He said going by such plea he should first demand the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during whose tenure a large number of terrorist incidents had taken place.

Kullu, December 12
Devniti and rajniti could be two separate things but in this ‘Valley of Gods’ religion reigns supreme and politics traces its links with local devtas (local deities) even today though in a subtle and restrained manner.

Deeply rooted in religion and culture a large number of people, especially those living in the remote villages of this holy land continue to seek divine opinion of their deity on every aspect of life, including casting their votes. There are over 350 deities in the Kullu valley with Raghunath being on the top.

The Himalayan Ski village, the biggest $350 million FDI project of the country, had to face opposition from the most unusual quarters, the devtas. The project conceived by the American motor giant, Ford, assumed political overtones as the main opposition, the BJP, opposed it on the ground that it would pollute not just environment but also the divine culture of the area.

Now with election fervour at its highest pitch, the politics of vote also somehow establishes a link with religion even if remotely. “The village as a whole does not seek divine advice but even today we think of our deity before we cast our votes to ensure that the right and deserving candidate wins,” admits Dile Ram, panchayat pradhan of Malana, considered to be the oldest republic, which is now gradually opening up to the modern world.

There are over 850 voters registered at the polling booth in Malana. Interestingly, till the last assembly elections the votes, as a strategy, would be cast equally in favour of the Congress and the BJP.

Those trying their luck in electoral politics, too, want to ensure that they do not displease the deities in any way and, if possible, seek their blessings. . Kullu district has three assembly segments of Kullu, Banjar and Ani.

“Politics and religion are two completely different things and devtas are never dragged into it but people could be consulting their isht or kul devata (family deity) before casting their votes. This is totally a personal choice over which nobody can hold sway,” concedes Maheshwar Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Kullu and a former MP and state BJP chief.

In fact most candidates, including Karan Singh, the younger brother of Maheshwar, who after being denied the BJP ticket, is contesting on the BSP ticket from Banjar had sought the blessings of the devta before filing his nomination. The same principle applies to most candidates.

Mandi, December 12
BJP chief ministeral candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal made populist promises at four public meetings he addressed at Baggi (Balh), Gounta (Gopalpur), Takoli (Drang), Mandi here today.

Speaking at Baggi (Balh) in favour of party candidate Damodar, Prem Kumar Dhumal targeted the Balh audience who have a low literacy rate and has a large population of Dalits and said: “When the BJP comes to power it would not fill vacancies of small posts and anganwaris on chits but ask them to write applications on a plain paper without any application form. The government will charge no fees as the Congress has done.”

In his bid to outsmart the Congress poll plank of recruiting over 22000 anganwari workers in the state, including Gopalpur and Balh, which have a large number of women voters, Dhumal promised them that his government would recruit these workers from among poor women.

Dhumal also raised the “bogey of lower-upper discrimination at these meetings, accusing the Virbhadra fovernment of discriminating against the lower regions in development. Dhumal reiterated the populist promises made in the manifesto like “holidays on Raksha Bandhan, Kaurva Chauth and free travel in HRTC buses on these two days and went on add that women would get 50 per cent reservation in the panchayati raj institutions.

He blamed the Congress for the steep price rise breaking the backbone of the common man.

Shimla, December 12
The Election Commission has directed all electors to bring electoral photo identity cards to exercise their franchise on December 19.

An spokesperson, however, clarified that the electors without these cards would be allowed to vote provided their identity was otherwise established by documents like passport, driving licence, PAN and service identity cards, provided these have been issued on or before September 30, 2007.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami, along with other members Navin B. Chawla and Dr. S.Y.Quraishi would review poll arrangements here tomorrow.

Chief electoral officer Manisha Nanda said the commission would also have a meeting with six recognised national political parties at Peterhoff.

Nahan, December 12
Election revelry has not yet hit the voters here. They are calm and composed, and conscious of the daily chores that must be tended to, notwithstanding elections.

“Life can’t stop for anything. Elections will come and go,” says Ram Singh, who works at a unit at Kala-Amb, Nahan’s industrial hub.

However, even in the midst of his chores, he does not fail to remember this one thing which 59, 669 voters of this politically significant constituency are deeply aware of: “These elections are crucial for Kush Parmar, Congress candidate from here. He must save his legacy. He had lost last time,. It was a big surprise.”

Surprise, because no one expected the son of state’s first Chief Minister Y.S.
Parmar to lose.

Four-time MLA, Parmar, who lost only in 1990 when the Janata Dal-BJP alliance swept the Assembly elections, was again done in 2003 by LJP’s Sadanand Chauhan.

A sitting MLA from Nahan, Chauhan is seeking re-election, even as Parmar’s supporters try to explain away their 2003 loss: “The margin that time was very slim - only 1,100 votes,” they say, their fingers crossed.

Aware of political stakes, Kush Parmar is taking no chances as he moves door-to-door hoping to revive his father’s legacy.

However, he is making his presence felt across the 34 panchayats this time, and is contesting elections on the agenda of rural development.

“We are still backward. We need roads, health centres and irrigation schemes for our predominantly rural base,” says Parmar, two-time MLA from Paonta-Doon (1982, 1985) from where he was shifted to Nahan in 1993.

Here, too, he continued his winning spree until 2003, when Chauhan got home, riding the anti-incumbency wave against Parmar.

A wealthy liquor baron, Chauhan is still confident of his prospects against BSP’s Sushant Singh and Rashtriya Garib Dal’s Ram Kumar.

So is BJP’s Shyama Sharma, the fiery politician, who was minister in the Janata Party government in 1977.

Potential contender to Parmar, Shyama won from Nahan in 1990 as the Janata Dal-BJP alliance candidate, but in the very next elections Parmar gained foothold.

Interestingly, it was only in 1998 that Shyama fought for the first time on the
BJP ticket.

Keenly canvassing this time, she is hoping to repeat the 1977 magic when she polled a historic 70 per cent of the total votes.

“We are taking on the Congress on issues of price rise, unemployment and corruption,” says Shyama, whose campaigns are not without slight references to caste factors.

Nahan is home to Brahmins, Rajputs, Kolis, Muslims, Gujjars, among other communities. Many voters feel that playing to caste factors can sometimes yield results. How far? Only time will tell.

Shimla, December 12
The Congress has approached the Election Commission seeking an immediate ban on advertisements published by the BJP in newspapers, saying that these are aimed at "character assassination" of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

"The Congress gave a written complaint to the state election office yesterday against the BJP advertisements,” state Congress general secretary and spokesman Kuldeep Rathore said today.

These ads were "malicious and aimed at character assassination of the CM and Congress rule in the state," the complaint said and sought the EC direction to stop their publication. — PTI

Dharamshala, December 12
The Congress has decided to extend its support to rebel BJP candidate from Gangath Anita Dhiman following the cancellation of the nomination papers of its official candidate Bodh Raj.

This decision was conveyed to party activists by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh during a public meeting at Rehan in the district yesterday.

Virbhadra also directed the party activists to campaign in her favour during electioneering, putting at rest speculations about the choice of its candidate from this reserved constituency.

However, Dhiman's husband Manohar Dhiman denied having received any official communication from the Congress. — UNI

Nahan, December 12
Hanif (56), a resident of Misserwala village under Paonta subdivision, was killed in an accident on the spot today.

His scooter collided with a truck (HR 37-5628) on the Nahan-Paonta road near
Kolar village.

In charge of the Majra police post said the driver of the truck absconded from the spot after accident. A case has been registered.