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I have buried the hatchet with Virbhadra: Mankotia
Dhumal govt facilitating illegal land deals: Cong leader
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Fresh hike in LPG fuels BJP campaign
Cong fails to check inflation, says CM
Virbhadra targeting Rajputs of Kangra: Expelled Cong man
Cong seeks clarification from Modi
Amarinder claims Cong wave
Rajnath slams Cong for corruption
BJP candidate, Cong rebel face off
Oldest BJP candidate vs youngest Cong nominee
Second encounter in 11 months
BJP rebel gives Cong the edge
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I have buried the hatchet with Virbhadra: Mankotia
Dharamsala, November 1 He said: “As far as out-of-the-court settlement is concerned I have buried my hatchet with Virbhadra.” While commenting on the CD case, he said the decision regarding the same would be taken as per the advice of legal experts. Mankotia had been the target of the BJP for changing his stance against Virbhadra after joining the Congress. Earlier, he had been evasive about his relations with Virbhadra, despite joining the Congress under his stewardship. Mankotia said BJP leaders who were now asking him to clarify stand over relations with Virbhadra should also come clear on the fact that how they have accepted Chief Minister PK Dhumal against whom they levelled corruption charges before the party high command. Mankotia, who also held a joint press conference with Congress candidate from Dharamsala Sudhir Sharma and retired IAS officer Swatantra Alok, said the induction heater being offered by the BJP to voters was a “bribe”. These heaters were in fact injurious to the health of its users. Sudhir said earlier also the BJP government had distributed CFL bulbs in the state. These CFL bulbs have now turned into a major source of mercury pollution in the state as there was no mechanism to dump these safely. Mankotia said Central grants given by the Union Government for Kangra were not utilised by the state government. Sudhir said they would demand a CBI probe into the complaint filed by former ADGP, Himachal, BS Thind to the Lokayukta regarding the properties of PK Dhumal. BJP spokespersons Sanjay Sharma and Rakesh Sharma also held a press conference to refute the charges levelled by Congress leaders. They alleged that the complaint filed by BS Thind against Dhumal was shelved by the Lokayukta after a thorough probe. Dhumal has also filed a defamation case against former Chief Minister of Punjab Amarinder Singh for levelling such baseless allegations against him. Regarding discrimination against Kangra, the BJP leaders said the district had witnessed record development in the past five years. The district also got major infrastructure projects, including Central University, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Food and Craft Institute and Multi-speciality wing in Tanda medical college, they said. Swantantra Alok, who was the managing trustee of Vivekananda Medical Research Trust (VMRT), when asked about his view on the project now, said though bringing the project to the area was a credit to Shanta Kumar, keeping it out of the preview of CAG was wrong. He also alleged that Kayakalp hotel was not part of the VMRT as per the original plan. |
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Dhumal govt facilitating illegal land deals: Cong leader
Shimla, November 1 In a statement here yesterday, he said if voted to power the Congress would probe the shady land deal for which money was arranged by Alchemist, and the cheques for the payment to land owners were also issued by it. The very fact that the purchaser of the land was a local resident and the money was being arranged from outside the state put a question mark over the deal. Birender said residents of Ramapur-Keonthal village ran from pillar to post to register a complaint but nobody paid heed to them. They alleged that the government was preparing a “land bank” for non-Himachal residents. He also accused the government of showering favours on the Jaypee Group. |
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Fresh hike in LPG fuels BJP campaign
Shimla, November 1 BJP leaders including LK Advani, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani and Vinod Khanna in their election rallies today dwelt on the LPG hike and cap on subsidised cylinders. Trying to highlight the efforts of the Dhumal government to provide an induction heater, they pointed out that the hike in LPG would hit the common man hard. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, Praveen Sharma and Anurag Thakur also lambasted the UPA Government for the fresh hike. Dhumal said the Congress and its leaders had no right to seek votes from the people when they had failed to protect interests of the state. “The UPA regime seems to have given a “Karva Chauth” gift to the women of the state on the festival as it will burden the pockets of their husbands,” said Anurag Thakur, MP and president, BJYM. |
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Make voting compulsory, says Advani
