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Cong challenge: Serious crisis of credibility, anti-incumbency
Amarinder, Bhattal, Selja in Congress list of star campaigners
SAD holds cards close to its chest in Patiala
Expect the unexpected in Haryana
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As bigwigs opt out, Hisar seat puts Cong in dilemma
Modi mocks Third Front,
says it's trying to save Cong
‘Virtual’ attack on woman in Rahul ad ticks off Congress
STOCK-TAKING: Navjot Singh Sidhu Amritsar
STOCK-TAKING: anurag thakur hamirpur
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Cong challenge: Serious crisis of credibility, anti-incumbency
For a party that reversed its 1998 resolution in Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh), making a political forecast that coalition is a transient phase and seeking to re-establish the primacy of the party in the country, the Grand Old Party revisited the issue during the 2003 conclave committing itself to hunt for allies. After spending six years in the Opposition, the Congress realised the nature of the altering landscape. The Congress under Sonia Gandhi wove with dexterity a grand alliance that knocked the wind out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that was sailing on its now infamous `India Shining'' campaign. The rest as they say is history. Changing times Between 1999 and 2009, the Congress vote share of the percentage points of votes polled remained between 26 percentage points and 28 percentage points. In 1999, the party contested 453 seats winning 114 with a vote share of 28.30 per cent. In 2004, the Congress won 145 of the 417 seats it contested, but its vote share dipped to 26.53 per cent. However, it improved both its tally and vote share in 2009 when it contested 440 seats and won 206 with a vote share of 28.55 per cent.
The Congress party under Sonia Gandhi and the government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh scripted a unique arrangement: a clear division of labour and work, with the former taking care of the politics in governance and the latter complementing the task like an ideal foil. The UPA-I of 2004-2009 under Manmohan Singh is seen as a shining example of what understanding can achieve and teamwork can deliver. Backed by consistently high growth rates and through social welfare schemes such as MNREGA, the Congress returned to power with greater presence in the Lok Sabha. The UPA-II was seen as a reward of voters both across rural and urban India, with those residing in the hinterlands reaping better fruits of labour while the middle-classes supported the government under a leader with a clean image. Uphill task in 2014 This time around, the Congress is seen grappling with a serious crisis of credibility. Pockmarked by a series of scandals and scams since 2009 starting with the 2G Spectrum allocation, Commonwealth Games and coal block allocation, the party faces an uphill task. Senior leaders do acknowledge that after a decade in power at the Centre, anti-incumbency is a factor it has to deal with while challenging the notion that the government did little. Adding to the woes is the dismal state of the economy that registered lower growth rates and high prices of essential commodities. The brunt of the burden has undoubtedly broken the back of the common man. Strongholds at stake The Congress is staring at a scenario where it is being squeezed out of political space in states where it was once strong. Through alliance and on its own steam, the Congress got a majority of seats from the South. Now the party finds itself in trouble both in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu which gains in states such as Kerala and Karnataka may not be able to compensate. In the North, the party which at one stage had a government in Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir, now has only two in Haryana and HP under its banner, while it is in a coalition in J&K. Among Hindi-speaking areas in UP, the Congress will need a strong wave to repeat its 21-seat harvest of 2009. In Bihar, success could depend on the proposed coalition with RJD while in Jharkhand, it could depend on the ability of its partner, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. In the West, Gujarat remains a challenge with BJP's Narendra Modi making it a prestige point while in Maharashtra, now with the Congress-NCP have sorted out its seat sharing woes, the partners claim to be battle ready. Away in the East, in the absence of a tie-up with the Trinamool in West Bengal, the Congress may have to gear up for a triangular contest with the Left parties while in Odisha, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) backing the idea of a 'third alternative' shrinks the space for the Congress. The party is in better shape in the North-East but it has to sort out problems within the party in Assam and counter the Naga People's Front in Nagaland.
