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Will Bhajan be lucky eighth time from Adampur?
BJP being seen as ‘alternative’ to Cong, INLD
Mahendragarh
Factors at Play
— Karnal District
No woman has ever vied for six Haryana seats
INLD flays Manmohan, Sonia on SYL canal
Vote Congress for growth, appeals PM
Last-ditch efforts to woo voters
Farooq roots for INLD
Kuldip Bishnoi for President’s
rule in Haryana
Hema Malini disappoints BJP workers
Laloo stands tall as divided opponents train
guns
Parties blame one another Naxalite problem in Jharkhand
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Will Bhajan be lucky eighth time from Adampur?
Hisar, January 31 Mr Bhajan Lal contested from the constituency for the first time in 1968. Since then, he has won for seven times. Apart from Mr Bhajan Lal himself, his wife Jasma Devi won the seat in 1987 and their son Kuldeep Bishnoi emerged victorious in the 1998 byelection. The former Chief Minister is once again in the fray for the seat and asserts that he would win the poll with a record margin. The INLD has fielded Mr Rajesh Godara, the state vice-president of the youth wing of the party. He had contested unsuccessfully for the same seat in 1998. He hopes to reap the benefit of the development works carried out by the INLD regime. On the other hand, BJP candidate Dalbir Dhiranwas maintains that the Chautala regime did not do anything for the development of the constituency. He expects support from his native village which falls under this constituency. In the Barwala constituency, Congress candidate and Hisar MP Jai Prakash’s brother Randhir Singh is facing opposition from within the party. However, Mr Jai Prakash is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the victory of his brother. Dr Anant Ram Barwala, who had applied for Congress ticket but could not get it, is contesting as an Independent. He is the main cause of concern for the Congress nominee. He is expected to get the benefit of the opposition for the “outside” candidate. The state INLD youth wing president, Mr Umed Lohan, is also in the fray. His main support base is the village of his in-laws and the adjoining villages falling under the constituency. The Congress, BJP and INLD candidates are locked in a triangular contest in the Narnaund constituency. The Congress has fielded Dr Ajay Chaudhary, son of the late Virender Singh, who was a minister in the Congress government. The INLD nominee, Ms Saroj Mor, is chiefly banking on the party’s loyal Jat vote bank. However, Ms Mor’s condition is shaky among non-Jat voters. The BJP candidate, Mr Ram Kumar Gautam, is in the fray for the Assembly seat for the umpteenth time. Interestingly, former BJP MP from Chandigarh, Mr Satyapal Jain, who had come along with Ms Sushma Swaraj to address a poll meeting in favour of Mr Gautam recently, told the gathering that all three of them had studied together at Panjab University. “Ms Swaraj has remained a Union minister and I have been an MP twice. Now, you people must at least elect Mr Gautam as an MLA… He has been contesting for so many years,” he exhorted the gathering. |
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Bansi-Dharambir rivalry crucial in Tosham
Bhiwani, January 31 The initial round went in favour of Mr Bansi Lal when he secured Congress ticket for the Tosham seat for son Surender Singh, depriving Mr Dharambir, who is the sitting MLA from there. Mr Dharambir’s followers are naturally upset and would like to see Mr Surender defeated. On the other hand, one of Mr Bansi Lal’s lieutenants is trying to queer the pitch for Mr Dharambir in Badhra, the constituency allotted to the legislator by the Congress. “Dharambir’s retinue is of two kinds. Some of them are Congress supporters while the others are those having a grudge against Mr Bansi Lal. Those falling in the latter category will vote for INLD candidate Sunil Lamba,” a resident of Tosham said. Associates of Mr Dharambir are also unhappy with the “haughtiness” of Mr Surender. “On three occasions I went to his house but failed to meet him. When I did eventually meet him, he was indifferent,” said a young Congress worker from Biran village. He and some other Congress workers from Biran helped Mr Sunil Lamba to organise a meeting in the neighbourhood . “We go to Badhra everyday to work for Dharambir but our votes are at Tosham and these votes will go to Lamba,” he said. Though there are other candidates in the fray from Bhiwani, including nominees of the BJP and the BSP, the supporters of Mr Dharambir are inclined towards Mr Lamba. Having represented Tosham in the Assembly a number of times, Mr Bansi Lal has a substantial following in the constituency but he has alienated a large number of people there by his “dictatorial” attitude. The arrogance of the father and son is a sore point in Tosham. Though a section Congress workers may not like Mr Surender, voters are pleased with his humility. “He appears to have softened a bit this time,” a villager said. The hostility between Mr Bansi Lal and Mr Dharambir has spilled over to Badhra where Mr Nirpender Singh, Independent candidate and a former HVP legislator, is claiming that he has the backing of Mr Bansi Lal. Mr Dharambir, though an “outsider” in Badhra, is getting a good response in the constituency. The move to shift him may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for him because a win in Badhra will enhance his stature. |