Majra (Nahan), November 1 “Though the educated class stays away from voting, they are quick to criticise their governments,” he said, adding that the government should explore the possibility of online voting as was a practice in Australia. Blaming the Congress for backwardness of Sirmaur district, he urged people to vote for the BJP and said it was lamentable that Sirmaur ranked 11th in terms of development among 12 districts of the state. He said since the Congress had remained at the helm of affairs in Sirmaur, the district had lagged behind. Advani said health, education and security were the most significant departments of the Union Government, but the Congress-led UPA government had earned ignominy for executing maximum scams. Blaming the Congress for price rise, he said people were suffering due to anti-poor policies of the Congress. Advani said India should be counted among the leading countries in the 21st century and this could be achieved only if the BJP was voted to power in the states and the Centre. In a bid to woo Muslims, who comprise a large chunk of voters in Sirmaur, Advani said their opponents had been spreading misinformation that they were anti-Muslims which was not true, and said they were against perpetrators of terrorism. He said he himself had come from Karachi following Partition and people in Pakistan now suffered more from terrorism. He said one could not change one’s geographical boundaries and India was compelled to live with hostile neighbours like Pakistan that had been harbouring terrorism to disrupt peace in India. He said governments which discriminated against citizens on the basis of their caste, creed or religion had no right to rule and the Congress had been discriminating against Hindi-speaking states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. He said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapaye had not only extended industrial package to hill states, but followed a policy of uniform development for all states.Justifying the change of constituency by Rajeev Bindal, now contesting from Nahan, he said delimitation had forced him to shift and he would quicken the pace of development here as he had done in Solan. Shahnawaz Hussain and Sukh Ram were present. |
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‘Will promote HP for film shooting’
Dharamsala, November 1 Khanna said he had asked by the party to campaign in Dharamsala and Bilaspur districts. He said corruption had reached its peak during the present UPA government and it was also not taking any action to bring back the black money of the country stashed in Swiss banks. The government had failed to make the names of people public, who had stashed their money in foreign banks despite the fact that the Swiss government had supplied the same to enforcement agencies, Khanna
said. Khanna said Himachal had a huge potential to become an ideal location for shooting of Bollywood films. “If the BJP is voted to power, I will try to promote Himachal as the location for shooting of films and documentaries. |
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Cong fails to check inflation, says CM
Hamirpur, November 1 Dhumal said, “The Congress has become insensitive towards people reeling under price rise, but the BJP has assured to give induction stoves to people of the state as an alternative way of cooking.” Refuting the statement of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Dhumal said maximum land of the state had been sold by the Congress Government and not an inch of the government land had been given by the BJP government to establish private universities. Dhumal alleged the previous Congress government had blocked the employment opportunities by signing an MoU with the Central Government after which thousands of jobs were abolished in the state. Dhumal said the BJP government had tried to give benefits to every section of the society by launching several schemes during its tenure. |
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Virbhadra targeting Rajputs of Kangra: Expelled Cong man
While addressing a press conference at Dharamsala today, Kanwar alleged that Virbhadra was trying to finish the Rajput leadership of Kangra district. Since Kangra was the biggest district of the state, Virbhadra feared that in case some prominent Congress leader emerged from here, he could threaten his political legacy. By denying the party ticket to maximum Rajput candidates from Kangra, Virbhadra had marred the changes of the party in the area, he alleged. Kanwar alleged that he had been campaigning for the past five years. He also carried out a yatra on foot in the entire Jwalamukhi constituency. |
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Cong seeks clarification from Modi
Shimla, November 1 Referring to Modi’s obnoxious comments about Minister of State for Human Resource Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar that she was a “Rs 50-crore girlfriend”, the Congress maintained that the statement betrayed the “misogynist mindset” of Modi and the BJP by keeping silent about it had only endorsed it. CLP leader Vidya Stokes said the BJP owed an explanation and apology to the women of the nation in general and the state in particular in reply to the undignified remarks made by Modi. Lashing out at the BJP for its self-pronounced claims about being the guardians of the Indian culture, the Congress asked BJP leaders if this was the culture they were trying to preach and propagate where price was put on a woman. The Congress said BJP leaders like Sushma Swaraj and Smriti Irani, who are currently campaigning in Himachal, remained silent on the matter. These leaders should at least have distanced themselves from Modi’s comment, which they did not. Stokes said adding insult to the injury, national spokesperson of the BJP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi defended Modi instead of apologising to the nation.