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Amarinder, Bhattal, Selja in Congress list of star campaigners
New Delhi, February 11
"His inclusion in the critical 2014 Lok Sabha Election Campaign Committee is the Congress High Command's way of saying you matter," a top AICC office-bearer said. Also on the panel is former Punjab Congress chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal at no. 42 as against Amarinder who is 29th on the list, that includes Sonia, Rahul, PM Manmohan Singh, ministers P Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kamal Nath, Salman Khurshid, Jairam Ramesh and V Narayanasamy among others. Another representative on the list from Punjab is Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, the Lok Sabha MP from Ludhiana. From Haryana, former minister Selja has pulled off yet another surprise by landing herself the job of star campaigner. She was just nominated to the Rajya Sabha from the state. Giving her company is Haryana Industries Minister Randeep Surjewala, whose upward swing in the Congress has been rather fast — he was appointed national spokesperson about 20 days ago. All Congress general secretaries are part of the panel, including Ambika Soni, Digvijay Singh, Shakeel Ahmed and Ajay Maken. Interestingly, Sonia has also taken this opportunity to placate fallen heroes such as former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit and former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot by including them in the list. Noteworthy is the point that tall leaders of all four states where the Congress recently lost have got pride of place: Ajit Jogi in Chhattisgarh, Jyotoraditya Scindia and Digvijay in Madhya Pradesh and Dikshit and Gehlot in Delhi and Rajasthan, respectively. The top 10 slots in the panel have been retained by Sonia's top aides: PM, AICC treasurer Motilal Vora, Sonia's political secretary Ahmed Patel, ministers AK Antony, Sushil Kumar Shinde, P Chidambaram, Azad and Congress general secretary in charge of organisation Janardan Dwivedi. Among the young leaders on the list are Rahul aide and MoS Defence Jitender Kumar, Rajeev Shukla, JD Seelam, Vincent Pala and Manas Bhunia.
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SAD holds cards close to its chest in Patiala
Patiala, February 11
Prem Singh Chandumajra, who unsuccessfully contested from the Patiala seat in the last run, is expected to shift base to Anandpur Sahib, thus paving way for Rakhras to stake claim to the SAD Patiala ticket. However, it would not be a cake walk for any SAD leader to match up to the strong Patiala MP Preneet Kaur. Top brass SAD leaders have confirmed that the faction led by Rakhra is the top contender for the Patiala seat, with either him or his brother Charanjit Singh contesting. However, with Rakhra personally not keen on contesting by giving up his Cabinet berth could make things interesting as his younger brother Charanjit Dhaliwal has shown interest on contesting against Congress's expected candidate three-time MP Preneet Kaur. Sources said during a recent closed-door meeting between Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Rakhra and his brothers NRI Darshan Singh Dhaliwal and Charanjit Singh, the CM is said to have given his nod to the faction to prepare for the Patiala seat. "However, the CM has not made it clear as to who would finally get the ticket," said a senior leader. Darshan's friendship with the CM is no secret and he controls the oil business of the family in the US. However, both the CM and his deputy CM son Sukhbir Singh Badal have time and again maintained that "no candidate has been finalised". This despite the fact that Rakhra and his brother are taking keen interest in the entire district and ensuring that grants to villages from his rural development and panchayat department flow smoothly. While Rakhra has been contesting from Samana Vidhan Sabha seat for the past three terms, of which he was successful twice, he is not too keen on showing his stake for the party ticket. "I will abide by the party decision," Rakhra told The Tribune. When questioned about his brother Charanjit, he said: "Anyone who can win the ticket for the party should be ideal choice and all leaders in Patiala would back him." However, Rakhra's say in Rajpura and Derabassi area is under the scanner with fissures within the local SAD leaders eminent. However, for the past over an year, his stature in Patiala politics and as a politician has grown. Sources said the Rakhra faction was also keen that the parliamentary ticket was given to Charanjit Singh instead of Rakhra who would have to give up his Cabinet rank to contest again. Rakhra brothers frontrunner?
