Shimla, November 28
Entrusted with the task of bringing the party back to power, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate P.K. Dhumal today specially came to Palampur to meet former union minister Shanta Kumar, who has lost out in the race for the top post.

Great political significance is being attached to Dhumal’s visit to Palampur, which was kept a closely guarded secret as even party workers were unaware about his arrival in Shanta’s home town. The two leaders heading rival camps within the state BJP held a closed-door meeting at Shanta Kumar’s hotel Yamini in Palampur for about half an hour.

It is learnt that Dhumal requested Shanta Kumar to come to Hamirpur tomorrow and be with him while he files nomination from Bamsan. However, Shanta reportedly expressed his inability to be there due to prior engagements.

With a lot of speculation about the BJP suffering on account of infighting between the two camps, Dhumal’s visit is being viewed as an attempt to send across a signal that all is well and the party is fully united. Aware of the fact that Shanta loyalists, especially in Kangra district, could play spoilsport, he wants to start campaigning by seeking blessings of the former union minister.

It is learnt that the two leaders discussed the party strategy for the elections. This is the first occasion ever since the announcement was made by the BJP parliamentary board about projecting Dhumal as its choice for the post of chief minister that the two have met.

Sources said they also discussed the issue of revolt by party men at certain places. Dhumal is learnt to have sought help of Shanta Kumar in persuading rebels to withdraw from the contest so that the BJP candidates were not affected.

Shanta Kumar is learnt to have assured Dhumal that he would work for the party’s success in the elections. Dhumal has already said that Shanta Kumar was a very senior leader who would steer the party back to power.

The high command also wants to ensure that the two leaders work unitedly and there is no infighting.

Shimla, November 28
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi appears to have titled the balance in favour of Prem Kumar Dhumal, who has been projected as BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

Modi was the BJP in charge of the state from 1997 to 2001. He did not have the best of relations with senior party leader Shanta Kumar. He reportedly played a crucial role in tilting the scale in favour of Dhumal, sources in the BJP said.

Modi had problems with Shanta after the Himachal leader had publicly criticised the Gujarat Chief Minister following the post-Godhra riots.

Dhumal’s “flexible” personality in comparison to Shanta’s “rigid” attitude also favoured him in winning the race, sources said.

Refusing to discuss details of the BJP parliamentary board meeting after which it was decided to project Dhumal as the chief ministerial nominee, Satya Pal Jain, in charge of party affairs in the hill state, said the decision was taken after consulting all senior leaders in the state as well as national leadership and taking everything into account. — PTI

Shimla, November 28
The BJP has gone into the damage-control mode as efforts are being mounted to pacify those who have virtually raised a banner of revolt after the denial of ticket.
Party men from both Shanta and Dhumal camps have announced their decision to jump into the fray after they were denied the ticket from several places.

Senior leaders, including chief ministerial candidate P.K. Dhumal and state party chief Jai Ram Thakur, have stepped up efforts to pacify those annoyed over the denial of ticket. With Dhumal being projected as the chief ministerial candidate it is being hoped that he will now be in a much better position to convince the disgruntled party men to withdraw or desist from contesting the elections against the official BJP nominees.

It will also be interesting to note as to how much efforts are put in by Shanta Kumar to persuade his loyalists not to contest the elections against the party nominees.

Former MLA Des Raj has raised a banner of revolt from Gangath and is all set to contest the elections.

Former education minister Karan Singh has formally joined the BSP and will contest against the party’s official nominee and sitting MLA Khimi Ram from Banjar.

Former MLA and chairman of the Himachal Tourism Corporation Rakesh Pathania has also made up his mind to contest as an independent and will file his nomination on November 29. “There is no way that I will opt out of the fray as I will honour the sentiments of thousands of my supporters,” he says. Despite being a Dhumal loyalist till now, he blames the former Chief Minister for failing to plead his case for the ticket forcefully and says he will contest at any cost. “There is bound to be some discontentment over ticket allotment and we are making efforts to pacify the workers and we have succeeded to some extent, “says state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur.