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BJP being seen as ‘alternative’ to Cong, INLD
Rohtak, January 31 Mr Raman Singh, who was addressing mediapersons at the BJP office before touring the area in favour of party nominees, said Haryana was facing the same situation as Chhattisgarh did during the Jogi rule. Mr Jogi and his family members had terrorised the people much in the same way as Mr Chautala and his sons had done in Haryana. He said in a democracy such rulers got only one kind of punishment from the voter – they were thrown out in the next election. Mr Raman Singh said during his sojourn in Haryana, he had sensed that the electorate was viewing the BJP as a credible alternative to both the Congress and the INLD. He asserted that the party would form the government in Haryana. He said the Congress had exploited the anti-Chautala sentiment in the May 2004 Lok Sabha poll but inflation had put a damper on its hopes. |
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It’s BJP vs Congress
Ravi S. Singh Tribune News Service
Mahendragarh, January 31 The Congress appears to be plagued with factionlism on the one hand and the charge of inertia on the part of its nominee with regard to development and problems of this constituency. Rao Daan Singh is considered to be loyal to the Union Minister of State and local Congress MP, Rao Inderjeet Singh. Other groups in the Congress opposed to the clan of Rao Birender Singh, a former Chief Minister and father of Rao Inderjeet Singh, appear to be lacklustre in their approach to the Congress nominee’s electioneering. Mahendragarh is a core area in the Ahirwal belt. It is dominated by the Ahir community, accounting for 80,000 votes in the electorate of about 1,50,000. The Congress nominee’s problems have been accentuated by the fact that the ruling INLD and the Samajwadi Party nominees are from the Ahir community like him. This has resulted in division in the Ahir votes. The Congress candidate also has to contend with the feeling in a section of the electorate here that in the past five years he has not organised or led any agitation locally against the policies of the INLD government. Also, he has not raised the voice sufficiently to press for development of Mahendragarh or on issues agitating the local populace. However, his supporters are optimistic as they consider the Ahirwal belt as the traditional supporter of the Congress. On the other hand, the BJP cadre is united behind Mr Ram Bilas Sharma. Mr Sharma, a former president of the Haryana BJP and also leader of the BJP group in the State Assembly, has won four times from this constituency in 1982, 1987, 1991 and 1996. He has twice been a minister. He lost two times, including the 2000 elections. He had contested from Mahendragarh and Ballabhgarh in the last elections and lost from both these places. The major factor contributing to the past electoral success of Mr Sharma has been a vertical division in the Ahir community. However, it is not that things are rosy for Mr Sharma. In fact, his opponents are also homing in the point among the voters that although he was a minister twice and an MLA several times besides being a senior leader of the BJP he did little for the development of this constituency. Rather, they point that Mr Sharma has always been indulging in politics of “opportunism and self-aggrandisement”, especially when he was a minister in the HVP-BJP coalition government. His opponents are openly campaigning that although he is a BJP stalwart, he is close to Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Bhajan Lal. They are specially zeroing in on the time when Mr Sharma was the leader of the BJP group in the Haryana Assembly and Mr Bhajan Lal was the Chief Minister. |
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Karnal District
Local issues to tilt the balance Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service
Karnal, January 31 There were six Assembly constituencies — Karnal, Gharaunda, Indri, Nilokheri, Jundla and Assandh — in Karnal district. KARNAL: Local issues and the anti-incumbency factor seem to be equally affecting the poll prospects of the INLD, the BJP and the Congress. The four main candidates Ms Sumita Singh (Cong), Mr Shashi Pal Mehta (BJP), Mr Dharam Pal Gupta (INLD) and Independent rebel Jai Prakash Gupta seem to be running away from the main local issues concerning the electorate as a whole. These issues include establishing Kalpana Chawla Memorial Medical College, construction of the Kachwa overbridge, six overbridges on the national highway and shifting the toll barrier from the present location on the national highway. The BJP and the INLD Government fail to meet these demands while in power. Local Congress MP Arvind Sharma promised the people to fulfil these demands at the time of the Lok Sabha elections but even after seven months of the formation of the Congress-led Government at the Centre, nothing has been done in this regard NILOKHERI: The local issues of shifting of the toll barrier, establishment of a women’s college at Taraori and the worsened condition of roads/streets were of great concern for the electorate. All