Jammu, March 25
In the wake of serious challenges posed by political opponents and squabbling over selection of candidates, it may not be a smooth sailing for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The party has, however, improved its acceptance in the Kashmir Valley where it has little stake, with the principal Opposition, People's Democratic Party (PDP), and separatists believing that BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi could address the region's problems.

The BJP has fielded its state president and two-time MLA from Nagrota Assembly segment in Jammu district Jugal Kishore Sharma from Jammu-Poonch parliamentary seat while Jatindra Singh, BJP state chief spokesperson, will be contesting his first election from Kathua-Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha segment.

Patna, March 25
RJD president Lalu Prasad's brother-in-law Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav today announced he would contest the Lok Sabha election from Saran as an Independent against his sister Rabri Devi.

"I will fight the Saran Lok Sabha election as an Independent," Yadav told PTI. Asked the reason behind the decision to fight the poll against his sister, Yadav -- who yielded considerable influence during the previous RJD regime - said, "Chunav ke samay janata me khulasa karenge (I will give my reasons in front of the public during campaigning)."

When asked if it was not a surprising decision to have a political battle within the family, Yadav said, "Siyasat me sab chalta hai (all's fair in politics)."

Yadav's announcement could spell trouble for Rabri Devi, who is in the fray to hold the seat from where her husband Lalu Prasad entered politics by winning the election for the first time in 1977. He was disqualified recently after conviction in a fodder scam case.

Rabri Devi is facing a stiff challenge from senior BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy on the seat that would go to poll on May 7.

Sadhu Yadav, the controversial brother-in-law of Lalu Prasad, called the shots during the RJD rule in Bihar for 15 years from 1990 to 2005. He was considered Lalu's strength during the period. He, however, fell out with Lalu later and was removed from the party in 2009. Yadav unsuccessfully fought that election as a Congress candidate from Bettiah.

The Congress also removed him recently after he met Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. — PTI

New Delhi, March 25
The decision of Jaswant Singh to contest as an Independent from Barmer is unfortunate, senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said today while appealing his colleague to reconsider it.

Naidu, former BJP president, said, "I have sympathy for Jaswant Singh but since the party has taken a decision, he should "follow the directive" of the party."

"It is unfortunate that he has chosen to contest as an Independent. It is not too late even now to realise and then support the party," he said.

He was responding when asked about the sulking Jaswant Singh filing his nomination papers as an Independent from Barmer Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan after being denied the party ticket.

Giving a sense of developments, Naidu said he had personally taken up Jaswant Singh's case with the party's Central Election Committee.

"But, as the state party had not come prepared to discuss the seat on the particular day, the election committee had authorised the national president to hold discussions with the state unit and finally take a view," he said. — PTI

New Delhi, March 25
The BJP on Tuesday released its campaign anthem 'Saugandh' for the Lok Sabha elections that revolves around the promises of its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

It begins on the premise that the country's entity is being erased and has Modi taking a pledge: "Saugandh mujhe is mitti ki, main desh nahin mitne dunga..." which then is sung by Bollywood singer Sukhwinder Singh.

However, BJP leader Arun Jaitley was dumbfounded when a reporter asked who was erasing the country. Subsequently, he sought to explain away the pregnant pause, stating there was some humour left in the political arena.

The concept lyrics and creation of the song have been done by Prasoon Joshi and Team Tag while music has been composed by Aadesh Shrivastava. It will be used by the party for its campaign across various platforms and would be played at public rallies starting with tomorrow’s Bharat Vijay rally.

Releasing the CD, the BJP said it was a pledge to the nation as it talks of the mood of despondency in the country and the collective pledge to ensure the country is set firmly on the path of progress. BJP leaders said Modi expresses a resolve to ensure India will stand tall and proud and recent setbacks will not be allowed to come in the way of the country's glorious future.