Similarly, former minister Roop Dass Kashyap has already started his campaign for the Kasumpti seat and is unlikely to opt out of the fray. He too has announced to file his nomination on November 29.

Even in Kumarsein, Sandipni Bhardwaj is scheduled to take a decision on contesting the poll at a meeting of his supporters today. 

Mandi, November 28
Although the rival BJP and BSP have fielded “new and weak faces” from Mandi (Sadar) as part of their “political strategy to keep former telecom minister Sukh Ram in “good humour” as he was a partner in the Dhumal-led BJP-HVC combine government in 1998-2003, Congress rebel and district Congress president D.D. Thakur, who has been denied the party ticket, today decided to contest as an Independent. His move has set the alarm bells ringing for Anil Sharma, who is considered a “paratrooper” and “an outsider” in the Tungal area, the main vote bank in the Mandi (Sadar) segment.

Supporters of D.D. Thakur and Kanhialal Thakur (BJP), who has been denied the BJP ticket this time, are against Anil Sharma,” sources said.

D.D. Thakur, who stayed away from the party workers’ meeting addressed by Sukh Ram, said: “Anil Sharma was given undue importance in the ticket allotment by the high command. Honest and trusted worker like me who have served the party for more than 30 years have been ignored. I will contest as an Independent and file nomination on November 29.”

On the other, the BJP and the BSP have literally given up in Mandi (Sadar) fielding “new and weak faces”, Praveen Sharma, an advocate who comes from Jogindernagar but has settled in Mandi town, and Rajinder Mohan, son of former MP Gopi Ram, a Dalit leader, thus clearing the field for Anil Sharma.

According to voters in the segment, Sukh Ram has been winning the election from here since 1962 exploiting the “popular sentiment of the Tungal area”. However, the “cult of Sukh Ram has been marginalized this time”. During the party workers’ meeting at Kotli four days ago, Sukh Ram tried to gain sympathy for his son.

Sukh Ram’s supporters include BJP candidate Mansa Ram from Karsog and Parkash Chaudhary of the Congress from Balh, Jawahar Thakur of the BJP from Drang and Ram Lal Markanda, who contested as BJP candidate from Lahaul-Spiti.

Gohar(Mandi), November 28
BJP president Jai Ram Thakur and BJP’s HP party affairs in charge, Satpal Jain today challenged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Congress chief Viplove Thakur and party affairs in charge RK Dhawan to hold an “open debate on “corruption and development issues” so that people of the state would know who stood where before they made their choices on December 19.

Talking about the Bali episode, Jain said the Congress allotted him the ticket where he should have been dismissed from the party,

He challenged Congress leaders in an open debate with their counterparts- Dhumal, Jai Ram and he himself on corruption and development issues as the Congress had been making much fuss about them at public meetings. Jain said the Congress had accepted its defeat and Jai Ram Thakur would win by a record margin for the consecutive third term.

Addressing the rally at Seraj valley, before he filed his papers, charged that the Congress had surrendered in his home segment as “Shiv Lal is a Mr. loser as he has lost four elections in the past and has lost his security deposits twice”, he said. He was an “outsider” in Seraj and was not a son of the soil like him and the people would not tolerate the Congress for this.

State yuva morcha chief Rakesh Jamval, Rup Singh Thakur, (BJP Sundernagar candidate), Dile Ram (BJP Nachan) were also present. Several Congressmen joined the BJP on stage.

Gohar (Mandi), November 28
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh promised to regularise daily wagers and PTA para-teachers besides continuing “subsidised ration and power subsidies” today. He said Dhumal spent 1,275 days of his 1,800 days’ last stint in saving his “chair and in cribbing about the fund crunch as he was heading a “weak and corrupt government”. The people of the state would never burn their fingers any more, he said.

Speaking at a public meeting here in support of Congress candidate Shiv Lal Sharma from Chachiot, where BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur is seeking re-election for the third term, he said: “The same Dhumal whose regime was neck-deep in corruption was being projected as the chief ministerial candidate by the BJP.”

He said the Congress government would regularise all daily wagers who had completed 8 years of service and all contract and PTA appointees.