main candidates — Mr Jai Singh Rana (Cong), Mr Bakhshish Singh (BJP), Mr Rajinder Anjanthali (INLD) and Maratha Virender Verma (Ekta Shakti) had promised to work for the fulfilment of these issues. An interaction with a cross-section of the people in this constituency showed that development works initiated by the state government were not dominating the electioneering scene. Since there was no rebel Congress candidate in this constituency, the Congress surely has the edge in a four-cornered fight. GHARAUNDA: The two main issues concerning the electorate here include the setting up of a women’s college, a 55-bed hospital and better health conditions in the Muslim-dominated villages adjoining the Yamuna on the inter-state border. Interestingly, there were two Congress rebels — Mr Jai Pal Sharma (Independent) and Kunwar Ram Pal (Ekta Shakti) — in the electoral fray trying to make the allotment of the party ticket to Mr Varinder Rathore, whom they allege was an outsider, an election issue. Mr Ramesh Kashyap (BJP) Mr Ram Pal Kashyap (BSP) and Ms Rekha Rana (INLD) had also rakedup this issue, asking the people not to vote in favour of an outsider. INDRI: Among local issues concerning the electorate was the dilly-dallying attitude of the state government to complete the pending work on a bridge on the Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) and lack of any park for recreation in the township. The main candidates in fray were Mr Rakesh Kamboj (Cong), Mr Mahinder Jindal (BJP), Dr Ashok Kashyap (INLD), Chaudhary Ved Pal (NCP), Mr Angrej Singh Dhumsi (Ekta Shakti) Mr Raj Kumar Chabra (Independent) and Congress rebel Bhim Sen Mehta, the sitting MLA. JUNDLA: There were no major local issues in this reserved constituency except for improving health care particular for women and children. Congress candidate Meena Mandal is promising to press the new government to frame special policies for improved health care for women and children in the rural areas. Other main candidates in fray were sitting MLA Nafe Singh (INLD) Master Shamsher (BJP), Former MLA Risal Singh (Ekta Shakti) and Mr Babu Lal (BSP). ASSANDH: The main issues of this reserved constituency were the setting up of a sugar mill, establishment of government college in the township, improved health conditions and educational standards in government schools. Unlike other constituencies, there is a direct fight between the ruling INLD and the Congress even seven candidates were in the fray. The ruling INLD has fielded its local stalwart sitting MLA Krishan Lal Panwar, who is looking forward to his fourth consecutive victory. The other main candidates in the contest are Raj Rani Poonam (Cong), Rajinder Singh (BJP) and Om Parkash (Ekta Shakti). |
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No woman has ever vied for six Haryana seats
Chandigarh, January 31 This year women candidates have filled their nomination papers for the first time in the Assembly constituencies of Nilokheri, Meham and Narnaund of Haryana. At present, Mrs Prasanni Devi (69) of the Congress, who is contesting from Naultha in Panipat district, is the oldest woman candidate in the fray while Ms Lalita (27) of the BSP, contesting from the Bawal reserved constituency, is the youngest. There are 10 other women candidates whose age is between 50 and 66 years. As regards the academic qualifications of the women candidates contesting the 2005 elections, one of them is MBBS and two are Ph.D. As many as 18 of them are either graduates or post-graduates and 14 are matriculates. Four of them have studied up to middle and three of them up to the primary level. Eight women candidates are illiterate. Sixty women candidates are contesting from 44 constituencies. The highest number of women candidates contesting the assembly elections was 93 in 1996 and only four of them were elected. The minimum number of only eight women candidates had contested the Assembly elections in 1967 and four of them were elected. On the other hand, 49 women candidates had contested the last Assembly elections held in 2000 and four of them were declared elected. |
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INLD flays Manmohan, Sonia on SYL canal
Chandigarh, January 31 In a joint statement issued here today the president of the Haryana unit of the INLD, Mr Ashok Arora, the Finance Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, and the Political Adviser to the Chief Minister, Mr Sher Singh
Badshami, termed the silence of the Mrs Gandhi and the Prime Minister on the SYL issue as a dangerous conspiracy. They said the two Congress leaders deliberately chose not to mention this important issue during there election rallies in the state. It proved beyond an iota of doubt that the Congress Government in Punjab had struck a deadly blow to the interests of Haryana with the blessings of Mrs Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh. The INLD leaders challenged the Congress leaders to come clean on the sensitive issues of the SYL and Hindi-speaking regions, which were still not handed over to Haryana. They added that on getting the popular mandate, their party, while vehemently opposing the Congress Government in Punjab and the UPA Government in the Centre, would explore all democratic and judicial avenues to see that all inter-state water agreements were upheld and the remaining portion of the SYL completed. For waging this struggle a Rashtriya Sangharsh Samiti consisting of the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other non-Congress Chief Ministers and leaders would be constituted. |
