Chandigarh, October 14
It has taken Haryana 42 years to better its previous highest polling percentage record in any assembly election. Against 72.65 per cent polling recorded in 1967, when the state elected its first assembly after the 1966 reorganisation, it recorded a voter turnout of 72.71 per cent in yesterday’s poll.

In the last assembly elections in 2005, it was 71.96 per cent.Interestingly, semi-urban and rural areas had larger turnouts compared to urban areas. In Gurgaon, the state’s only metropolis with the police commissionerate system, the polling percentage was the lowest at 54.25 per cent. Panchkula, another planned and modern town adjoining Chandigarh, recorded a slightly better voter turnout - 57.47 per cent - than Gurgaon, indicating that cities with high-profile politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats and businessmen perhaps do not take voting as seriously as an average citizen does.

Adjoining Panchkula, Kalka had a different story to tell with an impressive turnout of 77.13 per cent.

Faridabad, which like Gurgaon is a part of the National Capital Region, also recorded a low percentage of 56.38 in the poll.On the other hand, in Dabwali, the hometown of INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala, it was a massive turnout with 87.25 of the total voters exercising their franchise.

Ellenabad, the second constituency from where Chautala is a candidate, the turnout was 86.27 per cent, third highest after Dabwali and Rania (86.99 per cent). Uchana Kalan is the other constituency where Chautala is locked in a tough contest with Finance Minister Barinder Singh. There also the polling percentage has been an impressive 83.31.

Karnal, October 14
The Congress would create history by returning to power for the second term with a massive mandate, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda claimed said.

Hooda, who stopped at Zhilmil for lunch, said indications were that his party was poised for a clear majority.

“It’s a victory of the people and the workers and I express my gratitude to them,” he told mediapersons. Asked why he had not campaigned in his Kaloi constituency, a beaming CM said: “Why should I go to the constituency? My people contest the election on my behalf and ensure my victory with a huge margin”.

Hooda, accompanied by his wife, looked relaxed as he received feedback from party candidates Sumita Singh (Karnal), Meena Mandal (Nilokheri) and Bhim Sen Mehta (Indri) on the polling trend. Sumita Singh expressed confidence that the party would fare well in Karnal district and she was all set to win with a big margin. Meanwhile, the polling this time has been low as compared to the 2005 elections. The average voting percentage in the five constituencies was 65 against 73 per cent the previous elections. Nilokheri recorded 63 per cent polling against 79.55 per cent in 2005 and was 70 per cent in Indri against 79.53 per cent in 2005. Similarly, the polling percentage came down from 76.39 and 72.27 in Gharaunda and Assandh to 67 and 64 per cent.

In Karnal it came down to 61 per cent from 63.28.

Ambala, October 14
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda relished lemon tea at a tea stall on the Ambala-Chandigarh road near Ambala City this evening. His wife, Asha Hooda, and his former political adviser, Prof Virender, were also accompanying him.

When Hooda was not holding the post of Chief Minister, he used to halt at Baldev Nagar to meet his party workers while going towards Chandigarh. He used to take tea at this tea stall, owned by Subhash Gulati. At times he used to spend an hour at this tea stall while talking to his loyalists.

Even as the Chief Minister, he used to take a short break at this spot at times and enjoyed lemon tea.

The Chief Minister had informed his former media coordinator Dilip Chawla Bittu and the president of the local municipal council, Harish Sasan, that he would make a short halt at Baldev Nagar to take a cup of tea at the tea stall.

Talking to mediapersons, Hooda said the Congress would get a thumping majority in the assembly elections. He said opposition parties would lose their identity after October 22.

Chandigarh, October 14
Polling over, it’s time to lobby-at least that seems the mantra of senior Congressmen in Haryana eyeing the Chief Minister’s post. Those not in the race for the top post are busy projecting their USPs for a plum ministerial berth if the Congress government assumes charge in the state, as is being projected by exit polls. And, the results are not even out yet. A day after their fates were sealed in the electronic voting machines by the electorate, most top leaders have headed Delhi-ward.

“This certainly is no time to sit back and relax. Unwinding can happen later but the time lost now can be crucial in the days to come, especially with all exit polls showing that the Congress is coming to power,” a leader explained.While the less ambitious met their workers though the day, seeking feedback as also thanking them for their efforts, by evening the very candidates who could not have enough of “public exposure” retreated to their homes to be with their families.

For the seasoned and well-connected, however, the job has just begun and the struggle will go on till the results are out and a Chief Minister is firmly in the saddle. “We are confident of our victory. That is why we are in Delhi. Now is the time to decide what’s next after elections. A lot will depend on the final outcome in terms of seats our party wins,” another leader explains.

Detractors of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda are of the view that the Congress getting anywhere between 50-55 seats would lend credence to their demand for a change in leadership in the state.

“We will be in a better position to convince the leadership to consider a leadership change for the simple reason that the party has not performed as well as it was hoping to when the elections were announced. We are expecting the maximum number of seats to come from Hooda’s borough in Rohtak, Jhajjar and Sonepat.