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Expect the unexpected in Haryana
The Parliamentary election in Haryana will be followed by the Assembly election. In the past, the state election has always seen a direct contest between the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). It was only once in 1996 that the late Bansi Lal's Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) and the BJP forged a pre-poll alliance that later went on to form the government. The state is set to see polarisation in four camps in the Parliamentary elections that will further consolidate by September-October when the state Assembly elections are due. The BJP has a pre-poll alliance with Kuldeep Bishnoi's Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), while the Aam Admi Party (AAP) has announced its decision to enter Haryana's political arena after tasting success in the Delhi Assembly election. With the INLD and the ruling Congress flexing muscle to capture or regain power, the state will see a four-corner contest that could throw up many unexpected results. Haryana sends 10 representatives to the Lok Sabha. In the current lower house of Parliament, nine of these seats are held by the Congress and the tenth -- Hisar -- is with Bishnoi, the son of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal. The Sirsa and Ambala seats are reserved while the remaining Kurukshetra, Karnal, Sonepat, Rohtak, Bhiwani - Mahendergarh, Gurgaon, and Faridabad are open seats. With Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar being elevated as state Congress president and Ambala MP Kumari Selja chosen for the Rajya Sabha, the party is looking for two new Dalit faces to represent these seats. Congress Sonepat MP Jatinder Malik has already announced that he would not be contesting the forthcoming poll, while Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit is all set to join the BJP. At least one or two sitting MPs are expected to be replaced. This would mean the Congress would have new faces on at least half the seats, minimising the anti-incumbency factor. The BJP and the HJC have an 8-2 seat-sharing agreement. The HJC is expected to retain Hisar and may seek Karnal, which has a strong non-Jat base. Corruption is expected to dominate the forthcoming election as both ruling Congress and main Opposition INLD leaders having been named in scams. INLD supremo Om Parkash Chautala and his MLA-son Ajay have already been convicted in the teacher recruitment scam and the Congress is cashing in on this. The INLD, on the other hand, launched a counter- offensive by releasing CDs of sting operations wherein six prominent Congress leader or their relatives were reportedly demanding money for change in land use (CLU). AAP, which riding high on its eradicate-corruption plank, is likely to make a dent in Haryana politics. The National Capital Region (NCR) in Haryana has around 14 Assembly seats that will be impacted by the political winds from Delhi. Even the two Parliamentary seats of Gurgaon and Faridabad in the vicinity of Delhi will have a serious impact of AAP. The Congress will have to bring in a new face to replace Rao Inderjit in Gurgaon, who will fight the Congress from the BJP side. There are indications that AAP may field its National Executive member Yoginder Yadav from this seat, as it has a considerable influence of Ahirs and Yadavs. AAP has received 441 names for 10 seats with a large number of aspirants being former bureaucrats. Caste plays a dominant role in Haryana elections where the major divide is between Jats and non-Jats. The INLD banks mainly on the Jat vote, while the Congress vote bank includes Jats, non-Jats, Dalits, Brahmins and Punjabis among others. The BJP and its alliance partner, the HJC, are banking on traders and urban voters, sharing a large chunk of voters with AAP. Besides caste and corruption, other issues expected to dominate the poll include criminalisation of politics, with at least six MLAs facing criminal cases ranging from rape to murder. With serious differences within the Congress, the issue of preferential treatment for development would also be raised.
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As bigwigs opt out, Hisar seat puts Cong in dilemma
Hisar, February 11
"I had conveyed to the party that Birender Singh had worked against me during the previous elections and demanded that disciplinary action be taken against him. I am ready to contest the elections if the party takes action against him," he said. When asked to react to Kuldeep Bishnoi's claim that he faced no challenge from the Congress in Hisar, the Congress leader said: "He seems to be right. I believe that Birender Singh should be fielded from Hisar, which will put his political might to test." However, Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh, who is a known detractor of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had gone on record stating that it was Jai Prakash who played a negative role in his fight against Indian National Lok Dal chief Om Prakash Chautala in Uchana Kalan assembly segment in Jind in 2009. Singh had lost the elections to Chautala with a narrow margin. Singh claimed that though he canvassed in support of the Congress nominee in Hisar Lok Sabha byelections, a section of his supporters found it difficult to support Jai Prakash due to his negative role in Assembly elections. "He has suggested that Jai Prakash should be fielded from Hisar," Singh's aid Amit Kajal told The Tribune. Though the two leaders had opted themselves out of the contest, there are 18 claimants for the party ticket from Hisar, including Nalwa MLA Sampat Singh, zila parisad chairperson Rajender Sura, former minister Chhatarpal Singh, district Congress spokesperson Dharambir Goyat, but the Congress has an obvious dilemma over fielding the candidate, who is likely to be a new face. Goyat, however, claimed that the party would field a strong candidate and party workers would work in unison to ensure win from Hisar Lok Sabha seat this time. He claimed that Jai Prakash had left out of the race for party nomination as per Rahul Gandhi formula, which stated that the district committee presidents would not contest the polls, while Birender Singh was a sitting Rajya Sabha MP who still had three-year tenure left in Parliament.