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Vote Congress for growth, appeals PM
Hisar, January 31 Addressing a poll meeting organised by the Congress candidate for the Hisar seat, Mr Om Prakash Jindal, Dr Manmohan Singh thanked the people for supporting the party in the last Lok Sabha elections in the state. “The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre has started several welfare schemes for development. However, we require some more time to carry on the developmental activities. The Haryana Assembly poll is very crucial for us. So, I request you to vote for the Congress in these elections,” the Prime Minister appealed to the gathering. The Prime Minister maintained that the policies of the Congress focused on eradicating poverty, unemployment and corruption. “Besides, the welfare of small and marginal farmers, landless labourers and industrial development are high on our priority list,” he added. Dr Manmohan Singh asserted that the Congress had always struggled for the uplift of the downtrodden, SCs and STs and provision of proper educational and health facilities to women and children. He appreciated the contribution of noted industrialist and Congress candidate from the Hisar seat, Mr Om Prakash Jindal, in the development of local industry. “Moreover, Mr Jindal’s efforts in providing educational and health services are also commendable,” he said. “You couldn’t have a better candidate than Mr Jindal,” he remarked. The Prime Minister asserted that all-round development of the state was his top priority, but there could be no development unless the law and order situation improved. He said during the tenure of the present state government, the law and order situation had deteriorated and corruption had increased. Hisar MP Jai Prakash, Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal and former Congress minister Chhattarpal also addressed the gathering on this occasion. The Congress MP from Sirsa, Mr Atma Singh Gill, was also present while Haryana Congress president Bhajan Lal was conspicuous by his absence. |
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Last-ditch efforts to woo voters
Guhla, January 31 In the
Kaithal Assembly seat, which is a key constituency, there is a triangular
contest among Congress heavyweight Shamsher Singh Surjewala, BJP candidate Ravi
Bhushan Garg and INLD candidate Kailash Bhagat. The sitting INLD MLA, Mr Leela
Ram, has been denied ticket. Law and order is an important factor in Kaithal
since some major crime incidents have rocked the city in the past few years. Mr
Surjewala said the poor law and order situation in Kaithal is a clear
reflection of the Chautala government’s inability to protect people. He is
promising to lend political strength to Kaithal. “Lack of development in
Kaithal is a question mark on the tall claims of the Chautala government,” he
says. Mr Bhagat is banking on the work done by the Chautala government to get
him votes. “A large number of work has been done under the INLD government
and people will definetely vote for me,” he says. Mr Garg says that the
“BJP is the best alternative before the people. The voters have tried the
INLD as well as the Congress in the past and both parties have let them down.
Let them try the BJP and we will fulfil our promises.” The voters of Kaithal
expect a lot from their MLA and that is the reason that only some sitting MLAs
have made it to a second term. Only Om Prabha and Surendra Kumar have won
consecutive terms. Mr Charan Dass also won twice but not consecutively. In
Guhla, there is a triangular contest among former MLA and Congress candidate
Dillu Ram, BJP candidate Shamsher Singh and former MLA and INLD candidate Boota
Singh. Development is a major factor here. The voters say that it is difficult
to get LPG, health infrastructure is sick, links roads in a villages are in a
bad shape, and good educational facilities are lacking, besides the poor
availability of water in minors. The candidates are promising to fulfil the
basic requirements of the people. While the Congress and BJP candidates are
promising development, the INLD candidate is depending on the work done by the
Chautala government. Incidentally, Siwan and adjoining villages are said to
hold the key. The candidates are paying special attention to that area. Past
experience has shown that Siwan votes play a crucial role in making or breaking
a candidate’s prospects. |
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Farooq roots for INLD
Yamunanagar, January 31 While retreating that
Kashmir was integral part of the country, the dialogue initiated by the then
Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with Pakistan should be carried
forward. The Chairman of the National Minorities Commission and Rajya Sabha
MP, Mr Trilochan Singh also asked the people to elect INLD candidates.
According to him, the INLD was the only truly in favour of the Sikhs and the
Muslims. Among others who addressed the gathering, were a former MLA, Dr M.C.