That, however, does not make up the entire state. Also, the position of the party is not too good in some districts which means that the people are angry with the Hooda government. However, if the party gets 65 plus seats, then the decision would be and should be that of the Congress high command entirely,” a Congressman explained. With the party top brass of the state likely to meet Central leaders over the next few days to convey their sentiments, it remains to be seen how much ice their reasoning will cut at the Centre.

Sirsa/Fatehabad, October 14
A day after the poll, most candidates and leaders of parties remained busy clearing accounts of election offices and discussing the possible outcome with supporters.

Former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who contested from Ellenabad besides Uchana Kalan in Jind, went straight to Delhi after the polling was over yesterday, said sources.

Chautala remained in his Meena Bagh residence in the Capital to meet his party workers from across the state for feedback. His son and party secretary general Ajay Singh Chautala was in his Sirsa residence.

Ajay Singh contested from Dabwali against Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s former aide KV Singh. He was surrounded by his party workers when The Tribune caught up with him.

“I did not feel any fatigue during the month-long election campaign during which I covered more than 60 assembly segments,” said Ajay Singh.

“We will win at least 30 seats and I will win by over 10,000 votes from Dabwali,” he claimed.

Interestingly, his main rival KV Singh also thinks he will win by a margin of 10,000. Singh was leaving for Dabwali and said the urban populace had voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Congress.

Chautala’s younger brother Ranjit Singh, who was Congress candidate from Rania, was busy calculating votes on the basis of inputs provided by his polling agents.

“I don’t go entirely by their version. But, even by conservative estimates, I will win by a margin of 10,000 votes,” he said. He also addressed mediapersons in a hotel, where he claimed that the Congress would win at least 65 seats and form the next government.

MDLR Airlines chairman and Independent candidate from Sirsa, Gopal Goyal, alias Gopal Kanda, said: “I am as fresh as I was when I began my campaign.”

He was relaxing in his residence near the local Shiv Chowk.

“I have no competition. I am the clear winner,” he claimed. Both Padam Jain (INLD) and LD Arora (Cong) claimed they were winning the seat. “Only those who are going to lose feel fatigued,” said 78-year-old Arora, who is seeking to enter the assembly for the sixth time. “I will win by a margin of 20,000 votes,” he claimed.

Sushil Indora, who contested from Kalanwali on the Congress ticket, was at his Fatehabad residence. “I had a sound sleep, went for a haircut and a massage and then read all newspapers,” said Indora, claiming he would win by over 12,000 votes.

In Fatehabad, INLD candidate Swatantar Bala Chaudhary was meeting party workers at her residence. “I can’t say about the margin, but I will definitely win,” she said.

Dura Ram of the Congress was meeting party workers in his grain market shop. “All calculations show that I am winning this election,” he said. Pahlad Singh Gillankhera spent his day in his Fatehabad office.

“I arose in the morning at 5, went on a stroll and came to Fatehabad after breakfast. I have been meeting my workers since morning.” He exuded confidence.

All candidates felt the nine-day interval between the polling and results was too long.

“This is cruelty. Those who made the poll schedule should have thought of the plight of the contestants,” said one in a lighter vein. 

Karnal, October 14
With polling for the assembly elections over, candidates are relieved from the fatigue of hectic campaigning but anxiety is writ large on their faces as the wait for counting of votes continues. The morning was different and relaxed for the candidates who had been rising early and going to sleep late at night after strenuous electioneering for two weeks. However, the agonising wait for counting, slated for October 22, is adding to the anxiety of the candidates.

There was no rush of supporters at the houses of candidates, who got a feedback from key supporters and also tried to interpret voting trends.

Sumita Singh was with her workers and held detailed discussions with them. She is hopeful she will win by a comfortable margin. She also met Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and gave a feedback about polling in Karnal. She relaxed in the evening and attended to routine works.

Jai Prakash Gupta of the HJC was quite relieved and said he never got tried during the election campaign and spent sufficient time with workers. He also claimed that he was poised to win and based his assessment on the feedback from his poll managers. Chander Prakash Kathuria of the BJP also looked relaxed and got booth-wise report about polling from workers.

He said the poll was over and he would celebrate Diwali without any pressure on his mind about the results. Interestingly, he has lost 15 kg weight during campaigning.INLD candidate Ashok Manik said he was back to work as usual and not much bothered about the results.

He consulted his voters about the voting trends and expressed the confidence that he would get a chance to serve the people. The candidates also tried to get some clue about the CID and IB reports on voting trends and also discussed the fallout of lower percentage of polling. However, political pundits predict a close contest in all constituencies, giving a slight advantage to the ruling Congress. 

Chandigarh, October 14
The Election Commission of India has directed observers and returning officers to ensure that the results of table-wise, round-wise counting of votes are immediately displayed prominently on a notice board inside the counting centre and announced through the public address system.

