of the state would be Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda swayed a large section of the Jat votes towards the Congress. The animosity of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, which Mr Hooda was able to exploit, also seems to have cost the INLD dear.

The elections also saw the virtual elimination of parties like the Haryana Vikas Party and the Ekta Shakti, whose votes seemed to have shifted towards the Congress because of the fear of the INLD nominees winning.

A section of the Sikhs also seems to have voted for the Congress, which explains the defeat of the INLD nominee in the Sikh-dominated Pehowa Assembly segment. The Chairman of the Minority Department of the Haryana Congress, Mr Jagdeep Singh Cheema, claims that Mr Bhajan Lal’s gesture of paying obeisance at the Golden Temple has molified the Sikhs towards him and his party.
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Congress demands resignation of Chautala
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, May 13
The Congress has demanded the resignation of Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in the wake of a virtual electoral sweep in its favour in the state.

The AICC coordinator and incharge of Haryana with regard to the Lok Sabha elections, Mr Gulchain Singh Charak, said in the wake of the total rout of the ruling INLD, the party had lost the moral right to rule the state. The people of the state had overwhelmingly rejected the INLD and favoured the Congress. In fact, the people of Haryana had made their preference overwhelmingly clear in favour of the Congress as they felt that it was the only party which could provide able and effective governance, he added.

The negative mood of the people against the “misrule” of the INLD government was so intense that the two sons of Mr Chautala also suffered defeats.

According to him, the people of the state had displayed total distrust in the BJP and the HVP. There were developments during the election campaign that suggested that the INLD, the BJP and the HVP sometimes joined hands to undercut the Congress vote bank, but to no avail. The people of the state showed political sagacity and saw through the game, he added.

Mr Charak, who is being hailed in the Congress circles for devising a successful electoral strategy of the party for the Lok Sabha election in Haryana, said the Congress had gone to the people with certain issues. They included failure of law and order in the state, the government’s anti-farmer policies, levying of imposts under various heads, harassment of the industry and trade circles by the goons of the ruling party and corruption in public life by the members of the ruling party.

He alleged that the ruling INLD unleashed criminal elements and misused official machinery to rig the election. The Congress had demanded, before the election, that polling stations be handed over to the CRPF as the party had no faith in the Haryana police. The CRPF was pressed into service, but only for patrolling. Personnel of the Haryana police were posted at the polling stations. Had the election in the state been completely free from electoral malpractices on the part of the ruling party, the Congress candidates would have won by much bigger margins.
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Chautala’s son accepts defeat

Bhiwani, May 13
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Youth Wing president Ajay Singh Chautala, elder son of INLD supremo and Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, today said though he had lost the Bhiwani Lok Sabha seat, he would continue to serve the people of the area.

Mr Ajay Chautala, having represented Bhiwani twice in the Lok Sabha, trailed third in the elections.

In a statement here he said, “I accept the verdict of the people. I have done my best sharing the sorrows and joys of the people and had further accelerated the pace of the development.” Abhey Singh Chautala, MLA from Rohri and younger son of the Chief Minister, too, has lost the Lok Sabha election from Kurukshetra. — UNI

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Detailed results
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 13
The Congress swept the Lok Sabha polls in Haryana, bagging nine of the 10 seats in the state. The elections, which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party bagging the Sonepat seat, also saw the rout of the ruling party in the state, the Indian National Lok Dal, with the two sons of the INLD supremo losing their seats. The detailed constituency-wise results are as follows :

Ambala

Total votes : 829820

Chander Pal (BSP) : 56634

Balwant Singh (INLD) : 128195

Ratan Lal (BJP) : 178713

Selja (INC): 404302 (Elected)

Aman Kumar (HVP): 20976

Ranbir Singh (ESP) : 13022

Arvind Kumar Sonkar (ABHM) : 2148

Hem Raj (LJNSP) : 2195

Sanjeev Gharu (SP) : 1800

Sunil Kumar (Ind) : 9306

Raunaq Singh (Ind) : 7149

Ram Sarup (Ind) : 2020

Jaswinder Singh (Ind) : 3360

Kurukshetra

Total votes : 850858

Abhey Singh (INLD) : 201864

Gurdayal Singh (BJP) : 126910

Naveen Jindal (INC): 382054 (Elected)