He said the BJP that somehow formed a government with the help of the HVC in 1998 had secured only 37.04 per cent votes while the Congress had got 44. 06 per cent. The Congress had 33 MLAs while the BJP had 27. He urged voters to chose “development” over BJP’s “false propagandas of dividing people on the basis of caste, regions and old or new Himachal”.

He claimed the Congress would retain power and the BJP’s “dulah” CM candidate Dhumal would remain “unmarried” as all hopes of coalition would be dashed to the ground by people.

Countering BJP’s charge that he did not visit Chahiot even once, Virbhadra Singh said the government opened 22 new senior secondary schools, 12 high schools, 18 middle schools, 11 primary schools, two primary heath centres at Chatri and Thachi, two degree colleges at Bassa. Tourism is being promoted in Seraj valley, he added.

IPH minister Kaul Singh also lambasted the Dhumal regime and claimed Jai Ram Thakur would lose election this time. Tek Chand Dogra and Shiva Lal Sharma were also present on the occasion. Later, Sharma filed his nomination.

Palampur, November 28
Potholed roads and streets, overflowing drains and contaminated drinking water tell the tale of panchayat areas here. These areas are fast turning into slums. Despite the fact that there has been manifold increase in the population, the government has failed to include these areas in the Municipal Council, Palampur.

Only 10 per cent area of the town, having a population of 4,000, falls in the municipal limits. A population of over 35,000 lives outside the municipal limits under five panchayats,including Ghuggar, Aima, Bindravan and Lohana.

Almost all interior streets are in bad shape. Due to the overflowing of drains in the rainy season, water accumulates in the streets making it difficult for the residents to move around. The roads and streets dug up for laying water supply pipes, telephone cables and sewerage in Ghuggar, Tikka Aima and Bundla are yet to be repaired.

The busy Ram Chowk, the cinema road and the inter-state bus terminus are in the worst condition. Road dug up for laying pipes a year ago have not been repaired by the PWD.

Heaps of garbage emitting foul smell can be seen in every nook and corner of the town. Garbage is not removed for days together in many areas.

Unplanned construction of housing colonies is rampant. Since all these colonies have come up in panchayat areas, there is no proper arrangement for basic amenities like streetlights, roads, sewerage and drinking water. The areas are fast turning into slums. Although the state government has brought the town under the purview of the HP Town and Country Planning Act, it has failed to improve the situation. A large number of houses and shops in the town have come up without any prior approval from the Town and Country Planning Department.

Stray animals cause a lot of inconvenience to the general public here. These animals can be seen feeding on heaps of garbage in different parts of the town. The complaints made to the local administration, particularly the municipal authorities, have yielded no fruitful results.

No funds are provided to thepanchayats for development. The panchayats have no means to remove even the garbage dumps.

The long-pending demand of the residents for the extension of municipal limits is yet to be accepted. SDM C.P. Verma says since all panchayat areas fall beyond the municipal limits, the council cannot provide amenities in these areas since its budget and jurisdiction are also limited.

Ghuggar panchayat pardhan Lalit Kumar has urged the government to sanction additional funds so that streetlights could be installed in the panchayat areas. He said disposal of garbage was a big problem and the panchayat alone could not solve it since would cost over Rs 1 crore.

Shimla, November 28
It is the presence of 32,136 double voters registered in the Shimla assembly constituency which prompted the Election Commission to develop a specific software to detect voters registered at two places.

The software has now been given to all deputy commissioners to check double voters. It is for the first time that such an exhaustive exercise has been undertaken by the Election Department to ensure that the names of all double voters are deleted.

Besides undertaking the painstaking exercise of checking names entered at two places, the Election Commission will keep a close watch through hidden cameras to ensure that one person does not cast his vote twice. If need be the thumb impression would also be taken in case there are complaints of bogus voting.

The number of double voters in some of the districts where the exercise has been completed is 2,394 in Shimla, 2,451 in Solan, 557 in Kullu and 150 in Una.

It is with the help of this particular software that the number of double voters in the Shimla assembly segment has come down from 32,136 to mere 2,394.

