Mumbai, October 23
Behind the thumping win of the Congress-NCP combine that bagged 144 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly is an elaborate skullduggery of numbers where the winners bagged only a fraction of the popular vote.

The Congress, which emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly with 82 seats, bagged just about 21 per cent of the popular vote while its ally, the NCP, snared 62 MLAs in its kitty with just 16.4 per cent of the vote-share. On the other hand, the Shiv Sena had to rest content with just 44 seats even though its vote-share almost matched that of the NCP. Its ally, the BJP, was luckier. With a vote share of just about 14 per cent, it bagged 46 seats.

The newest entrant in the fray, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena won 13 seats with less than 6 per cent of the popular vote. Only in the Lok Sabha elections last May, the party had just 4.1 per cent of the popular vote. But the party’s victories came largely from Mumbai, Thane and Nashik where it damaged the Shiv Sena, badly emerging neck and neck, thus allowing the Congress-NCP to snatch victory. In addition, the MNS also opened its innings in Pune and the Konkan, indicating Raj Thackeray’s expanding popularity.

Contrary to popular opinion, the MNS seems to have hurt the NCP as much as the Shiv Sena while the Congress’ vote-share remained more or less the same as it was in the 2004 elections. While the NCP lost more than 2 per cent of its vote share to the MNS, the Shiv Sena have lost around 3.8 per cent. Overall, the ruling combine bagged 38 per cent of the popular vote in 2009 as against nearly 40 per cent the last time round. The combined vote-share of the Shiv Sena-BJP was down by a full five per cent.

Independents and smaller parties have also put up a credible showing with 15.5 per cent of the vote-share. Apart from bagging 41 seats, these ‘spoilers’ have emerged as strong second and third choices in several constituencies.

A close analysis of the numbers indicates that the verdict was totally fractured across the state. In Mumbai, the Congress bagged 17 of the 36 seats with a vote share of 28.5 per cent. The MNS, which bagged 23.8 per cent of the votes, bagged just six seats, indicating that its support base was spread evenly across the city. On the other hand, the BJP won in five seats with a vote-share of 12.7 per cent since its supporters are concentrated in certain pockets. The Shiv Sena, which once controlled Mumbai, had to make do with just four seats though its vote share stood at 18.3 per cent. New entrant, the NCP won three seats with just 6.8 per cent of the votes.

Across the state, the Shiv Sena seemed to have slipped heavily in its strongholds where the MNS cut into its vote-share. In the Konkan, the party, which bagged 21 seats in 2004, had to rest content with 13 seats this time round. The Congress saw its tally rise from 17 to 21 during this period. The MNS bagged eight seats. The region has 75 seats post-delimitation.

The Congress and the NCP more or less held on to their seats in Western Maharashtra, bagging 11 and 20 seats, respectively. The MNS bagged just a single seat here. But it was in Marathwada that the Congress-NCP alliance surged in a big way. The two allies bagged 30 seats while the Sena-BJP had to rest content with just nine from the 25 seats they held earlier.

Predictably, the MNS was the big spoiler cutting into the Shiv Sena-BJP votes though it bagged just a single seat here. In Vidarbha, the Democratic Front managed to hold their own though the balance of power shifted from the NCP to the Congress this time. The former managed 24 seats as against 20 earlier while the latter saw its tally fall from 11 to four seats.

In Northern Maharashtra, the MNS ate into the vote-share of the Congress and the NCP while the Sena and the BJP managed to hold their own. The MNS bagged three seats of the 47 seats in the district but damaged the ruling alliance in many more.

Mumbai, October 23
Hurt by the resounding defeat inflicted on the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party combine in the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Sena's supremo Bal Thackeray expressed his hurt and anguish at the choice of the state's voters.

Blaming the youth vote for the loss, the editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna attributed to Thackeray said the younger voters did not appreciate the work done by the Shiv Sena for the people of Maharashtra. "The younger generation does not know its history. They do not know how much Shiv Sena has fought for the people of Maharashtra. The unity of the Marathi ‘manoos’ was destroyed in just one day," the editorial said.