Mona Ram (BSP) : 23057

Jagmeet Singh (ESP) : 31202

Jitender Singh (HVP) : 77136

Vishal Jolly (SP) : 2310

Atam Parkash (Ind) : 705

Jagmohan (Ind) : 964

Jagir Singh (Ind) : 1623

Jai Singh (Ind) : 1346

Bhupinder Singh (Ind) : 2169

Raghubir Chand (Ind) : 8667

Roop Chand (Ind) : 3470

Sunil Gupta (Ind) : 7381

Karnal

Total votes : 818927

Arvind Sharma (INC): 318948 (Elected)

Ashok Kumar Arora (INLD) : 113510

Ashok Kumar (BSP) : 67392

I.D. Swami (BJP) : 154186

Angrej Singh (RGD) : 1977

Premo alias Premvati Kashyap (FCI) : 1037

Mahender Singh (CPI) : 2487

Raghu Mal Bhatt (SJP) : 3696

Raj Kumar (ESP) : 82430

Ram Chander Jangra (HVP) : 21371

Roshan Lal Bindal (SS) : 1315

Surinder Singh (LJSP) : 1729

Rishi Ram Gupta (Ind) : 2364

Kuldeep Sharma (Ind) : 27223

Duli Chand Malik (Ind) : 1888

Naresh (Ind) : 6282

Mahinder Singh (Ind) : 4807

Raj Kumar Kashyap (Ind) : 1707

Rajbir Singh Chauhan (Ind) 2088

Ram Mehar Singh (Ind) : 2490

Sonepat

Total votes : 736518

Kishan Singh Sangwan (BJP): 233399 (Elected)

Krishna Malik (INLD) : 198382

Dharampal Singh Malik (INC) : 225877

Sugan Chand (BSP) : 37184

Kripal Singh (JD) : 1346

Balbir Singh (RSP) : 999

Satya Pal (LJNSP): 531

Sube Singh (JCP): 671

Krishan, (Ind): 747

Jagdish Rai Aggarwal (Ind): 949

Jagbir Singh Malik (Ind) : 21122

Jai Kishan (Ind) : 572

Naveen Kumar (Ind) : 597

Basant (Ind) : 1786

Braham Singh (Ind) : 1184

Shamsher (Ind) : 2926

Sant Ram (Ind) : 2889

Satbir (Ind) : 1662

Sityender (Ind) : 2055

Hari Parkash (Ind) : 1640

Rohtak

Total votes : 661651

Abhimanyu (BJP) : 173630

Ms Geeta (BSP) : 24220

Bhim Singh (INLD) : 105556

Bhupinder Singh (INC): 324117 (Elected)

Ajay Singh (FBL) : 2637

Anoop Singh (RVP) : 460

Ms Usha (HVP) : 10318

Jai Mal (RSKP) : 379

Bimla (BRPP) : 584

Bharpoor (RLD) : 1849

Shish Pal (SAP) : 1291

Ajay Kumar (Ind) : 949

Anoop Singh Matanhall (Ind) : 1984

Karan Singh (Ind) : 959

Kuldeep Singh (Ind) : 857

Jai Pal (Ind) : 2575

Nafe (Ind) : 2033

Mukhtiar Singh (Ind) : 419

Ranvir Singh (Ind) : 1956

Radhe Shyam (Ind) : 2095

Ram Phal (Ind) : 975

Sajjan Singh (Ind) : 404

Satender (Ind) : 466

Hari Singh (Ind): 938

Faridabad

Total votes polled : 844718

Haji Abdul Malik (BSP) : 71459

Avtar Singh Bhadana (INC): 357284 (Elected)

Mohammed Ilyas (INLD) : 205355

Ram Chander Bainda (BJP) : 171714

Akhtar (SP) : 4407

Devender Bhadana (HVP) : 13042

Ram Niwas Rathi (LJSP) : 1097

Lokendra Singh (SS) : 3920

Subhash Baghel (LPS) : 4172

Akhtar Hussain (Ind) : 624

Kamal Godara (Ind) : 856

Chander Bhan Sharma (Ind) : 3769

Baldev Singh (Ind) : 2063

Dr K.P. Singh (Ind): 4956

Mahendergarh

Total votes : 848905

Inderjeet Singh (INC): 358714 (Elected)