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Modi mocks Third Front,
says it's trying to save Cong
Bhubaneswar, February 11 Making his maiden appearance in the state capital in the 2014 poll campaign, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate said members of Third Front had "destroyed" every state they have ruled, whether it was the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Left parties in West Bengal or the BJD in Odisha. Terming the efforts for cobbling the Third Front an attempt to help the Congress, he said nine of the 11 parties of the Front have been supporting the Congress and have put on the "mask" of Third Front on election eve. "Third Front has only one work -- save the Congress. The time has come to teach them a lesson," he said. In a no-holds-barred attack on his party's former ally, the BJD, Modi invoked former state CM and Patnaik's father Biju Patnaik and said he would have been sad to see what had happened to his state. Taunting the CM, Modi said most Odiya migrants working in Gujarat were from his home district Ganjam. "The most appropriate tribute to Biju babu would be to make Odisha a developed state... I have not come here with promises but intentions," he told a large gathering, urging them to vote for the BJP to help him develop the state once he comes to power at the Centre.— PTI
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‘Virtual’ attack on woman in Rahul ad ticks off Congress
New Delhi, February 11 On a day when the US announced its decision to end diplomatic isolation of BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi, the Congress top brass decided to write to the government for action against Modi’s followers. Reason: the ruling party believes right wingers wedded to a “particular personality and political party (read Modi and the BJP)” are behind the recent Twitter and Facebook attacks on its Goa National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) president Hasiba Amin and some commentators who have made anti-RSS remarks. Amin is even said to have complained to the Goa Police authorities about the bulk hate mail she received on her social media networks since she featured in the print and TV ad showing Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the future. “Kattar soch nahi…yuva josh..” goes the tag line of the advertisement that has had Amin facing flak all over the virtual world. But the Congress today came to her rescue with none other than party’s general secretary in charge of communications Ajay Maken writing to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde for action against “right wing elements who have been behind the rising incidents of intolerance and more often than not violent reactions against intellectuals and journalists…”.
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STOCK-TAKING: Navjot Singh Sidhu Amritsar Though his recent tussle with the Punjab Government has reduced his chances of getting the BJP ticket, the three-time Member of Parliament has made it clear that he will only contest from Amritsar and nowhere else Perneet Singh Tribune News Service
Amritsar, february 11
Though uncertainty looms large over his getting the BJP ticket in view of his deteriorating ties with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders after his recent tussle with the Punjab Government, he has made it clear that he will only contest from Amritsar and nowhere else. The projects Sidhu worked on revival of Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport, Amritsar, for which Rs 145 crore were spent, while more funds to boost infrastructure are in the pipeline. He contributed Rs 1.25 crore to the green drive for Amritsar, though it could not deliver desired results. In Parliament, he raised the issue of four-laning of the Amritsar-Jalandhar road, which was stuck in a legal tangle and managed to ensure that it saw the light of day. He was also instrumental in the launch of Amritsar-Haridwar train. Besides, he brought in Rs 160 crore from the state government for the construction of roads in Amritsar. He also introduced the idea of the solid waste management project in Amritsar, though it could not materialise till date. The MP also claims to have played a key role in getting bottlenecks cleared for Rs 500-crore Japan-funded sewerage project in the city. One of his pet projects, the City Bus Service, was recently inaugurated, while others such as sports academy, CCTV cameras and expansion of Bhandari Bridge are still hanging fire. Performance in Parliament In the Lok Sabha, Sidhu raised issues such as special status for Amritsar, discontinuation of flights from Amritsar airport and indifferent treatment meted out to it, SEZs and Amritsar-Jalandhar road four-laning. Among state specific issues, he raised his voice over increasing MSP for the agricultural produce and issue of Punjab being dubbed “disturbed area”. He claims to be the first MP to raise the voice of Amritsar in Parliament by moving a record number of call attention motions (six) and putting up record number of questions (231). MPLADS funds Though the records show that Sidhu has been quick in utilising Rs 19 crore given to him under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), he has allocated over Rs 6 crore to carry out development works in Amritsar East Assembly constituency represented by his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu in the past three years. In the Amritsar East constituency, Rs 4.78 crore were used to construct roads and streets, Rs 40 lakh to develop a park near Taranwala Pul and Rs 90 lakh in other development works in Verka area of the constituency. The MP has allocated a major chunk of his funds to creat infrastructure such as roads, streets, drains, dharamshalas, community halls, panchyat ghars, cremation