Harking back to the Samyukta Maharashtra movement which split the erstwhile Bombay state into Maharashtra and Gujarat and paved the way for the birth of the Shiv Sena, Thackeray said the 105 martyrs, who died for the cause would be disappointed. "Only the martyrs know what the Shiv Sena underwent for the Marathi people. The young people are simply unaware of it," the editorial said.

Launching a broadside against nephew Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Thackeray likened the new party to the traitors, who caused the defeat of the Maratha forces at the Battle of Panipat. Turning his attention to the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine, Thackeray in his characteristic language wondered as to why voters wanted "to be pushed back into hell".

"(Despite)...corruption, load-shedding, Maoist terror, farmers' suicides, terrorist attacks... you have voted the nalayaks (useless people) back," Thackeray wrote.

"In this Mahabharat the Kauravas have emerged victorious," Thackeray said. He chided the people for not seeing through the Congress's policy of divide and rule. "They split the Marathi votes to capture power," Thackeray said. He also criticised the Third Front and rebels, who aspired to benefit from a hung assembly. "The Congress-NCP has secured a clear majority and their horses will now remain in the stables," Thackeray said.

However refusing to throw in the towel, Thackeray said the loss was not the end of the Shiv Sena. "We have faced good times and bad in the past 45 years," he said. "We will remember this defeat."

New Delhi, October 23
The Law Ministry has decided to go ahead with the elevation of Punjab and High Court Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and three other HC CJs to the Supreme Court, delinking the name of Karnataka HC CJ PD Dinakaran who is facing allegations of corruption.

The new appointments are being expedited as the apex court at present has only 22 judges, including Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, against the sanctioned strength of 31, official sources said today.

Law Minister M Veerappa Moily has already set the file in motion following the recommendation by the five-Judge SC Collegium headed by the CJI for the elevation of four CJs, holding back the case of Justice Dinakaran. The other three HC CJs are Ananga Kumar Patnaik of Madhya Pradesh, Surinder Singh Nijjar of Calcutta and KS Radhakrishnan of Gujarat.

The Collegium was expected to hold its meeting today to take a final decision on Justice Dinakaran. However, the meeting could not take place as one of the judges finished the court hearing late.

Earlier, the Collegium had held at least three meetings on the issue of Justice Dinakaran and secured a report from the Collector of Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, on the allegation of land encroachment by the Karnataka CJ, who was earlier a judge in TN HC. The Collector's report had confirmed the allegation that the judge had about 500 acres of land, much of which had been encroached upon.

In the light of the Collector's report, the Collegium had asked the government to go ahead with the elevation of four other CJs and sought an explanation from Justice Dinakaran within a week. The judge in question is said to have sent his reply and this would now be considered by the Collegium, possibly on Monday.

The sources said the appointments could happen as early as next week. Even after this exercise is over, the SC will still have five vacancies. As such, the Collegium would soon begin zeroing in on suitable candidates for filling these vacancies.

Having burnt its fingers on more than one occasion, the Collegium has decided to take extra precautions from now on to avoid similar embarrassments. It was quite possible that the Collegium would put in place an inquiry mechanism that would help identify candidates with doubtful integrity and keep them out of the appointment process.

Addressing the media earlier this week, Moily said the government had decided to start the appointment process six months before the retirement of judges so that there would not be any vacancy at all. This was necessary to bring down the average period for disposal of cases from the present 15 years to three years, he said.

Mumbai, October 23
The motorman of a Mumbai suburban local train and a passenger died after a pipeline crashed atop it during peak commuting hours this morning.

According to the Central Railway, the mishap occurred around 10.45 am when the local train was on its way to the Thane railway station from Mulund. The huge water pipe and a part of the bridge holding came crashing down just as the train moved beneath it. The motorman, Ramachandran, was trapped under the debris and was alive for several hours.

He died later in the day while the rescue process was on. Another commuter, Subhash Nigam, also died in the mishap.