Mumbai, March 25
The Election Commission may probe senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde following allegations that he benefited from bogus voting in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

The Aam Aadmi Party has filed a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer after Munde's estranged nephew Dhananjay told reporters over the weekend that he had arranged more than one lakh bogus votes for the BJP leader in the last elections. Dhananjay, who is now with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), said he would ensure his uncle did not benefit from bogus voting in this election.

Gopinath Munde, who had won the last elections with a margin of more than two lakh votes, denied his nephew's charges. "My winning margin was more than two lakh votes, so how can anyone say I won because of bogus voting?" Munde said.

In its complaint, the Aam Aadmi Party said a FIR should be filed against both Munde and his nephew under laws that seek to prevent corrupt electoral practices. The AAP also said NCP leader Sharad Pawar should be punished for asking mathadi (head loaders) workers to vote twice in the forthcoming elections.

This is not the first time Munde has come under the scanner over his 2009 win. Last year, at a function, the BJP leader lamented contesting elections was an expensive affair. He went on to say he had spent Rs 8 crore on his 2009 campaign.

The Election Commission immediately sought an explanation from Munde, who insisted he had only made a rhetorical statement to illustrate how expensive electioneering has become.

Mumbai, March 25
Amita Chavan, wife of former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, today filed her nomination from Nanded.

Though the Congress is yet to declare Amita as its candidate, the announcement is learnt to be a mere formality. Once she is officially declared the Congress candidate, she will have to file the 'B' form that will name her as the party's Nanded nominee.

While the Maratha lobby in the Congress had wanted Chavan to be fielded from Nanded, senior leaders cautioned against it since he has not been given a clean chit in the Adarsh Housing Society scam case. —TNS

New Delhi, March 25
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today released its 11th list of 11 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. The total number of candidates declared by the AAP is 350. Today's list covered four states, including six candidates from Rajasthan, two each from Punjab and Maharashtra and one from Bihar.

In Punjab, Dr Daljeet Singh to contest from Amritsar against Congress' Amarinder Singh and BJP's Arun Jaitley. Bhai Baldev Singh to contest from Khadoor Sahib.

Dr Surendra Kumar to contest from Arrah in Bihar. Dindori Dnyaneshwar Damu from Mali and Valvi Virendra from Nandurbar in Maharashtra. Vigyan Modi from Jodhpur, Ajay Somani from Ajmer, Rajesh Arora from Jalore, Harish Rawat from Banswara, Mahesh Bhandari from Pali and Baran NS Dangawas from Jhalawar in Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, a day after the Election Commission's direction to the Centre to defer the rise in gas prices, the party once again questioned the "mysterious silence" of the Congress and the BJP on the issue of pricing of the natural gas. AAP leaders said they would continue to oppose hike in gas prices.

Lucknow, March 25
The main poll promise of the Samajwadi Party (SP) during campaigns for the 2012 Assembly elections was better law and order for a state weighed down with crime and corruption.

Covering large tracts of the 75-distrct state on the party symbol 'bicycle', SP leader Akhilesh Yadav connected with the people, mostly the youth, promising them an environment free of crime so that they could seek a better life with assured unemployment allowance, free laptops and better and free education facilities.

After two years, the worsening law and order situation remains the main poll issue for Uttar Pradesh facing elections for the 16th Lok Sabha.

Lawlessness and goonda-gardi (hooliganism) is in the DNA of the Samajwadi Party.— 

Akhilesh Pratap Singh, Congress MLA

Guwahati, March 25
Some former comrades-in-arms of the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) are contesting the Lok Sabha elections against each other.

In the Guwahati and Barpeta Lok Sahba constituencies, four AGP veterans are in the fray as opponents.

In Guwahati, the BJP has fielded former Union minister and sitting MP Bijoya Chakraborty against Birendra Prasad Baishya of the AGP and Manas Bora of the Congress.

Chakraborty and Baishya were colleagues in the AGP as well as comrades during the six-year-long (1979-1985) Assam agitation against illegal Bangladeshi migrants. Chakraborty was a Rajya Sabha MP of the AGP before she decided to shift allegiance to the BJP in 1990s. Baishya is an AGP veteran who had been to the Rajya Sabha twice. He is contesting Lok Sabha polls for the first time that too against his former party colleague Bijoya Chakraborty.