After close scrutiny, the number of double voters was reduced to 7,245. On further investigation it was found that 426 persons whose names still existed in the voters list were dead. Besides, it was found that 1,589 persons had migrated from the state capital.

Since a large number of people from the Lahaul Spiti area migrate to Kullu and Manali in the winter, a close watch will be kept on them to ensure that they do not cast their votes again. Similarly, people of Kinnaur and Bharmour, residing in Rampur, Shimla and Chamba and Kangra will also not be allowed to cast their votes second time when the state goes to the polls in the second phase on December 19.

The Election Commission had detected about 10,000 double voters in the three tribal assembly constituencies of Kinnaur, Bharmour and Lahaul Spiti. An option was given to all such people to get their name struck from one place. The exercise is being extended to the entire state now.

Shimla, November 28
The Election Commission of India has issued instructions regarding the use of road transport by party campaigners as per which all six recognised national parties could have 40 star campaigners. The parties will be required to submit the list of star campaigners at the office of the chief electoral officer.

Chief electoral officer Manisha Nanda said till today the BJP, the Congress and the BSP had supplied the list of their star campaigners and the lists from the CPI, the CPM and the NCP were yet to be received. She said permits for vehicles of star campaigners would be issued and only one party flag could be hoisted on the vehicle of the leader of political party. If any other person also occupied the vehicle so permitted, 50 per cent expenditure of the same would be booked in the expenditure of candidate contesting from that constituency, she added.

She said the permits would be issued centrally by the chief electoral officer irrespective of whether the same or different vehicle was to be used by any leader for election campaigning throughout the state. The permit would be issued against the name of the person concerned to be displayed prominently on the windscreen of the vehicle being used by him. The permits so issued by the CEO will be of distinctly different colours (light pink) from the permits to be issued by returning officers.

Under no circumstances the vehicles would be allowed to move in convoys of more than three during campaigning, she said. All bigger convoys would be split and these convoys would have to maintain a distance of at least 200 m between them, she added.

Before granting permission to any political party to use video-vans for campaigning, it would be ensured that such use of vehicle was in accordance with the Motor Vehicles Act.

Sundernagar, November 28
A couple and its two kids died on spot as a motor cycle got entangled with ropes hanging from a truck at Dadour on the national highway No 21 this afternoon. The truck dragged the motor cycle up to 50 meters, killing all four riders on the spot.

According to sources, Nand Lal ( 30) of Rakar Seyoli village in the Balh valley was going to Bhor ( Sundernagar) from Ner Chowk ( Mandi) on motor cycle (HP-33A-6032) along with his wife, Rekha( 26) and two girls, Jassi ( 5) and Komal (2). When they reached Dadour the deceased almost stopped the motor cycle as he wanted to purchase sweets.

A rope dangling from a truck (HR-55B-1377) following the motor cycle got entangled with the motor cycle riders, dragging them up to 50 meters resulting in their death on the spot.

Local residents gathered on the spot and removed all victims to a nearby private hospital but all were declared brought dead.

The deceased was serving as a naik in 3rd Dogra regiment in Guwahati and had come home on a 15-day leave. He was on his way to his in-laws to Bhor village just 1 km away.

Both driver and conductor of the truck fled after the accident. The police has registered a case under section 279, 304A, IPC, against the driver of the truck and impounded the vehicle. 

Kumarhatti, November 28
A master plan will soon be enforced in the Baddi industrial belt for its proper development, Amandeep Garg, CEO of the Baddi -arotiwala and Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA) said here today. The reference area for the master plan was likely to be about 318 square kilometers.

The master plan would address various key issues related to industry. New planning for efficient land use pattern would be chalked out besides suggesting a suitable re-development model for the existing core areas. A land use pattern for sectoral and zonal development would also be proposed.

About traffic management, Garg said that an efficient traffic system would be put into force in the industrial belt. Special projects to improve civic amenities like water, drainage, sewerage and electricity would be implemented, he pointed out.