Around 12 commuters received serious injuries as the train jumped off the track following the mishap. Train services between Thane and Dadar have been completely disrupted. According to railway officials, it would take almost a day to remove the debris and restore the traffic.

Outstation trains to southern India and other parts of Maharashtra like Pune are being rescheduled.

The bridge carrying the water pipeline was constructed just a few years ago but was in a bad condition due to use of spurious materials, the railway officials said. The Central Railway had asked the Thane Municipal Corporation to demolish the structure, the officials said. Meanwhile Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of the dead, Rs 1 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 10,000 for those with minor injuries.

New Delhi, October 23
The nexus between crime and politics is only getting deeper with every election. Seen in that context, the results of recent assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh, spring no surprise. But they certainly have some shock value.

With 50 per cent of its elected candidates facing some IPC charge or the other, Maharashtra leads the pack that reflects the increasing criminalisation of Indian politics. Close behind is Haryana, where 17 per cent of the MLAs have a tainted past, and Arunachal Pradesh, which has 5 per cent of its elected candidates in the “allegedly-criminal” list.

In all 900 tainted candidates were in the fray, of which 161 (18 per cent) won.

Maharashtra, in fact, comes out on the top of the list in even the nature of offences 143 of its elected candidates are facing - 15 charges of (or related to) murder, 22 of dacoity and kidnapping and six of extortion.

An analysis of the affidavits of candidates in the three states throws up some interesting comparisons from the past as well. While Maharashtra has “bettered” its performance when it comes to voting criminals to power, Haryana has marginally slipped from past levels.

In the 2004 Assembly polls, Maharashtra had 123 candidates (45.83 per cent) facing criminal charges; the number is now 143 (50 per cent). Haryana, in 2005, had 28 elected MLAs (31.11 per cent) in a House of 90, with criminal history; it now has lesser at 15, which is 17 per cent of the total assembly strength. Arunachal has just about managed to stay where it was in 2004 - with 5 per cent of its elected candidates facing IPC sections.

Now about the political parties which fielded tainted candidates. In Maharashtra, the BJP and the Congress both account for 26 tainted candidates each in the victors’ list, with the NCP getting 24.

In Haryana, among the criminal candidates who won elections, six are from Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD, while five are from the Congress. In Arunachal, where the Congress did exceedingly well, it also accounts for the maximum winners in the tainted list.

“But that seems to matter little. We are also disturbed with the direct correlation between the assets of candidates and their chances of victory at the hustings. In Haryana, Maharashtra and Arunachal, the percentage of elected candidates with wealth over Rs 1 crore is 72, 64 and 58 respectively,” say members of National Election Watch, who analysed in detail the affidavits submitted by candidates for the recent Assembly polls.

Poor faring of women is another distressing aspect of the current election results. In Maharashtra, only 3.82 per cent (just 11 candidates) of those elected are women; the percentage is 5 for Arunachal and 8.89 for Haryana -- all this at a time when the country is debating the need to reserve seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures.

Chennai, October 23
Amid speculations in a section of the media that the DMK would quit the Union ministry on the Mullaiperiyar dam issue, the PMK and Left parties have moved a step closer to the DMK, by assuring their support to the controversial World Classical Tamil Conference announced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

PMK leader S Ramadoss, in his letter to the Chief Minister, expressed his gratitude for inviting his party to nominate members for the organising committee of the conference, which does not have the approval of the International Association for Tamil Research (IATR), which has organised all eight conferences held earlier.

Referring to the controversy surrounding the conference, Ramadoss said he did not want to enter the debate whether this conference would be accepted as the ninth world conference or not. He also referred to the opposition raised by the AIADMK and the MDMK that it was not necessary to hold the conference immediately after the civil war in Sri Lanka since thousands of people had been massacred and lakhs of people were living in camps in "unhygienic and subhuman conditions".

While accepting that the opposition leaders' objections could not be ignored, Ramadoss announced that his party would attend the meeting as it was hoped that the Chief Minister would take steps to make Tamil the medium of instruction in the state.

Both the Left parties have also assured their support to the conference.