Swami Dharamdev (INLD): 115154

Rohtas (BSP) : 56181

Dr. Sudha Yadav (BJP) : 148373

Ajay Kumar (RVP) : 2939

Anil Rao (HVP) : 30134

Raghu Yadav (SP) : 121062

Ram Kishan (BRPP) : 1683

Ved Parkash (NSSP) : 730

Satbir Kundu (Ind) : 7207

Naresh (Ind) : 1495

Bhagat Bal Kishan Saini (Ind): 1439

Alakh Mohan Mathur (Ind) : 908

Rajender Singh (Ind) : 3286

Bhiwani

Total votes : 871144

Ajay Singh Chautala (INLD): 241958

Kuldeep Bishnoi (INC): 290936 (Elected)

Ram Bilas (BJP) : 24467

Ramanand (BSP) : 17216

Kaptaan (LJNSP) : 891

Mahinder Singh (SP) : 2977

Surinder Singh HVP : 266532

Kuldeep (Ind) : 4450

Tapesh Bagati (Ind) : 846

Devi Lal (Ind) : 1474

Bhal Singh (Ind) : 1826

Mangal Singh (Ind) : 615

Mange Ram (Ind) : 5638

Raj Devi Jangra (Ind) : 1950

Surinder (Ind) : 4855

Sanjeev (Ind) : 4513

Hisar

Total votes : 769111

Jai Parkash (INC) : 406760 (Elected)

Swami Raghwanand (BJP) : 64667

Sant Ram Parkash (BSP) : 25044

Surender Singh Barwala (INLD) : 224254

Kawal Singh (HVP): 19472

Ram Niwas (SP) : 2595

Ramji Lal (Ind) : 4910

Attam Parkash (Ind) : 426

Neeraj (Ind) : 535

Parmeshwar Dass (Ind) : 666

Pritam Kumar (Ind) : 575

Balwan (Ind) : 1385

Randhir Singh (Ind) : 2105

Shamsher (Ind) : 2929

Satpal (Ind) : 3113

Sunil (Ind) : 9675

Sirsa

Total votes : 841682

Atma Singh Gill (INC): 349397 (Elected)

Mahavir Prashad (BJP): 115128

Dr. Ramesh Bhukal (BSP): 24448

Ami Lal (RVP) : 10823

Dr. Sushil Indora (INLD): 277922

Rair Chand (HVP) : 46059

Des Raj (Ind) : 4773

Vikramjit (Ind) : 13132
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Jubilation in Cong camp
Our Correspondent

Yamunanagar, May 13
There was jubilation in the Congress camp in Yamunanagar district as its candidates Selja from Ambala and Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra won with good margins. Congress workers distributed sweets and danced in the streets of Yamunanagar-Jagadhri.

Mr Anil Goel, general secretary, State Vyapar Mandal of the Congress, said the people had given a verdict against the NDA government at the Centre and the INLD government of Haryana.

Yamunanagar district has five segments — Chhachhrauli, Jagadhri and Sadhaura falling in the Ambala constituency and Yamunanagar and Radaur in the Kurukshetra constituency.

Mr Subhash Chaudhry, Chairman of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Seva Dal and former minister, said that it was a victory of Ms Sonia Gandhi who is the undisputed” leader of the country. Mr Narpal Singh, former president of the District Youth Congress and Mr Nav Rattan Dev, senior Congress leader thanked the voters of Yamunanagar district who have given a clear verdict against the NDA government.

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Anti-incumbency does Swami in
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 13
The Congress candidate, Dr Arvind Sharma, defeated his nearest rival Union Minister of State for Home Affairs I.D. Swami (BJP) by 1,57,753 votes, thanks to anti-incumbency factor against the NDA and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). Interestingly, the recently formed party Ekta Shakti managed to secure 82,404 votes while the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) polled just 20,989 votes.

According to Mr R.S. Doon, Returning Officer-cum-District Magistrate of Karnal, Dr Sharma secured 3,18,859 votes, Mr Swami got 1,61,106 votes, Mr Ashok Arora of the INLD got 1,06,443 votes, Mr Raj Kumar Sharma of the Ekta Shakti got 82,404 votes, Mr Ashok Kumar of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got 67,385 votes, rebel Congress candidate Mr Kuldip Sharma got 27,914 votes and Mr Ram Chandra Jhangra finished at the seventh position polling just 20,989 votes.