Presence of both Chakraborty and Baishya in the fray is expected to help Congress candidate Manas Bora as there is possibility of division of anti-Congress votes between Chakraborty and Baishya.

The Congress hopes to sail through in Guwahati due to the division of votes between the BJP and the AGP while its bastion among religious minority community will remain intact.

Similar situation prevails in the religious-minority dominated Barpeta constituency where two AGP veterans are fighting against each other after one of them shifted allegiance to the BJP. Chandra Mohan Patowary, a former president of the AGP, joined the BJP just before the elections.

Stunned by the departure of a veteran like Patowary from its rank, the AGP decided to field Phani Bhusan Choudhury from the Barpeta seat.

Both Patowary and Choudhury are the best friends and Choudhury was the working president of the AGP when Patowary was its president. Both worked closely during the Assam agitation.

Choudhury, in fact, has stated that he felt betrayed when Patowary joined the BJP without even informing him about his decision. Patowary says Choudhury will remain one of his best friends despite their new political status.

Their presence in the fray would go a long way in helping the Congress candidate and sitting MP Ismail Hussain in Barpeta, as non-Muslim votes are likely to be divided between the AGP and the BJP candidates. Presence of two close friends in the fray on different party tickets has created confusion among followers of both Patowary and Choudhury.

New Delhi, March 25
Narendra Modi says that he was "sad" about the 2002 Gujarat riots but has no guilt, and that no court has "come even close to establishing" it.

He has suffered 12 years of public "Modi-bashing" since the time of the riots but says that he had decided early on to "let the media do its work; there will be no confrontation".

"I never waste my time in confrontation," the BJP's prime ministerial candidate is quoted as saying in a just-published biography written by a British author and TV producer Andy Marino.

Marino says in the book "Narendra Modi; A Political Biography", published by Harper Collins, that he was given detailed access by Modi whom he accompanied aboard his helicopter during his campaign rallies and interviewed him over several weeks.

On 2002 riots, Modi says, "I feel sad about what happened but no guilt. And no court has come even close to establishing it." The 310-page book deals with the riots with "hitherto unpublished, authenticated documents".

It discloses that after the riots, Modi wanted to resign as the chief minister but was prevailed upon by the party to continue.

Marino says the BJP strongman had confided to him "possibly for the first time in an on-the-record interview, that he no longer wanted to be the chief minister after the riots because he had decided it was unfair on the people of the state who had been subjected to extreme abuse because of him".

Modi had resolved to step down at the BJP National Executive in Panaji on April 12, 2002, about a month after the post-Godhra riots.

The book quotes Modi as having told the Panaji conclave, "I want to speak on Gujarat. From the party's point of view, this is a grave issue. There is a need for a free and frank discussion. To enable this, I wish to place my resignation before this body."

The Chief Minister told the biographer, "I wanted to leave this position but my party was not ready to leave me, the people of Gujarat were not ready to leave me--this situation is what I had (to deal with)."

"It was not up to me. And I was not ready to go against the party discipline. I don't want to fight against my party. What my leaders say, I must follow it," Modi provides some details of how he handled the situation in the aftermath of the attack on a train carrying mostly 'kar sevaks' from Ayodhya in the early hours of February 27, 2002 in which 59 people were burnt alive.

He says after he had returned from Godhra to Gandhinagar late at night that day, "I informally asked my officers to alert the Army". He was told that the Army was at the border because there was tension between India and Pakistan after the attack on Parliament.

The book states that Modi had appealed to his counterparts in three neighbouring states — Ashok Ghelot in Rajasthan, Vilasrao Deshmukh in Maharashtra and Digvijay Singh in Madhya Pradesh — to send aid in the form of law enforcement and paramilitary personnel. He sought 10 companies of the armed police from each state. While Maharashtra sent a very limited number of personnel to help, the other two states quietly refused, it says.