Gambhir, Mr Pardeep Aggarwal and Mr Mangat Ram Kapoor. |
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Kuldip Bishnoi for President’s
rule in Haryana
Fatehabad, January 31 Talking to mediapersons at the residence of
Congress worker Rajinder Chaudhary here today, Mr Bishnoi said that Papneja had
left the INLD and joined the Congress by his efforts only a few days earlier
and was murdered on Saturday. He said the circumstances under which the murder
was committed raised doubts. He said only a CBI probe could bring out the
truth. Mr Bishnoi also drew attention to a news item in a section of the
electronic media according to which a consignment of illicit arms was recovered
in Ghaziabad and it was revealed that the consignment was for Haryana in view
of the Assembly elections. He said the poll could not be held in a fair manner
under the present regime. |
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Hema Malini disappoints BJP workers
Fatehabad, January 31 People had started
assembling at the venue since morning. The organisers announced that the plane
of Mr Naidu was not allowed to land at Hisar. However, they did not give any
explanation about the absence of Hema Malini. Addressing the rally former MP
Ram Chander Bainda said the era of Lals was over in Haryana. He said the people
had tried all three Lals of Haryana and all had tried to fleece the people.
They promoted members of their own families in politics and had never cared for
the poor. He said the BJP was the only party that could provide an
alternative to those Lals. |
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Laloo stands tall as divided opponents train
guns
Patna, January 31 As all political parties mobilised resources in their
respective arsenals to outwit Laloo in his home turf, a last-minute effort to
forge unity in a limited manner between the LJP and the JD(U) did not fructify
as none of the parties agreed on identifying the “weak candidates”
nominated by each of them. Of the 64 constituencies which go to the polls on
February 3, polarisation had since surfaced in more than 50 seats while the
scenario remained hazy in a few places. The call for poll boycott by the
proscribed. CPI (Maoist) amid indications that it meant business hangs like a
Democles’ sword on the Magadh region and the threat acted as a deterrent to
many political activists from actively participating in campaigns. The BJP is
ahead of other parties in mobilising important leaders for electioneering in
Bihar. Star campaigner and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, BJP
President L.K. Advani, former BJP chief M. Venkaiah Naidu and party general
secretary Pramod Mahajan had already visited Bihar to woo the voters in favour
of the NDA. While the BJP has fielded 27 candidates, its ally, the JD(U), will
vie in 37 seats. Former Railway Minister Nitish Kumar, very often named as the
chief ministerial candidate in the event of the RJD ouster, emerged as the star
campaigner for the JD(U). Similar is the case with the LJP which appeared to be
dependent on its President, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, for campaigning in 43
constituencies where the party fielded candidates. The LJP has an electoral
understanding with the Congress, which will contest 21 seats in the first
phase. The Congress, this time, looks serious in its efforts to restore its
lost glory and hosts of party stalwarts are camping in Bihar to brighten
prospects of its candidates. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is likely to
address 10 election meetings in Bihar. For the RJD, electioneering centres
around Mr Laloo Prasad as all others, including Chief Minister Rabri Devi, are
dwarfed by the personality of the “champion of social justice”. Top on Mr
Laloo’s agenda are checking the erosion in support base among the minorities
threatened by alluring offers from Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, consolidating the
position among Yadavs and backward classes and attracting upper caste voters
disillusioned with the BJP. The poor law and order situation and tardy pace
of development are the main poll planks for the Opposition while the RJD is
trying to withstand the opposition attack playing the secular card and the
issue of social justice. — UNI |
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Parties blame one another Naxalite problem in Jharkhand
Ranchi, January 31 The parties concerned in their manifestos had promised that if they were voted to power they would try their best to solve the problem plaguing the state either through a dialogue or strong measures. The ruling BJP in its manifesto blamed the Congress and the RJD for the prevaling situation in the state, alleging that the Naxalite problem was the product of 50-year rule of the Congress in the country and the 15-year rule of the RJD in undivided Bihar. The state remained backward and therefore the people took up arms. They claimed that during their four-year rule they had succeeded in controlling the Naxalite activities and if voted to power they would try to solve it through negotiations and, if necessary, through strong measures. On the other hand, the opposition Congress blamed the ruling BJP for their failure to solve the Naxalite problem. It alleged that during four-year rule of the BJP, the activities of the Naxalites had increased to 18 from six districts out of 22 districts in the state. The party said the state government’s failure on the development front had led to intensification of Naxalite activities to more districts. If the Congress was voted to power it would take initiatives to solve the Naxalite problem through negotiations and if the situation demanded would deal with it firmly. If the JMM was voted to power, it would provide foodgrains to the poor at the rate of Rs 2 per kg and distribute essential commodities through the public distribution system at a fair price. It would also lay stress on development of education and health services. In the absence of medical facilities, people were dying of malaria and other diseases in different parts of the state. All parties had committed to working for the development of agriculture, industrialisation and welfare of the state. They also promised to make the police more effective by providing it sophisticated weapons to fight.
— UNI |
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