The result report compiled by the Returning Officer reveals that the Congress maintained its lead in all the nine Assembly segments falling within the Karnal Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress candidate polled 30,975 votes in the Indri Assembly segment, 30,417 votes in Nilokheri, 48,282 votes in Karnal, 21,889 votes in Jundla, 31,389 votes in Gharaunda, 29,996 votes in Assandh, 48,225 votes in Panipat, 32,754 votes in Naulth and 44,932 votes in Samalkha Assembly segment.

According to Dr Ranbir Singh, Professor of political science from Kurukshetra University and consultant in the Haryana Institute of Rural Development (HIRD), the major drawback of Mr Swami was that he adopted bureaucratic style of dealing with the public after becoming the minister and spent most of his time at New Delhi. “He did not bother the issued concerned with the local people be it the issue of toll tax barrier, setting up of a medical college in the memory of late Kalpana Chawla and various development works in Karnal and Panipat”, he said.

The results indicate that the rebel Congress candidate, Mr Kuldip Sharma, who fetched just 27,914 votes failed to put a dent in the Congress vote bank. On the other hand, the Ekta Shakti gave a deep setback to the ruling INLD as its main vote bank comprising the Ror community used to favour the Lok Dal.

The most interesting part of the Congress win is that Dr Arvind Sharma campaigned for a very just a week in the constituency. “This indicates two things — a strong anti-incumbency factor against both the INLD and the BJP or the NDA and secondly there was a wave in favour of the Congress in the state,” said another political observer.

The HVP’s poor performance helped the Congress divert a major vote bank of the backward classes in its favour. The HVP candidate who was banking upon the 3.25-lakh strong BC community and the traditional support from the Jats.
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Adampur sealed fate of Kuldeep’s rivals
Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 13
The huge lead scored by HPCC, Chief Bhajan Lal’s son, Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi, Congress candidate from Bhiwani, from the Adampur Assembly segment party the Bhiwani Parliament constituency which sealed the fate of his rivals, Mr Surender Singh (Haryana Vikas Party) and Mr Ajay Chautala (INLD).

In the Adampur segment, the Congress got 60773 votes, followed by the INLD (24554 votes) and the HVP (14401 votes). Mr Bishnoi defeated his nearest HVP rival, Mr Surender Singh, by over 25,000 votes. Mr Bishnoi received 2,77,353 votes against 2,52,060 of the HVP. Mr Ajay Chautala got 2,30,349 votes while Mr Rambilas Sharma (BJP) could manage to get only 22,364 votes.

Mr Bishnoi led his rivals in the Bhiwani, Bawani Khera, Hansi and Mundhal Khurd Assembly segments also.

Mr Surender Singh polled the maximum number of votes in the Tosham and Dadri segments even though these constituencies are represented by two Jat MLAs from the Congress. The HVP candidate was also ahead of his rivals in the Jat-dominated Badhra and Loharu constituencies. Mr Bishnoi came second in Tosham and Dadri while Mr Ajay Chautala came next to Mr Surender Singh in Badhra and Loharu.

The victory of Mr Bishnoi has given a shot in the arm of Mr Bhajan Lal, who reportedly wanted to field his son from Faridabad but shifted him to Bhiwani due to pressure from his rivals Mr Bishnoi was locked in a contest with the children of two other political heavyweight Lal families of Haryana.

Another victory which has enhanced the prestige of Mr Bhajan Lal is that of Mr Atma Singh Gill from Sirsa. Mr Gill, who is from Mr Bhajan Lal’s camp, started as an obscure candidate but gradually consolidated his position. He defeated two-times INLD MP Sushil Indora by over 71,000 votes.

He got 3,49,388 votes against 2,77,905 polled by the INLD nominee. Being the home district of Chief Minister of Haryana and INLD President Om Prakash Chautala, the defeat from Sirsa is considered a particularly strong blow for the ruling party of Haryana.
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Sangwan makes hat-trick
Kiran Deep

Sonepat, May 13
BJP stalwart and Jat leader Kishan Singh Sangwan today won the people’s mandate for the third consecutive term from the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat. He defeated his nearest Congress rival and two-term MP Dharmpal Malik by 7569 votes. Sangwan polled 2,33,477 lakh votes while Dharmpal Malik scored 2,25,908 lakh votes. Ruling INLD candidate DGP M.S Malik’s wife came third. She polled 1,98,866 lakh votes. Mr Sangwan won the elections from the Gohana Assembly segment for the first time in 1987. He was elected MP from the Sonepat Lok Sabha constituency in 1998 on INLD ticket and in 1999, Mr Sangwan won the Lok Sabha elections on BJP ticket.