Stating this here today, Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana Sajjan Singh said once the counting was completed and the returning officer had compiled the final result sheet, the observer would tally the figures of votes obtained by the candidates with the details of round-wise breakup kept by him in his folder and allow the result to be declared only when the figures tallied.

He said the returning officer would fax round-wise data to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Wherever hot lines were available with the CEO, these would be utilised to orally confirm the contents of the fax message.

The CEO would set up adequate number of fax lines with the hunting line facility to receive the faxes. For this purpose, he could hire faxes or temporarily borrow fax machines from various government departments and corporations.

The total number of such fax machines required, including a few in reserve, should be decided in advance and these should be positioned and tested at least 72 hours before the start of counting. The CEO should have blank forms to note down the round-wise data, if received orally on the phone or hotline.

As soon as the result is declared, the data as contained in Form 21, which is handed over to the winning candidate, would be handed over to the observer as prescribed by the commission for immediate communication to the commission, he added.

Sajjan Singh said the progress of every round of counting of assembly constituencies would be announced as soon as each round was completed over the public address system, preferably from a centralised location where the public announcement booth was located. The public announcements could be repeated at suitable intervals for the knowledge of the public that gather in good number outside counting centres, he added.

He said soon after the counting was finished, the fully reconciled counting data would be tabulated and checked thoroughly before the result was formally declared.

Sajjan Singh said no returning officer would declare the result without receiving the authorisation in the prescribed format from the observer.

Yamunanagar, October 14
The Daulatpur polling booth in the rural belt of the Jagadhri assembly segment has witnessed 96.03 per cent polling while the average polling percentage was 79.2.

The highest voter turnout of 82 per cent was in the Sadhaura assembly segment, 81 per cent in the Jagadhri assembly segment, 81 per cent in Radaur and 73 per cent in Yamunanagar.

Voters in rural areas turned out in a larger numbers than their urban counterparts. While the rural belts of Sadhaura, Jagadhri and Radaur witnessed a heavy turnout, urban areas of Yamunanagar and Jagadhri saw a low turnout.

Long queues were seen well after 5 pm in all four constituencies. The polling continued till 6.30 pm at Baparpur, Daparpur, Kangri Kalana, Daula and Mandaura polling stations.

Only 5.4 per cent voters turned out between 7am to 8 am in the four assembly segments. The polling gradually picked up and went up to an 55 per cent between 2 pm to 3 pm. 

Karnal, October 14
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from all 772 polling booths of the five assembly constituencies in Karnal district were brought to the respective counting centres in Karnal and kept under high security. Deputy Commissioner JS Ahlawat, who is also the returning officer, said three companies of the Armed Police had been deployed to guard the EVMs in strongrooms at the respective counting centres.

The counting of votes of the Karnal constituency would be held at DAV College; of Nilokheri (SC) at Dayal Singh College; of Gharaunda at the Karan Stadium skating hall; of Assandh at Panchayat Bhawan; and of Indri at DAV School. Polling was held in 204 booths in urban areas and 568 booths in rural areas. 

Gurgaon, October 14
For osteoarthritis patients suffering from joint pain, stiffness and loss of movement, a new treatment now available can save them from the side-effects of painkillers, besides delaying the prospect of surgery.

“Visco-supplement is a lubricant made from a natural substance that lubricates and cushions the joint and provides up to six months of relief in knee pain,” says Dr Sunil Marwah, a senior consultant in orthopaedics.

He asserts that visco-supplementation is the preferred therapy for patients suffering from osteoarthritis of knee who want to avoid surgery and painkillers.

“A single shot can provide relief for six to eight months as well as avert gastrointestinal complications arising due to intake of common painkillers,” he adds.

Since the cause of osteoarthritis is not completely known, there is no cure but only treatments that help reduce pain. Dr Marwah further explains:

“In osteoarthritis, there is a breakdown of joint fluid and cartilage. This fluid covers and protects the ends of the bones in the joint.” Visco-supplementation involves the removal of diseased joint fluid and its replacement with a biological substance that supplements elasticity and viscosity in the diseased knee joint and reduces pain and improves mobility.Osteoarthritis (OA), also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease, is a group of diseases and mechanical abnormalities entailing degradation of joints and affects approximately 50 per cent of the Indian population above 50 years of age. An International Osteoporosis Foundation assessment predicts that more than 50 per cent of osteoporosis patients will be from Asia in 2020, with India and China taking the maximum economic burden.Most people generally develop osteoarthritis after the age of 45. It is more commonly seen in women and obese people, especially those with previous knee injuries.

Chandigarh, October 14
Padma Shri Anjolie Ela Menon’s petition against the land acquisition process will now come up for hearing on December 4.

The grim picture of land acquisition process painted on the legal canvas has already caught the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s attention, which has stayed a notice issued under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act.

The state government had on July 15 issued a notice under Section 9 of the Act for a part of the property for a proposed road. Another notice under Section 4 was also issued on June 2 for the remainder property .— TNS