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with general election 2014 only a few months away...
Battle of ballot in 5 states.
DELHI seats 70 Rajasthan 200 Madhya Pradesh 230 Chhattisgarh 90 Mizoram 40
Caste, tribe to decide
winner in Tonk, Bundi
Cong moves EC over Modi’s use of Red Fort replica
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All eyes on Sheila-Kejriwal contest for New Delhi seat
(1) Sheila Dikshit (2) Arvind Kejriwal and Vijender Gupta
Badal, Jaitley lend weight to SAD-BJP campaign
Going tough for BJP’s royal nominee in Sawai Madhopur
BJP’s royal candidate will find it tough
against Muslim, Meena adversaries
SC notice to CBI on Lalu’s bail plea
Ansari says media needs self-correction
Will not compromise on food security at WTO meet: Minister
Sugar production down to one-third till Nov: ISMA
SC notice to govt on TV channel regulator
Stern action in snooping cases: Govt
IB alert on Maoist activity after polls
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with general election 2014 only a few months away... Girja Shankar Kaura Tribune News Service
Jaipur, November 29 While the BJP is confident of a win, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is counting on his social welfare schemes to help him return to power for a third time. Gehlot knows that for over the past two decades, Rajasthan's electorate has developed a pattern to make power change hands each time, which is why in all his public meetings he is hard selling the social-welfare schemes that his government has launched. But his rival from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vasundhara Raje, dismisses Gehlot’s schemes as populist announcements made only for electoral gains. When Raje claimed that the medicines are nothing but poison, her reaction got a sharp reaction from Sonia Gandhi who slammed the BJP leader at a rally in Banswara. While some may welcome Gehlot's social schemes, some will question the opportunism and many may ask where is the infrastructure to deliver on these schemes. As the crescendo of the campaigning died down, it is now up to the candidates and their family members to carry out silent door-to-door meetings. As part of the efforts of the state administration, district electoral officers have directed all mobile service providers to stop political bulk SMS service at 5 pm -- when the campaigning came to an end. However, these issues aside, the facts of the elections in Rajasthan are no different from those across the country. Over 4.08 crore voters — 2.15 crore males and 1.93 crore females — would decide the fate of 2,087 candidates who are in the fray for the 199 of the 200 Assembly seats in Rajasthan. Over 15 per cent of the candidates in the fray in Rajasthan have declared criminal cases against them. As many as 8 per cent candidates are facing serious criminal cases. According to a detailed analysis done by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 111 candidates have declared criminal cases against them. 62 candidates are facing serious criminal cases. Among them, 20 candidates are from the main Opposition BJP, 14 are from the ruling Congress, seven are from the CPM and 15 are from the BSP. There are 346 crorepati candidates in the fray. Prem Singh, the BJP candidate from Neem Ka Thana, is the richest candidate with a declared income of over Rs 87 crore. In Churu Assembly constituency, the election has been countermanded following the death of a candidate. It will be held on December 13.
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Caste, tribe to decide
winner in Tonk, Bundi
Tonk/Bundi, November 29 So, whether it is the Assembly constituency of Bundi or the Malpura and Deoli-Uniara Assembly constituencies of Tonk, candidates are making all-out last-ditch efforts to woo the voters. Malpura, which has traditionally been a Congress stronghold, is seeing a three-cornered contest with the entry of Surendra Vyas as an Independent candidate. The Congress has put up Rambilas Chaudhary while the BJP has fielded Kanhaiya Lal. While both the Congress and the BJP have fielded new faces, Vyas is a veteran in the constituency and is looking to create an upset this time. But as has been the case in the past, it would be the caste and the community equations which would decide who emerges a winner here even though a common voter wants development of the region. The decision will be made on the night before the voting. Dominated by the Meena and the Gurjar communities, the Doeli-Uniara constituency is also seeing a three-cornered contest with the NPP fielding Congress rebel Harakchand Golecha. His entry will definitely make things difficult for Congress candidate Ramnarayan Meena who is looking to garner the Meena community’s votes. On the other hand, the BJP has fielded a Gurjar in Rajendra Gurjar, who is a fresh face and feels that he can emerge a winner at the back of the anti-incumbency wave against the Congress. But reports here suggest that former Congress leader Digvijay Singh has a major say in the region and his expression of support in favour of any of the three candidates could swing the pendulum to his side. Having being denied a ticket in the last Assembly elections by the Congress, Digvijay, while contesting as an Independent had garnered 25,000 votes, which now could make a big difference for any of the three candidates. Bundi, which has been a Congress stronghold will see the urban voters decide the fate of the candidates -- NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma, who is the Congress candidate, and BJP’s sitting MLA Ashok Dogra. While the two seem to be going strong in the rural areas of the constituency, it would be the Bundi town that would decide their fate.