The victory here had become a prestige issue for the BJP and Mr Chautala after the BJP decided to go it alone in the elections. Mr Sangwan played a key role in convincing the BJP high command to break the alliance with the INLD. The ant-incumbency factor against the INLD played a major role in the victory of Mr Sangwan. The electorate voted against the INLD following its failure to provide electricity and water free of cost to the farmers, the autocratic style of functioning of Mr Chautala, allegation of rampant increase of corruption in the government departments, retrenchment policy and imposition of VAT.

The factor that went against the Congress was delay in the distribution of ticket. The Congress candidate began his campaign when Sangwan had almost completed the campaign in all nine Assembly segment in the constituency.
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Selja leaves rivals way behind
Tribune News Service

Ambala, May 13
Ms Selja, the lone woman candidate from the Ambala reserved parliamentary constituency, today achieved a landslide victory.

The Congress candidate won by a margin of more than 2.34 lakh votes. The Congress has won this seat after 13 years.

Ms Selja polled 4,15,264 votes while the former Haryana unit BJP president and outgoing MP, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, polled 1,80,330 votes. The Indian National Lok Dal candidate and Sadhaura MLA, Mr Balwant Singh, polled 1,30,972 votes.

The Congress won from all nine Assembly segments falling within this parliamentary constituency.

In Ambala City, the INLD secured 4,167 votes while the BJP got 23,362 votes and the Congress 44,502. In Ambala Cantonment, the INLD got 1,100 votes, the BJP 16,867 and the Congress 32,794.

In Jagadhari, the INLD polled 8,285 votes, the BJP 22,420 and the Congress 49,781. In Mullana, the INLD received 15,666 votes, the BJP 17,759 and the Congress 45,407. In Kalka, the INLD got 21,999 votes, the BJP 33,640 votes and the Congress 72,975 votes.

In Sadhaura, the INLD received 19,950 votes, the BJP 17,786 and the Congress 40,982. In Naggal, the INLD polled 25,197 votes, the BJP 12,763 votes and the Congress 48,539. In Chachrauli, the INLD got 17,354 votes, the BJP 18,434 and the Congress 34,386. In Naraingarh, the INLD received 17,294 votes, the BJP 17,271 votes and the Congress 39,881.

Among postal votes, five votes were in favour of the INLD, 28 were for the BJP and 17 were for the Congress.

When the trends in favour of Congress candidate Selja began to emerge, Congress activists were jubilant. Even before the final round of counting began, the Congress activists began to celebrate.

A cavalcade of vehicles formed a part of the victory procession, which began from Ambala Cantonment and headed for Ms Selja’s house in Sector 9, Ambala City. The Congress workers raised slogans in favour of Ms Selja and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The cavalcade threw traffic out of gear.

Former Haryana minister Nirmal Singh, who had managed the campaign of Ms Selja, was delighted at her victory. “I am very happy. We always believed that we will win and we won,” he said.

Former president of the Ambala City Congress unit, Mr Balwant Gupta, said more than five quintal of ‘laddoos’ had been ordered to celebrate the occasion.

The Ambala Cantonment Congress unit president, Mr Ashok Jain, said he was happy and the credit of Ms Selja’s victory goes to the hardwork put in by the workers. “The voters have reposed faith in Congress since they are confident of good governance,” he said.

In 1977, Dr Suraj Bhan defeated Mr Ram Prakash of the Congress. In 1980, Dr Suraj Bhan retained the seat by defeating Mr Som Nath of the Congress. In 1984, the seat was wrested by Mr Ram Prakash of the Congress, who defeated Dr Suraj Bhan of the BJP. In 1989, Mr Ram Prakash of the Congress again emerged victorious by defeating Dr Suraj Bhan of the BJP.

The Congress candidate, Mr Ram Prakash, continued his winning streak by retaining the seat for the third consecutive term in 1991. Dr Suraj Bhan of the BJP wrested the seat from the Congress in 1996. He defeated Mr Sher Singh of the Congress. The next General Election held in 1998 was perhaps the first time that a non-Congress, non-BJP candidate won the seat. Mr Aman Kumar Nagra of the Bahujan Samaj Party won in 1998 by defeating Dr Suraj Bhan of the BJP.