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Amarinder claims Cong wave
Nurpur, November 1 “The Dhumal government is misleading people of the state by launching incomplete schemes and development projects,” he claimed. He asserted that a strong wave was being witnessed in favour of the Congress in the hill state and the party would form the next government in the state after the Assembly elections.
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Rajnath slams Cong for corruption
Baldwara (Mandi), November 1 Addressing a public meeting in support of BJP candidate Inder Singh Thakur here, he claimed that there was no instance of corruption during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime, but the UPA government had
broken new records in corruption. — TNS |
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constituency watch
Keylong: A hotelier-turned-politician, Ravi Thakur, son of late Lata Thakur, the first woman legislator from the tribal belt of Lahaul-Spiti, is facing BJP candidate Ramlal Markanda.
Local residents have come up with their agenda, that includes a clear-cut policy on hydroelectricity power projects, improving the pea and potato productivity, improvement in condition of roads and speeding up of work on the 8.82-km Rohtang tunnel. Ravi’s campaign got a shot in the arm when Rahul Gandhi campaigned in Keylong last week. It will not be a cakewalk for Ravi, a political novice compared to Markanda. The latter fought three elections and won twice. No state-level or national BJP leader came here to boost Markanda’s campaign, whose posters also carry only his photograph. Markanda is banking on the strength of his individual ties and some ‘thekedars’. He could not win back estranged BJP leaders. They are sulking as he tried to sideline them. Ravi has invoked the legacy of his mother, who enjoyed close ties with Indira Gandhi, to woo voters. She visited the area in 1972, 1974 and 1975 and stayed at Lata Thakur’s house in Gemur village. According to insiders, Ravi had failed to get the ticket initially. He came out with his mother’s Gandhi link and had the last laugh. Ravi has come out with an agenda for development of adventure tourism and improvement of roads. Though there are four other candidates, they are struggling to find their feet and may only corner votes in their pockets of influence. This constituency has the largest number of female voters. The polling station of Linger in Udaipur has just 29 voters while Kaza has 620, the highest in this constituency. |
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BJP candidate, Cong rebel face off
Paonta Sahib: The multi-cornered contest in this Bahti community dominated segment in Sirmaur has virtually turned into a straight fight between Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sukh Ram and Congress rebel Kirnesh Jung, who has entered the fray as an Independent.
While Sukh Ram is a Bahti, Jung belongs to the Rajput community. With the rank and file of the Congress coming out openly in support of Jung, official party candidate Onkar Singh has slipped behind in the race. There are two more candidates in the field. Budh Ram (BSP) may corner some Bahti votes and Sarvar Ali (Independent) is not likely to cut much ice with the electorate. The Congress was toying with the idea of shifting Kush Parmar from Nahan to Paonta Sahib and give the ticket from Nahan to Ajay Bahadur, but the move did not materialise and it had to field a new candidate. Parmar won from Paonta Sahib in 1982 and 1985. The complexion of the constituency has changed significantly in delimitation with the inclusion of eight Rajput dominated panchayats of the Anj Bhoj area from Shilai and the shifting of a large area dominated by Muslim and Bahti communities to Nahan. Caste equations have changed significantly as the number of Rajput voters has gone up and the number of Bahti voters have come down marginally. The reduction of Muslim voters can hurt the Congress and that of Bahti voters can affect the BJP. The BJP got a substantial number of votes in the areas transferred here from Shilai in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Sukh Ram defeated Jung in the last two elections, as the Congress candidate in 2007 and as the LMHP nominee in 2003. Rattan Singh of the Congress won in 1998. Sukh Ram was second and Kirnesh Jung third. They will facing each other for the fourth time. The BJP won in 1990 and the Congress in 1982, 1985 and 1993. Sukh Ram is seeking votes in the name of development while Jung, who has been unsuccessfully contesting for two decades, is seeking a chance to serve the people. Jung has managed to secure the support the people of the backward trans-Giri area. The HLP has announced support for him. It will be a keen finish and much will depend on the Congress candidate’s performance. The more votes he secures, the more relief it will provide to Sukh Ram in a close contest. |
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Oldest BJP candidate vs youngest Cong nominee
Jaisinghpur: Having stepped into the shoes of his father Milkhi Ram Goma, 26-year-old Congress candidate Yadvinder Goma is taking on the oldest BJP candidate, Capt (retd) Atma Ram, who has represented Rajgir constituency, now renamed Jaisinghpur, four times.