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Cong moves EC over Modi’s use of Red Fort replica
New Delhi, November 29 The Gujarat CM had during a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur constituency recently used the replica of the Red Fort on the stage. For Modi, as BJP leaders admit, the use of national symbols is about the reiteration of national pride more than anything else. But the Congress Legal Cell secretary KC Mittal points out, “Red Fort is a national monument and government property that cannot be used by the BJP for election campaigns directly or indirectly.”
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All eyes on Sheila-Kejriwal contest for New Delhi seat
New Delhi, November 29 The two faces fighting for the crucial seat and holding the attention of entire National Capital are three-time Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit and the new mascot of honesty Arvind Kejriwal representing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Though the former president of Delhi BJP unit Vijender Gupta completes the third corner of the triangle, Delhi voters want to see the effect that Kejriwal can have on Sheila Dikshit fortunes. While Dikshit’s campaign is based on the development agenda and the infrastructural improvement that has taken place in the Capital in the past 15 years of her rule, India Against Corruption founder Kejriwal is claiming to bring ‘clean’ political governance. He is appealing to the people to “vote for honesty” as Dikshit’s name has appeared in scams of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In the first Assembly elections in Delhi in 1993 after getting full statehood, the BJP had won the seat by defeating the Congress by a respectable margin. However, after Dikshit won the seat in 1998 by beating the BJP by more than 5,000 votes, the gap has been increasing between the two rivals. In 2003, Dikshit won the seat by a margin of 12,000 votes. This went up to 13,000 in 2008 Assembly elections. With the Congress losing its sheen due to issues like corruption, nepotism, price rise, crime against women etc, the BJP failing to impress and the AAP being an untried, contestant, this three-cornered contest between the Congress, BJP and Keriwal’s AAP looks like a tough one to decide.
Sheila winning margins
*n 1998 5,000 * 2003 12,000 * 2008 13,000.
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Badal, Jaitley lend weight to SAD-BJP campaign
New Delhi, November 29 Mixing their speeches with references from the Emergency in the 1970s, pointing out comparisons between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, the security scenario and bemoaning the rising prices, the duo held the audience ‘captive’ in Rajouri Garden - a west Delhi locality where Manjinder Singh Sirsa of the Akali Dal is in the fray. This is the first political meeting that Badal and Jaitley have addressed together ahead of the December 4 poll in the National Capital. Speaking first, Jaitley cited international magazine ‘The Economist’ to describe Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and quoted it as having said about him: “A PM in office, but not in
power”. Badal, whose speeches are laced with anecdotes, was acerbic in his sarcasm when he compared the ‘lack of experience’ of Rahul Gandhi with that of a bus driver who attempts to drive a bus without having a licence to drive one.