grounds, installation of streetlights, construction of boundary wall in schools etc. In rural areas, most of his MPLAD funds have gone into creating facilities such as community halls and cremation grounds, while in urban areas his focus has been on roads, streets and drains. He has also allocated money for social cause such as distribution of tri-cycle and artificial limbs to differently abled people. Besides, he has also allotted funds to a few sports clubs and schools to create infrastructure and facilities. Talking to The Tribune, Sidhu said he had been utilising his MPLAD funds on development works in his constituency and while disbursing grants he has ensured a balance in the urban and the rural areas of the constituency. He, however, said he was not satisfied the way an MP was not given a free hand to utilise funds the way he wanted, as they had to pass through three to four agencies before their benefit could reach people. On spending more money in his wife’s Amritsar East constituency, he said no area was being given preferential treatment. “When I got elected in 2009, I allocated MPLADS funds to rural areas only for the first couple of years. I allotted Rs 2.5 crore each to Majitha, Rajasansi and Attari constituencies, which have rural backdrop. Later, I shifted focus to the urban Assembly constituencies which, too, needed funds badly.” He said there were a number of localities in Amritsar city where a lot needed to be developed and even Rs 20 crore for each ward might be inadequate. When The Tribune team visited a few projects in Amritsar East constituency, people said though they were happy that their streets were cemented, they didn't seem satisfied with the work. “You can yourself see the quality of work. This street was cemented only a couple of months ago and the cracks have already surfaced,” said Gurbaksh Singh at Dashmesh Nagar. Ashok Kumar from New Pawan Nagar lamented that their street was laid in 2009, but it could not even last four years. OFFICIAL WORD Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat said the MP had been quick in allocating funds. “He has also been utilising the funds regularly and now he is to receive the last installment of Rs 2.5 crore in his tenure,” Bhagat said. The DC said there was a monitoring committee in place that kept an eye on the utilisation of funds and it was also not difficult since the amount was not too big.
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STOCK-TAKING: anurag thakur hamirpur Credited with creating world-class cricket stadium in HP, Dhumal Jr takes his responsibility seriously Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service
Hamirpur, February 11 The 39-year-old MP from Hamirpur wears many hats, including national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), joint secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) to name only a few.
He has carved a niche in the national politics too. However, on the flip side, it also leaves him with less time to devote to his constituency, a major criticism he faces back home in Hamirpur. Cricket, which helped him hog the limelight, has also become the biggest cause for his criticism. "As national head of the BJP's youth wing, I have a responsibility to lead the country's youth by voicing their issues and strengthening Narendra Modi's PM campaign. But the fact is that Hamirpur is my home and it will always remain my priority," Thakur said. He said his constituents, who wished to spend more time with him, realised that he had other responsibilities too. The confidence in his voters stems from the fact that his father and former BJP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal provides his son the political strength he requires to win the election. MPLADS funds Thakur had utilised the entire amount of Rs 19 crore he had received under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD) funds from 2009-2014. He funded several small projects to fulfill local community needs such as Mahila and Yuvak Bhawans, sarais, roads, solar lighting and playgrounds. Funds have been utilised uniformly in his entire constituency - Rs 5.50 crore in Hamirpur, Rs 5.37 crore in Una, Rs 4.43 crore in Bilaspur, Rs 2.40 crore in Kangra and Rs 1.30 crore in Mandi district. Performance in Parliament Being the All-India BJYM president, Thakur had the opportunity to participate in important debates on issues such as corruption, national security, finance, various scams and black money. "I take my responsibility as a parliamentarian very seriously and my attendance was 87 per cent. I participated in 67 debates and raised 570 questions," he said. He said the important issues of extension of rail links to Himachal, one rank-one pension for ex-servicemen, maintenance of national highways and setting up of a National Board for Development of Himalayan States has been raised by him in Parliament. Brush with controversy Two vigilance cases have been registered against him in connection with change of the HPCA from society to a company and purchase of land in Dharamsala. He terms the cases as politically motivated which he says will prove counter-productive for the Congress.
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New Delhi, February 11
The list approved by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi comes as a booster for former Punjab Chief Minister and senior Punjab Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh, who has of late been on the fringes so far as active leadership in the state goes. 
Chandigarh, February 11
The three-time MP from Hisar and district Congress chief Jai Prakash has ruled himself out of the contest, alleging that a senior party leader had worked against him during the 2011 byelections that resulted in his defeat against the Haryana Janhit Congress' Kuldeep Bishnoi.