In the last general election held in 1999, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria of the BJP defeated Mr Phool Chand Mullana of the Congress. This time, Ms Selja of the Congress has won.
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Record victory margin for Selja in Kalka
Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 13
The reported factionalism in the Congress notwithstanding, the Kalka Assembly segment of the Ambala parliamentary constituency led the way for the victory of the Congress candidate, Ms Selja, who won by a massive margin of nearly 2.35 lakh votes.

Though Kalka has traditionally been a Congress seat, yet the victory margin of 39,335 in the segment has surprised even die-hard party leaders, who did not expect such a huge margin. Even the Congress MLA, Mr Chander Mohan, who polled over 61,000 votes in the 2000 Haryana Assembly poll, won the seat by over 13,000 votes.

On the other hand, Ms Selja polled 72,975 votes in the segment leaving BJP’s outgoing MP Rattan Lal Kataria(33,640) and INLD’s Balwant Singh (21,999) far behind. And what is heartening is the fact that the Congress’s victory margin had been evenly spread in almost all areas of the Assembly constituency giving sleepless nights to the BJP and INLD ahead of the state Assembly polls early next year.

Ms Selja’s election campaign had not been a smooth affair here from day one owing to the “outsider” tag attached to her name. To add to her problems, Mr Chander Mohan and his supporters reportedly did not put their heart and soul into the election campaign as he seemed to be more busy with the campaign of his brother, Mr Kuldip Bishnoi, in Bhiwani.

And what gives credence to the fact that the Bhajan Lal faction virtually gave a go-by to the Congress candidate’s campaign is the fact the voter turnout in the slums, a solid Congress vote bank, was lower this time. Even as the campaign lacked momentum, Ms Selja, who is also the AICC Secretary, reportedly hinted at certain tough decisions following which certain recalcitrant leaders fell in line.

However, it was only in the last days that the leaders jumped into the fray. The efforts of Mr Shashi Sharma, District Congress senior vice-president and the election in charge, bore fruit as is clear from the victory margin.

Apart from the anti-incumbency factors at play against the Central and state governments, the INLD’s poor show is being attributed to the lacklustre performance of the local Municipal Council. The working of the council, headed by INLD’s Seema Chaudhary, seemed to have fallen short of the expectations of the residents.

It may be recalled Ms Chadhary’s husband, Mr Amardeep Chaudhary, who is also the INLD secretary, was the election in charge for the Ambala constituency, and he also cannot escape the part of the blame for the poor performance.

Meanwhile, Mr Chaudhary blamed the INLD defeat on the anti-incumbency factor against the Central Government. Mr Sham Lal Bansal, BJP election convener, blamed the INLD’s poor performance and the BJP-INLD alliance for over four years for party’s defeat.

Dr K.B. Singh, Congress convener, said the electorate had given a befitting reply to the autocratic rule of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala.
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Keen on economic package for Ambala
Rahul Das
Tribune News Service

Ambala, May 13
Newly elected Congress MP Kumari Selja today said the ‘feel good’ bubble had been burst even as she reiterated her electoral promise of trying to get an economic package for Ambala parliamentary constituency.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Ms Selja said she was keen to get an economic package for Ambala since there was a pressing need for addressing the unemployment issue. “For such a package, I will need the cooperation of the Centre and the state government,” she said.

She said the ‘India Shining’ campaign and foreign origin issue had failed to have an impact on the electorate. “Both issues were rejected by the people. Their verdict is clear and the ‘feel good’ bubble has been burst,” she said.

She said she would strive for overall development of Ambala. She kept her emotions in check even as her supporters began dancing on the roads when the trends began to come in her favour. Victory at the hustings brought cheer to her face, but she did not go overboard in celebrating it.

Answering a query, Ms Selja made it clear that the overwhelming support for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana would translate into a landslide victory for the party during the Assembly elections. She said there was a need to focus on real issues.

“Regarding ministership in a Congress government at the Centre, it is the prerogative of the central leadership,” Ms Selja said. She was one of the youngest ministers in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government.