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Going tough for BJP’s royal nominee in Sawai Madhopur
Sawai Madhopur, Nov 29 She has been doing a lot of catching up ever since she was announced the BJP candidate from the constituency named after her great grandfather Mahdeo Singh. There is a never-ending string of party workers visiting her whenever she is back at the Sawai Madhopur Lodge, which was built by her grandfather Sawai Man Singh. But all the hard work that Diya Kumari has been putting in is only for the fact that she faces a very strong three-cornered contest in Sawai
Madhopur. The Congress has fielded a Muslim in Danish Abrar and the National People's Party
(NPP) has put up president Kirori Lal Meena. Kumari (43), the step-granddaughter of the late Rajmata Gayatri Devi of
Jaipur, who formally joined the BJP during the recent rally of party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra
Modi, expressed confidence in wooing voters on the development agenda in the area dominated by Muslims and the Meena community besides people of the
Rajput, Brahmin and other castes. However, Congress candidate Danish
Abrar, son of former Union minister late Abrar Ahmed and ex-MLA Yasmeen
Abrar, dismisses any challenge from Kumari and is confident of a win riding on the strong Muslim community. Then, there is Kirori Lal
Meena. Seeking his pound of flesh from the BJP, the mercurial tribal leader is sure of a victory with a strong presence of the Meenas in the area.
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BJP’s royal candidate will find it tough
against Muslim, Meena adversaries
Sawai Madhopur, Nov 29 She has been doing a lot of catching up ever since she was announced the BJP candidate from the constituency named after her great grandfather Mahdeo Singh. There is a never-ending string of party workers visiting her whenever she is back at the Sawai Madhopur Lodge, which was built by her grandfather Sawai Man Singh. But all the hard work that Diya Kumari has been putting in is only for the fact that she faces a very strong three-cornered contest in Sawai Madhopur. The Congress has fielded a Muslim in Danish Abrar and the National People's Party (NPP) has put up president Kirori Lal Meena. Kumari (43), the step-granddaughter of the late Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, who formally joined the BJP during the recent rally of party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, expressed confidence in wooing voters on the development agenda in the area dominated by Muslims and the Meena community besides people of the Rajput, Brahmin and other castes. However, Congress candidate Danish Abrar, son of former Union minister late Abrar Ahmed and ex-MLA Yasmeen Abrar, dismisses any challenge from Kumari and is confident of a win riding on the strong Muslim community. Then, there is Kirori Lal Meena. Seeking his pound of flesh from the BJP, the mercurial tribal leader is sure of a victory with a strong presence of the Meenas in the area. However, the going is tough for all the three. Voters here feel ditched at the very mention of the word royalty. It brings them back the memories of 1993 when Rajmata Narendra Kanwar won the elections on a string of development promises, but failed to live up to them despite becoming the Tourism Minister in the late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s government. History is now repeating itself. Kirori Lal Meena is not new to the voters here, but they have again seen a major betrayal from him, making them believe that he only works for those who are close to him, giving the rest a cold shoulder. There is a lot of resentment against him as well. The pitch is also queered for the young Congress candidate Danish Abrar. The voters were expecting a new face from the Congress. But by foisting Abrar on the strong Muslim community, the party has forced the voters to think. They point out that whether it is Parliament or the Assembly elections, an Abrar has always been forced upon them who repeatedly have failed to deliver.
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SC notice to CBI on Lalu’s bail plea
New Delhi, November 29 A Bench comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi sought CBI’s response to the plea within two weeks after Lalu’s senior counsel Ram Jethmalani said 37 other convicts in the case had got bail. Jethmalani said the trial had gone on for 15 years, while his client had already spent one year in jail - 10 months during trial and two months after conviction. The Bench said it would consider asking the Jharkhand High Court to dispose of Lalu’s appeal against the conviction expeditiously. Prasad, who also lost his Lok Sabha membership, has come to the SC challenging the HC’s refusal to grant him bail.