The book also focuses on Gujarat's development and quotes Modi as saying, "For me development is a mass movement." "People think that development is a government agenda. I say no, development should be the agenda of common man. Unless and until the common man's agenda is development, the government can build the buildings, but that is not development," he said. Asked if did he not fear going the western path in modernising Gujarat, Modi said, "Modernisation without westernisation." — PTI

New Delhi, March 25
The Delhi Chief Electoral Office (CEO) has sent a notice to yoga guru Ramdev for violating the Model Code of Conduct by inviting BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to his 'Yog Mahotsav' at Ramlila Maidan.

Through the notice, explanation has been sought from Ramdev as to why Modi was invited when the poll code had been imposed in Delhi. The CEO has given Ramdev two days to reply.

According to officials of the Delhi CEO, organisers of Yog Shivir, Bharat Swabhiman Trust, had only sought permission for a 'Yog Shivir' and 'Shahidi Divas'. However, it later turned out to be a political congregation of BJP leaders. "Permission was granted only to organise a 'Yog Mahotsav' and it did not include sharing stage with political personalities and giving political speeches," said North Delhi Election Officer Mona Pruthi. "They violated the poll code which will not be tolerated," she said.

Baba Ramdev and Modi came together on Sunday to ask people to vote for change in the Lok Sabha election. The yoga festival was broadcast live at over 600 locations, the organisers said.

New Delhi, March 25
Tightening the noose on campaigning through social websites, the Election Commission (EC) has asked such websites to keep a regular check on content displayed on their pages and ensure it does not violate the model code of conduct.

"The EC has increased the ambit of regulations on the social media in the Lok Sabha elections. Whatever content is hosted by the websites, it should not be hateful and targeting anybody in person," said Vijay Dev, Delhi Chief Election Officer.

The election office has identified top 20 websites on the basis of their visibility and popularity which are being used by various political parties for their election campaigning. "A tight vigil will be kept on these websites to check their content on regular basis," he said.

Also, the websites have also been asked to maintain expenditure record of the candidates campaigning on their sites. "The EC has also directed the social media websites to keep expenditure record of the candidates so that they it can be cross-checked when required," Dev said. With the increasing presence of people on the social media, it has become an important tool for the political parties and candidates to campaign through these sites. The digital penetration is being seen as an effective medium to reach out to the young voters.

* google.co.in

* indiatimes.com

* flipkart.com

* quikr.com

* in.yahoo.com

* ndtv.com

* ebay.com

* icicibank.com

* irctc.co.in

* naukri.com

* shaadi.com

* oneindia.in

* economictimes.indiatimes.com

* ibnlive.in.com

* moneycontrol.com

* news.google.co.in

* indiarail.gov.in

* in.msn.com

* in.news.yahoo.com

* thehindu.com

Kolkata, March 25
Criticising the Mamata Banerjee government over development, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the state government was not spending funds sent for development works by the Centre.

Addressing a public meeting at Nagarkata in north Bengal today, he urged the people to change the TMC government since there was no development even after changing the CPI (M) government which was in power for 34 years.

The Congress vice-president also lashed out at the BJP for dividing the country on communal lines.

He said neither the BJP nor any other regional parties could take the nation forward. He asked the people to vote for the UPA, which alone could protect the country against the onslaught of the BJP and other like-minded regional forces.

It was Rahul's first visit to the state after the TMC severed ties with the Congress. Earlier, both the Congress and the TMC jointly fought the CPI (M) in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections.

However, poor attendance in the meeting disappointed Rahul and after making a short speech, he left for Bagdogra.

New Delhi, March 25
Seeking to make candidates more accountable, the Election Commission has asked political parties to ensure that those contesting the polls mention their foreign bank accounts and details of investments, assets and liabilities abroad in their affidavits.

Though candidates are supposed to enter details of their foreign bank accounts and investments in their affidavits, the EC noticed that several of the candidates were not disclosing such details.