Sites for dumping of solid waste shall be proposed in consultation with the Municipal authorities/ panchayats as well as the State Pollution Control Board, Garg said.

Shimla, November 28
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which is contesting 66 of the 68 assembly seats, today released its second list of 30 candidates.

Releasing the list national general secretary of the party Subhash Sharma said that the people of the hill state were disillusioned with both Congress and the BJP and they were now looking for a third “clean” alternative.

The following is the list released today.

Rohru — Govardhan Chauhan, Chopal-Gian Panta, Kumarsain-Om Prakash, Theog-Chandan Singh Jogi, Kusumpti-Surinder Garg, Nagrota Bagwan-Deepak Sharma, Nurpur-Narinder Kumar, Jwali-Aman Dhawan, Paragpur-Preetam Sheriya, Palampur-Suneeta Devi, Sulah-Lekh Ran, Shahpur-Paurash Chaudahry, Dharamsala-Atul Bhardwaj, Hamirpur-Heera Singh Phool, Bamsan-Raj Kumar Dalauch, Mewa- Ranjit Dhiman, Nadaun-Satish Thakur, Nadaunta-Neeta Sharma, Arki-Pradeep Kumar, Ghumariwin-Lala Shri Ram, Balh-Dev Kant, Dharmpur-Saju Ram, Banjar-Dhale Ram, Kulu-Dule Chand, Bhatiyat- Kalu Ram, Chamba-Nand Lal, Nalagarh- Gurbaksh Singh, Shilai- Nathur Ram, Nachan-Tulsi Ram, Paonta Sahib-Om Prakash.

Shimla, November 28
Former ministers Hari Narain Singh and Chandresh Kumari and state BJP chief Jai Ram Thakur were among the 26 candidates who filed their nomination papers today. With this the total number of contestants for the second phase of poll has gone up to 73.

While Hari Narain Singh (BJP) entered the fray from Nalagarh, Chandresh Kumari (Congress) and Jai Ram(BJP) filed their papers from Dharamsala and Chachiot, respectively. The 24 others who filed nominations today are:- Rampur- Nand Lal(Congress), Shimla-Sanjay Chauhan(CPM) , Kusumpati-Surinder Kuamr( Lok Janshakti Party),Arki-Diwakar Sharma (IND), Kaduali-Som Dutt (BSP),Ghumarvin-Rajesh Dharmani(Congress, Hamirpur-Vipat Raj (CPI),Gagret-Mehar Chand(IND),Una-Som Dut(BSP),Guler-Om Prakash(IND) and Bhikham Singh(BSP),Pragpur-Navin Dhiman(BJP), Thural- Chameli (BSP) and Roop Singh(BSP) ,Sulah-Vipin Parmar(BJP) and Sat Pal Singh(CPM),Shahpur-Kewal Pathania(Congress),Rajnagar-Surender Bhardwaj(Congress) and Sunita (IND) , Chamba-Pawan Nayar(Congress), Chachiot-Shiv Lal (Congress) and Jai Ram Thakur(BJP) and Gopalpur-Inder Singh (BJP) and Khajan Ram (BJP).

Chamba: Pawan Nayyar (Congress) filed his nomination papers from Chamba on Wednesday while Surinder Bhardwaj (Congress) filed the papers from Rajnagar (SC-reserved) constituency in Chamba district.

With this the number of candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the Congress and the BJP in Chamba district has gone up to three .

Hamirpur: Vipat Raj of the CPI filed his papers from Hamirpur before returning officer R.K. Pruthi here on Wednesday.

Kangra: Eight candidates, including former health Minister and state NSUI state president filed their nomination papers for six constituencies in Kangra district on Wednesday.

Former health Minister Chandresh Kumari (INC) filed her nomination from Dharamsala, Kewal Singh Pathania, president of the state NSUI, from Shahpur, Naveen Diman (BJP) from Pragpur,. Vipin Parmar (BJP) and Sat Pal Singh ( CPM) from Sulah, Chameli Devi (BSP) from Thurul. Bikram Singh (BSP) and Om Prakash (Khestria Party) filed their nomination papers from the Guler assembly constituency.