It is a typical case of old versus new. While Goma is making his political debut as the youngest candidate fielded by the Congress, Atma Ram is the oldest BJP candidate at the age of 78. Jaisinghpur is reserved for the Scheduled Caste. Though Atma Ram enjoys a clean image, he will have to contend with anti-incumbency. Goma has the advantage of the political legacy of his father, who was elected MLA in 1982, 1985 and 1993. Goma is getting a good response from the youth. Delimitation has had a great impact on this constituency as 55 polling stations from Thural now form a part of Jaisinghpur. Ravinder Singh Ravi, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, who represents Thural, has sent a written appeal to support Atma Ram. The presence of BJP rebel Ravi Dhiman in the fray is causing considerable damage to the BJP. Dhiman had quit his job as a bank officer to join politics and was an aspirant for the ticket. His family has been associated with the BJP for a long time and has a hold in the Balh-Bhurian area. Dhiman may cause damage to the BJP nominee, which can prove to be the deciding factor. Another factor against Atma Ram is that large portions of the thickly populated Palam area, his stronghold, haVE now been included in Palampur constituency. This is a cause of concern for the BJPas a chunk of the areas of Rajpur, Tanda, Banuri, Singal, Patti, Badhar, Salyana and Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University have not been included in Palampur constituency. |
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Second encounter in 11 months
Renuka: Hriday Ram and Vinay Kumar made their debut in electoral politics only 11 months ago. In 2007, Prem Singh of the Congress defeated Balbir Singh of the BJP. The seat fell vacant with Prem Singh’s death. In the by-election on November 30 last year, BJP’s Hriday Ram, a former bureaucrat, defeated Prem Singh’s son Vinay Kumar by 3,526 votes. This was the first time the BJP won the seat.
Hriday Ram is facing Vinay Kumar again. The constituency has been affected by delimitation as a large part of it has been shifted to Shillai and some areas transferred to Nahan. Not much has changed except that the two candidates have been left to fend for themselves.
The constituency is witnessing low-key electioneering and emphasis is on door-to-door canvassing. With just 11 months as MLA, there is no anti-incumbency against Hriday Ram. He has alienated some party workers. He is not getting the kind of support from low-rung leaders that he got during the by-election. Vinay Kumar, who was suddenly thrown into the arena after his father’s death, is better organised this time. He faced a rough time during the by-election because of his image, but made amends in the last one year and tried to establish a rapport with the people. The constituency has been a traditional stronghold of the Congress. Prem Singh had won six times. The BJP has made inroads in recent years and the gap between the parties has narrowed down considerably. It became apparent in the by-election. It is a close fight now. |
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BJP rebel gives Cong the edge
Bhatiyyat: This constituency is predominantly rural. The rebel factor and rivalry between Bhupinder Singh Chauhan and Bikram Singh Jaryal has been marring the chances of the BJP. In the last Assembly elections, Shanta Kumar loyalist Chauhan was given the BJP ticket. Jaryal contested as Independent and secured 10,474 votes, leading to Chauhan’s defeat by a slender margin of about 300 votes.
This time, the BJP has opted for Jaryal. Chauhan has entered the fray as an Independent. The BJP is facing another problem as its former MLA Gandharv Singh has joined the Congress. He has influence in 23 polling stations that have been added from Banikhet to Bhattiyat in delimitation. The BJP candidate belongs to the Gaddi community. He has considerable influence in this section. He will have to work hard to secure the votes of other communities. Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Pathania is an old warhorse in the area. He is contesting elections from this constituency for the seventh time. He won as an Independent in 1994 and 2003 after being denied the ticket. In 2007, the Congress gave him the ticket and he won again. The divided BJP vote bank is likely to make the fight easy for Pathania. The BJP has won from here only in 1998. The construction of the Dharaman-Siunta road at a cost of about Rs 42 crore has shortened distance between Kangra and Dalhousie. It is the only major development work that has taken place in the area in the last five years. |
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Dharamsala, November 1