“It has been brought to the notice of the Commission by some NGOs and individuals that some candidates do not disclose details of their accounts in foreign banks, possession of properties or investment overseas along with loans and liabilities outside the country in the affidavit," the poll panel wrote to all recognised national and state political parties recently.

The EC said in a bid to remove any "misgivings in the minds of the people", it wants candidates to include details of their and their spouses' foreign bank accounts, their investments and liabilities abroad.

The move comes after the Supreme Court recently ruled that the returning officer can reject nomination papers of a candidate for non-disclosure and suppression of information, including that of assets and their criminal background.

The EC had told the apex court that by resorting to such tactics, candidates have been able to frustrate voters' right to critical information about themselves. Recently, the EC had introduced an optional facility for candidates to file their affidavits online.

Candidates filing their affidavits online for the Lok Sabha elections cannot leave any column blank as the software being used by the Election Commission will not accept 
incomplete forms. — PTI 

Chennai, March 25
The DMK today expelled its southern Tamil Nadu strongman MK Alagiri who remained unfazed by the dismissal, dubbing the decision by his father M Karunanidhi as a measure taken under "threat by some vested interests" and said he would challenge it in court.

Hurt by a spate of actions by Alagiri who not only dared the party on various issues but caused embarrassment meeting leaders of several parties, Karunanidhi said: “General secretary (Anbazhagan) and I discussed the matter and took a decision — he is being expelled from the party". Karunananidhi stoutly defended the expulsion of his son, saying his "defiance" in not replying to the notice seeking an explanation prompted the party to resort to the extreme step, which Alagiri contested saying "the action was taken without seeking an explanation and issuing a formal notice".

But Madurai-based Alagiri refused to be cowed down by the dismissal, saying it did not mean he and his supporters would quit the party.

"They have expelled me by giving some reason. This is not a decision taken by the DMK President independently. He has taken this decision due to pressure. I know who threatened him. You will know it in due course", he told reporters in Madurai.

Pune, March 25
Ending speculations about his possible candidature as an independent after being denied Congress ticket for the Pune Lok Sabha seat, sitting MP Suresh Kalmadi, under cloud for his alleged involvement in the CWG scam, today announced his "unconditional support" to official party candidate Vishwajeet Kadam.

“It gives me immense pleasure to announce my support to Congress candidate Kadam in the best interest of Pune's future development,” Kalmadi said in a statement issued here.

Kalmadi, who had publicly expressed his displeasure for being denied ticket for himself or his wife Meera, fuelling speculations of his entering the fray as an independent to checkmate official Congress candidate, said, "It was imperative for me to take a stand as MP elected many times from Pune."

The Congress leader said he arrived at the decision to support Kadam after discussions he had with his supporters. — PTI 

New Delhi, March 25
Contradicting his party colleague Sushma Swaraj, BJP president Rajnath Singh today suggested that Jaswant Singh was denied ticket from Barmer after the Central Election Committee discussed the issue and that the step was taken due to certain “political compulsions”.

Rajnath Singh said Jaswant Singh could not be nominated despite “everyone” wanting and all senior party leaders, including himself, were also "pained" by this decision.

He said "extraordinary decisions are taken in extraordinary situations" but refused to elaborate. "Even while desiring from the depth of our hearts, it was not possible for us to give ticket to Jaswant Singhji from Barmer," Rajnath Singh told Times Now.

He acknowledged that Jaswant Singh had told him about his desire to contest from Barmer and that he had told him that he will discuss the issue with the Rajasthan unit of BJP. "I talked to everyone. Everyone respects him. But there were certain political compulsions because of which the ticket could not be given to him," Rajnath Singh said.

When referred to Swaraj's statement that the issue of nomination from Barmer was not decided by CEC, the BJP chief refused to go into specifics, merely saying, "Rajasthan issue was discussed in the CEC... All seats of Rajasthan were discussed in CEC."