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Ansari says media needs self-correction
New Delhi, November 29 Releasing a book: "Journalism: Ethics and Responsibilities," which is a compilation of articles brought out by the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust, Ansari said the first thing for those in the profession was to realise the need for correction and set up internal mechanism to embark on the course. "That corrective means self-corrective and if internal discipline is not maintained, external corrective may be considered," he said. Ansari's caution came amid growing concerns among intellectuals and others over the manner in which the media, especially the electronic media, is functioning. There have been intermittent voices for a regulator. Recalling an article on the subject, the Vice-President narrated a passage: "Journalism, a great profession, has fallen upon disrepute because media houses have moved away from the serious business of news gathering into the world of power, advertisement, glamour, mega festivals, as editors and anchors acquire celebrity status." In this context, he said, media in India could draw lessons from the Leveson Report and its recommendations published late last year in the United Kingdom. The Royal Commission was set up in the backdrop of furore over the method adopted by the now closed tabloid "News of the World". Trust chairman MK Rasgotra threw light on the altered landscape in the world of media from the days of late Prem Bhatia, especially a drop in ethical practices. Anand Bhatia, son of the legendary editor, recalled the professional relationship his late father maintained both within the profession and the outside world. In this book, senior journalists and eminent persons examine the multi-dimensional role of the media, the problems and challenges it is facing, and through this introspection suggest solutions that could help restore the credibility of the media. The essays point towards the challenges of increasing corporatisation that has turned journalism into a big industry with sensationalism and paid news emerging as major challenges.
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Will not compromise on food security at WTO meet: Minister
New Delhi, November 29 Sharma said India would work towards a permanent immunity from any kind of farm subsidy breach. "As far as what we give to our poor people, that is our right and that is insulated in entirety from any multilateral negotiations or WTO negotiations. That is the sovereign space and for India it is sacrosanct and non-negotiable. India has never agreed when it comes to this particular aspect to be made part of any multilateral,” he said. On concerns of the developed would that the stockpiling of grains for the food security law would distort global trade, Sharma said: “I have made it clear that public procurement cannot be released for global trade.” He said India would secure and protect the right to food security of poor people and right of farmers. He also said the Cabinet had decided to give duty free and quota free market access to 96.2 per cent of the India's tariff lines to least developed countries. Earlier, it was allowed on 85 per cent of Indian products. The Cabinet gave Sharma a mandate to negotiate India's stand at the Bali WTO ministerial meeting. He also said India would remain positively engaged with the other WTO members on farm subsidy and other issues, including Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The TFA is aimed at making international trade much easier by simplifying and streamlining custom procedures across the globe. There are fears that India's food security programme would breach the subsidy cap of 10 per cent under the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture.
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Sugar production down to one-third till Nov: ISMA
New Delhi, November 29 A statement issued by the Bharatiya Kisan Union threatened to lift sugar if farmers' payments were not made. "If private owners do not want to run mills, the state governments should take these over," farmers said. The ISMA said most of the sugar mills across the country had been facing problems due to high sugarcane prices fixed by respective states. Sugar production up to November-end this year has been 8 lakh tonne, which is substantially lower than 24.4 lakh tonne produced during the last season up to same time. The Sharad Pawar-led informal group of ministers is expected to take a call on the demands of the sugar industry early next week upon the minister's return to the Capital on December 1. It may offer interest-free loans, higher duty on imports, incentives for exporters and buffer stock. Though the UP government has given millers a deadline of December 4, ISMA managing director Abhinash Varma said most of the mills, including those in relatively lesser known cane-growing regions of Punjab and Haryana, were facing problems due to higher sugarcane rates fixed by respective states. Crushing had not begun in Uttarakhand and the situation was not good in Punjab and Haryana, he added. None of the seven private mills in Punjab had started crushing till now and the situation was similar in the three private mills in the neighbouring Haryana. In 2012-13, all 10 private mills in Haryana and Punjab had started functioning by this date and the ISMA says this reflects the fact that private mills were finding it difficult to pay the SAP-Rs 275/280/290 per quintal and Rs 290/296/301 per quintal fixed by Punjab and Haryana, respectively, depending upon the quality. As on date, one of the nine cooperative mills of Punjab and six of the 11 in Haryana had started crushing. "The cooperative mills get help from the state, so they can afford to pay higher prices," says Varma. The delay in crushing is affecting production, he says. As compared to 400 sugar mills which were crushing sugarcane at the end of November 2012, only 208 sugar mills have started crushing operations till now in this season.