Mumbai, October 23
The Maharashtra government is likely to make it mandatory for residents in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur to use recycled water for non-potable purposes due to severe shortage of rainfall this year.

A proposal to this effect is likely to be taken up by the new government, which assumes office later this month, according to sources.

If this rule goes through, civic bodies like Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) may make it illegal for drinking water to be used for purposes like gardening, washing of cars and for industrial purposes. The BMC has already installed a sewage treatment plant at Love Grove in Worli in South Central Mumbai. The plant costing Rs 3 crore set up three years ago has the capacity to treat three million litres of water per day.

“Though it costs just about Rs 9 per thousand litres of water, there are not many takers,” says Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Sewerage Operations) DL Shinde. The civic body uses the water from the treatment plant to water gardens, flushing and other uses.

But with poor rainfall this year, Maharashtra is running out of options. According to the BMC, the civic body is able to supply just 3,450 million litres of water per day as against a requirement of 4,500 MLD. Of this about 600 MLD of water is lost due to leakage.

According to a report prepared by a committee headed by AK Jain, former principal secretary (water resources), some years ago for the Maharashtra government 70 per cent of the water supplied to homes find their way into the sewage systems. Civic bodies that run sewage treatment plant do some preliminary treatment on the wastewater before releasing it into the sea.

To recycle the wastewater for non-potable use tertiary treatment would have to be employed, say officials. The BMC is first off the mark with a proposal to set up Tertiary Treatment Plants (TTP) adjacent to existing sewage treatment plants. “Though the plants may not be ready this year, they would care of future shortages,” says a civic official.

Among the technologies under consideration include sand filters, reverse osmosis and ultra-filtration.

As per the standards of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, pH, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) levels in recycled water for non-potable purposes is 100mg/litre. The lone recycling plant of the BMC has reported BOD and COD levels of below 80 mg/litre, according to sources.

Kota, October 23
Even as the government is toying with the idea of raising the current eligibility cut-off of 60 per cent in Class XII for IIT aspirants, coaching institutes at Kota, the hub of IIT coaching in India, have been critical of the move, not because it will affect their business but for the reason that they consider it “a case of misplaced priorities”.

Talking to The Tribune, Navin Maheshwari, director (admn), Allen Career Institute, said: “Before raising the bar for Class XII students for entry into the IITs, the government should first think of reforming the basic board education system. You can’t expect a student from a state board school, which is grappling with shortage of staff, to compete with a student from a public school. Therefore there is a need to develop a common uniform platform to evaluate eligibility standard of the students.”

He also disagreed with Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal’s contention that the move would tame the coaching shops. He said coaching business was blossoming because the government had made the IIT-JEE entrance exam so tough that it was nearly impossible for a simple school-going student to crack it. “Look at the cut-off percentage in the last year’s IIT-JEE -- it is a mere 37.08 per cent -- which speaks volumes for the level of the entrance exam,” Maheshwari said, adding that this cut-off percentage could go up to even 90 per cent if the government was ready to ask the IIT aspirants Class XII questions in the IIT-JEE.

New Delhi, October 23
While the Congress today steered clear of the A. Raja controversy, indicating it would not ask the telecom minister to quit, the BJP, supported by the Left, demanded Raja’s sacking in the interest of “free and fair” CBI probe into the 2G spectrum licence allotment scam.

“There is no reason, moral, ethical or political, for Raja to continue as minister,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said, while the Central Committee of the CPM, currently in session in the capital to discuss the party’s rectification document in the wake of recent Lok Sabha defeat, said it was shocking that Raja had refused to quit despite the CBI raiding offices under his department.

For once, the BJP and the Left spoke in unison to seek Prime Minister’s intervention in sacking Raja, whose role, they said, was controversial in the issue. CPI leader and national secretary D. Raja also said it was only fair to seek Raja’s removal in the interest of meaningful CBI investigation into the scam. The CPI’s national committee also issued a statement to this effect today. Similar demand came from AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha, who wanted Raja sacked. The Congress, for its part, appeared unfazed and said no issue of propriety arose because the FIR in the case mentioned only officials and not the minister.