Soon after Jaswant Singh was denied ticket on Saturday last, Swaraj had said that “There must be some reason because this ticket was not decided by the (BJP) Central Election Committee." — PTI

Barmer, March 25
Stepping up his attack on Narendra Modi, BJP rebel Jaswant Singh today said “personality cult" was not good in a democracy and it would harm the party.

“The way the party is focusing on one person is not correct. This cannot work in a democracy,” he said a day after he filed his nomination as an Independent from the Barmer constituency.

The 76-year-old BJP veteran was asked what he thought of the campaign in the current Lok Sabha elections by his party which used to seek votes in the name of the organisation but was now doing it in the name of Modi.

Singh accused party president Rajnath Singh of "deliberately" sidelining him and said it was for BJP to expel him if it wants. "Rajnath Singh has sidelined me probably under some plan. I have been betrayed and insulted. I am very much disappointed but I have not quit the party and I am not willing to do that. "This is the second time I have been betrayed by the party and this is not tolerable. I am left in the lurch, but I have faith in God," Singh said. "I have not quit the party and will not. It is for the party to decide," he said, hinting that they were free to expel him. The veteran leader said that nobody from the party, either from Delhi or Jaipur, contacted him after he filed nomination papers yesterday. — PTI

Hubli, March 25
Discarded by the BJP within hours of his admission into the party, controversial chief of fringe right wing outfit Sri Ram Sene, Pramod Muthalik, today announced he would contest the Lok Sabha polls against state saffron party chief Prahlad Joshi from Dharwad.

Making a no-holds-barred attack on BJP and its leaders for setting aside his membersip after the move on his entry backfired, a miffed Muthalik said he would contest as an independent and file his nomination tomorrow.

"BJP has humiliated me by canceling membership within few hours of my admission..it has hurt my supporters. I have waited for BJP till this afternoon but I didn't get response from them (on taking him back). To uphold Hindutava and save Hindus, I will be contesting elections from Dharwad," he said.

The BJP had allowed Muthalik's entry into the party on Sunday but ejected him within hours after it came in for attack from its opponents. Muthalik said he was also considering contesting from Bangalore South against BJP leader Ananth Kumar, whom he attacked severely accusing him of being corrupt and having "destroyed" the party in the state. — PTI

Hyderabad, March 25
The BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has become a cynosure of the Telugu film industry with several leading stars making a beeline to Gandhinagar to meet him.

First, it was popular actor Pawan Kalyan who sprang a surprise when he flew down to Gujarat capital and met Modi. Soon after the one-on-meeting, the 43-year-old star, who recently launched a political party "Jana Sena", pledged support to him, saying the country needs a decisive leader like Modi. He was followed by Akkineni Nagarjuna, another leading actor and son of late A Nageswara Rao.

After visiting a model village and seeing development projects, Nagarjuna showered praises on the Gujarat model of development. There is a speculation that some more actors, including veteran actor-producer Mohan Babu and comedian Brahmanandam, have sought appointment with Modi.

Nagarjuna's meeting with Modi yesterday sparked off speculation that he was lobbying for a Lok Sabha ticket for his wife Amala, an actress.

Speaking to media persons after the hour-long meeting with Modi, Nagarjuna said he was excited by the way Gujarat had developed under Modi's leadership. "Both Seemandhra and Telangana will develop if Modi becomes the Prime Minister," he said, but hastened to add that he was not interested in politics. Unconfirmed reports, however, suggested that Nagarjuna had sought a BJP party ticket for Amala from Vijayawada Parliamentary constituency.

Stating that he had visited a model village in Gujarat before meeting Modi, the actor said: "I was surprised to find that the village had all modern facilities like wi-fi, broadband and uninterrupted power supply." Meanwhile, the actor couple Rajasekhar and Jeevita had recently joined BJP, saying they were impressed by Modi's leadership.

Varanasi, March 25
Arvind Kejriwal today accepted the challenge to contest against Narendra Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the temple city, accusing the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate of being "corrupt" and an "agent" of industrial houses.