Cane growers' protest hits Mumbai supplies
* Cane growers did not allow plying of trucks carrying agricultural produce from western Maharashtra to Mumbai *n They want the minimum support price of cane to be raised from Rs 2,400 per tonne to Rs 3,000 per tonne *n Protesters have burnt more than 50 state transport buses over the past three days.
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SC notice to govt on TV channel regulator
New Delhi, November 29 A Bench comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi sought the response of the ministries of information and broadcasting, law and justice and communications and information technology, Press Council, Election Commission, News Broadcasters Association, Indian Broadcasting Foundation and the Advertising Standards Council of India. The PIL, filed by the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, a charitable trust, contended that there was no regulatory body for TV channels on the lines of the Press Council for the print media. Among the reckless reporting cited by the PIL relate to the terrorist attack on Mumbai in 2008, the murder charge against Kanchi Shankaracharya and allegations of sexual misconduct against Swami Nityanandha and self-styled godman Asaram Bapu. The petition also took exception to airing of advertisements which showed women in poor light such as those relating to deodorants and telecast of movies with adult content. Allegations of paid news, extortion, blackmail and settling personal scores had also been levelled against some of the channels, it contended.
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Stern action in snooping cases: Govt
New Delhi, November 29 “Any person who indulges in indecency with any women...or snooping, stalking or outraging the modesty will get punishment under the strong law that the government has made. There should be no politics on these issues.... Action should be taken against the person by rising above politics,” the Minister of State for Home said on the sidelines of an event of paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) here. His remarks come amid furore over allegations that Gujarat police had done illegal surveillance on a woman architect and the raging controversy over accusation against Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal of sexually assaulting a woman colleague. The Home Ministry would seek a report from the Assam government about a recent incident of rape.
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IB alert on Maoist activity after polls
Raipur, November 29 Earlier this week, the state IB had informed District Superintendents of Police and commandants of armed forces that Maoists were observing “martyrdom week” from November 24-30 in the memory of their slain leader Kishenji during which they may step up their operations. Kishenji was killed on November 24, 2011 in West Bengal in a special operation conducted by a joint squad of the state police and CRPF. An advisory by the IB also said ultras would observe the Peoples' Liberation Guerrilla Army week from December 2-8 in honour of slain leaders of the CPI (Maoist), during which again they were likely to intensify and execute attacks on security forces, police stations, camps and also disrupt vehicular movement. "Even when elaborate inputs were conveyed apprehending that Naxals may trigger some strikes during this week, such an incident (killing of four CRPF jawans) happened," a senior IB official told PTI requesting anonymity. The jawans were killed when Naxals ambushed a road opening party of the security forces in Maoist-infested Bijapur district on Wednesday. "Now security forces have been told to be more cautious anticipating more such attacks and not to take the situation lightly because of a successful election," he said, adding they were told to stay prepared and strictly follow standard operating procedures (SOPs). The advisory said the IB had called for heightening security around police stations, check posts and camps and conducting area domination within 5 km radius of these places. It also asked police jawans and officials to refrain from roaming alone in the region. — PTI
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PM’s Delhi rally cancelled Cong sacks 4 rebel leaders EVM rigging complaints
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As campaigning came to an end in the desert state of Rajasthan at 5 pm today, both the ruling Congress, led by veteran Ashok Gehlot, and the main Opposition BJP being steered by suave royalty Vasundhara Raje, had their fingers crossed hoping to emerge a clear winner.
New Delhi, November 29
New Delhi, November 29
This has become all the more important for the Congress candidates as in all three constituencies, which once were the bastion of the ruling party, there is a strong challenge from the Independents or the candidates of the Kirori Lal Meena’s National People’s Party (NPP).