Ms Selja gave credit to Congress workers for her success in the elections. “All Congress workers worked hard at all levels. The booths were manned well and they put in considerable effort during campaigning,” she said. She stated that Congress activists worked like a well-oiled machinery. “Not a moment was wasted, no miscommunication took place and there was no infighting,” she said.

She observed that anti-incumbency was a factor which had contributed to her victory. “We must keep in mind that we were the best alternative for the people,” she said. She said after the formalities here were complete, she would go to Delhi and add to the Congress kitty.” I am going to have a permanent base in the constituency,” she said.

Referring to the Konkpur incident, Ms Selja said results of the Konkpur polling booth had proved that we were winning there. “The case against Mr Nirmal Singh was pre-planned and it was a conspiracy,” she said. She added that the Congress had done well by securing 433 votes while the BJP got 123 votes and the INLD secured 262 votes.

On former Haryana minister Nirmal Singh, who managed Ms Selja’s campaign, she said he was one of the stars and he had a bright future. “We have always accorded respect to senior party leaders, but the world over, the trend is towards youngsters. Demographically, the youth form a major portion,” she said.

Ms Selja said this was a decisive win. “Ms Sonia Gandhi’s major rally in Ambala on May 2 clearly showed that we were going to win. The massive turnout of people was an indicator that the Congress was going to win,” she said. “Ms Sonia Gandhi’s rallies had an electrifying effect, generating enthusiasm among the people,” she added.
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Killers of Lance Havildar roam free
Tribune News Service

Hisar, May 13
One year after his murder, the killers of a serving Army man, Lance Havildar Madan Singh, continue to roam free and threaten family members of the deceased who have been running from pillar to post seeking justice.

Madan Singh of 4 MECH battalion was on leave when he had to report to his unit to sign certain documents on March 8, 2003. On his way to his village, Untwali, in Churu district of Rajasthan, he was murdered and the body was found on Rajgarh Road here. The Sadar police station registered an FIR in this connection under Sections 302 and 210 of the IPC. More than a year has passed but the investigations have made no progress.

Mrs Santosh Devi, widow of the dead soldier, gave the police the names of the suspected killers but they have not yet been questioned. The local Army authorities have been vigorously pursuing the case with the local police but their efforts have not borne fruit.

Two of Madan Singh’s brothers are also serving soldiers and they, too, have been pleading with various authorities for a speedy investigation of the case. The family members have sent several communications to the President of India, the Chief Minister, Haryana, and the DGP, Haryana, but there has been no response.

The widow of the deceased approached the National Human Rights Commission. The commission gave her a case number and shot off a letter to the DGP, Rajasthan. The matter rests there.

The Inspector-General of Police, Hisar, transferred the case to the CIA staff in March last but the investigation has not begun yet.

Family members of the deceased say that they have been receiving threats to their lives from the suspected killers asking them not to follow up the case. They are now planning to meet President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to seek his help in his capacity as the supreme commander of the country’s armed forces.
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Father murders 8-month-old girl
Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 13
A father allegedly killed his eight-month-old daughter following a dispute with his wife and in-laws at Neval village, near here.

The local police recovered the decomposed body of the infant on Thursday from near a canal flowing near the village. The police has registered the criminal case and initiated an inquiry into the episode.

Prem Kumar, son of Ram Prasad a Nepali by origin, went to his in-laws’ house at Neval on May 10 to persuade his wife Sangita to return with him. The negotiations between the couple and her parents went on for two days without any result, said the police sources.

On May 12, Prem Kumar took his eight-month-old daughter with him and did not come back. A hunt was launched to find them.
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High Court
Pleas dismissed
Our High Court Correspondent

Chandigarh, May 13
A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar and Mr Justice Rajive Bhalla on Thursday dismissed the petitions filed by two persons of Haryana seeking directions to the Returning Officer of the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency to allow them to contest the forthcoming elections.

In their writs, Mr Amrik Singh of Kaithal and Mr Narinder Nath of Raipur Rani near Panchkula had claimed that they could not file their nomination papers for the election because when they went to file their nomination papers, a huge crowd was present and they could not get inside.

The crowd, they claimed, was supporting Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate Abhey Singh Chautala and had gathered there to see him file his nomination. When the petitioners went to fie their nominations, the time for the same had elapsed.

Today, while dismissing the petitions, the Bench also gave them liberty to file election petitions if they wanted to carry on the legal battle.

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