Ending weeks of suspense on whether he will directly take on Modi, Kejriwal made the announcement at a rally here, asserting he wanted to "defeat corrupt people".

"I am ready to face this challenge, but I will need your support. I don't have money to contest election. And like Madan Mohan Malviya, who built the Benaras Hindu University, seeking alms from people, even I shall have to do the same way," he said after the crowd roared in affirmation when he asked whether he should fight Modi.

Several top Aam Aadmi Party leaders flanked him at the rally at Benia Bagh in the central part of the city this evening after a day-long roadshow during which an egg and ink was thrown at him at two places. Among the AAP leaders were Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti, Kumar Vishwas, Gopal Rai and Surender Singh.

Targeting Modi, the AAP chief said the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate "will do anything to cross the 272 figure" required in the Lok Sabha to come to power.

Accusing Modi of being an "agent" of industrial houses, Kejriwal warned that if he comes to power, "land will be snatched from farmers and given to Adanis and Ambanis at dirt cheap rates. And farmers will have no option but to commit suicide." Kejriwal said that a myth about Modi having developed Gujarat was being perpetuated by media while in reality the BJP leader was gifting away farmers' land to industrialists and followed policies which were against small businessmen. He said 60,000 small enterprises in Gujarat had shut shop, all aimed at benefitting big industrialists. He also targeted Rahul Gandhi, saying the 'shahenshah' of the Congress was also like Modi. — PTI

DEHRADUN, March 25
With sitting MP Satpal Maharaj defecting to the BJP and the Congress looking for a suitable candidate for Pauri, a section of party leaders in Uttarakhand want ex-CM Vijay Bahuguna to contest against BJP heavyweight BC Khanduri.

With the sudden resignation of the Pauri MP, the party faces the difficult task of fielding a suitable candidate from the seat who could take on a leader of Khanduri's stature and Bahuguna seems to fit the bill, a senior party leader said requesting anonymity.

A former Union minister and a two-time chief minister, Khanduri, who is also Bhauguna's cousin, is considered a formidable opponent and Bahuguna is the lone party leader in the state at present who could give him a tough fight, he said.

Another reason why a section of partymen in Uttarakhand wants Bahuguna to contest from Pauri is that his ancestral village Budhani is also located in Pauri district which was the political 'karmabhoomi' (place of his work) of senior party leader and his father Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna. — PTI

Ranchi, March 25
A total of 64 candidates remained in the fray for the four Lok Sabha seats going to polls on April 10 in Jharkhand after two nominations were rejected during scrutiny.

Trinamool Congress candidate from Lohardaga (ST) seat Chamra Linda's nomination was declared valid today, election office sources said.

In the Chatra LS seat, as many as 20 candidates were left in the fray after the papers of Rajendra Lohara of Lok Jharkhand Vikas Morcha were rejected during scrutiny.

The second nomination to be rejected was that of AAP Palamau (SC) candidate Kishundhari Ram. There are 13 candidates for Palamau seat and 21 from Koderma. — PTI

BRIEFLY

snapshots

Nitish hits campaign trail
Dehri-On-Sone (Rohtas): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday hit the campaign trail and took potshots at BJP for pushing elderly leaders to the "corner" and giving preference to "outsiders". He, however, did not name LK Advani, Jaswant Singh or Lal Muni Choubey. PTI

EC may put Dev on notice
New Delhi: The Election Commission is likely to issue a notice to Bengali cine star Deepak Adhikari, alias Dev, a Trinamool Congress candidate from West Bengal, for his controversial comments comparing campaigning with rape. This was conveyed to a joint delegation of several women's organisations that met Election Commissioner HS Brahma here on Tuesday. PTI

Bhojpuri star vs Shotgun
Patna: Noted Bhojpuri actor Kunal Singh, who has filed nomination for Patna Sahib seat as Congress candidate, today said for all the respect he has for "elder brother" Shatrughan Sinha, he would make all efforts to win the electoral battle against him for the sake of different ideologies. PTI