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Battle lines drawn, state goes to polls today
1.6 cr voters to decide fate of 230 candidates
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Congress harps on development, INLD banks on anti-incumbency
Kurukshetra to witness multi-cornered contest
CM back to badminton court as campaign ends
Candidates bribe voters with gifts
16 lakh to decide fate of 23 candidates in Karnal
Acid test for parties in Karnal
Jind officers busy ordering flowers for day of polling
Sirsa voters’ silence keeps contestants on tenterhooks
Dera Sacha Sauda keeps cards close to chest
Rohtak seat: Can Dhankhar repeat Capt Inder’s feat?
Polling in Ambala expected to rise by 10%
16.6 lakh voters to seal fate of 18 candidates
Factionalism comes to fore in HSGPC
Discounts to motivate voters
Candidates give the final push
Pollution-hit villagers to exercise NOTA option
Pension a day before poll creates ripples
HJC misguiding public on SYL canal: INLD
Show-cause notice to Sirsa INLD candidate
Border with UP sealed
IAS officers given addl charge
Forest Range Officers' case
Fashionable writing not literature: Maurya
Bodies of woman, 2 kids found
Haryana’s Shame
Two killed in road accidents
Youth's body found
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Battle lines drawn, state goes to polls today
Chandigarh, April 9 The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is banking on sympathy for Chautalas to consolidate Jat votes. The Aam Aadmi Party has the slogan of ridding the country of corruption. Other parties have their separate agendas. The outcome of the elections will decide the fate of the party that takes charge at the Centre. An adverse result can catapult the state into early Assembly elections, otherwise due in October this year. The parliamentary elections are being viewed as the semi-final for the Vidhan Sabha polls. Confident of a repeat of the 2004 and 2009 elections, when the Congress won nine seats, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda dispels all talk of a Modi wave sweeping the state. Each of the 10 parliamentary seats are locked in a stiff multi-cornered contest, with none having a candidate who can claim an edge over others. What is most interesting in the contest is that the Congress has repeated most of its candidates except those who left the party or expressed the inability to contest. The BJP, considered to be the ruling party's main rival, has fielded candidates "borrowed" from the Congress. The BJP is in alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), with the former contesting eight seats and the latter Hisar and Sirsa. HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi is locked in a stiff contest with Om Prakash Chautala's grandson Dushyant Chautala of the INLD and former state Finance Minister Sampat Singh of the Congress. Important candidates whose fate will be sealed tomorrow include industrialist Naveen Jindal (Kurukshetra), state Congress president Ashok Tanwar (Sirsa), Kuldeep Bishnoi and Dushyant Chautala (Hisar), Hooda's son Deepender Hooda (Rohtak), Bansi Lal's granddaughter Shruti Choudhry (Bhiwani-Mahendragarh) and Rao Inderjit Singh and Yogendra Yadav (Gurgaon). Haryana is traditionally a peaceful state as far as elections are concerned. The state Election Commission has deployed 48,754 Haryana Police personnel and 74 companies of paramilitary forces comprising between 90 and 100 men each. Of the 16,244 polling stations, security agencies will focus on polling stations classified as critical (132), sensitive (2,976) and hypersensitive (3,043). While the Hooda government has rubbished the Gujarat model of development, the Election Commission has hired V Mukti Webcaste, a Gujarat-based company, that will upload activity in every polling booth on the Internet in real time using video cameras. Anyone can see polling process in any polling booth by logging onto the Election Commission website anytime. Political pundits may have their own calculations to predict the poll outcome, but results in the state will be unexpected. If talk of a Modi wave doing the rounds has any substance, the state may see the BJP emerging as an important alternative to the Congress and the INLD. So far, there is no clear indication that the BJP will move to that slot. Anything is possible in politics. Only the results on May 16 will reveal the outcome. Government declares public holiday today Chandigarh: The Haryana Government has notified a public holiday on April 10 in its offices, educational and other institutes, boards and corporations situated in the state and at Chandigarh and Delhi to enable the voters to cast their votes. Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad said employees of various factories, shops and private establishments located in Haryana, who are registered voters, would also be allowed to take leave (paid) for the poll. April 10 would also be observed as a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, in the state. — TNS
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1.6 cr voters to decide fate of 230 candidates
Chandigarh, April 9 Stating that all arrangements had been made for free and free elections, Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad said over 34,000 poll officials and 1,600 supervisory staff had been deployed on election duty. State DGP Shriniwas Vashisht said nearly 65,000 police personnel, including Home Guard volunteers and ex-servicemen, had been put on duty to ensure peaceful polling. Besides this, 74 companies of Central paramilitary forces had been deputed on poll duty, including at all sensitive and hypersensitive polling booths, he added. The none of the above (NOTA) option had been introduced in EVMs for the first time. "The use of this option depends on the voter and NOTA votes will not be counted in votes for final result," Walgad added. He said the National Informatics Centre had developed an SMS-based e-dashboard software and election result information system through which latest information from all polling centres would be made available on the department website http://ceoharyana.nic.in through a link. An official said polling would begin at 7 am and continue till 6 pm. Information from commencement of voting till storage of EVMs in strong room, voting percentage and other information would be available on the website. A total 1,000 sensitive polling stations had been identified in the state where live webcasting of polling would be done and monitored by the department. This would be available in the public domain and could be viewed by visiting the website. The Congress, the INLD, the BJP-HJC alliance and the debutant AAP are locked in a four-cornered contest in all parliamentary constituencies. While the maximum numbers of 41 candidates are contesting from Hisar, the least number of 14 candidates each are contesting from Ambala and Rohtak. There are 11 woman candidates. Voters' day out
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Congress harps on development, INLD banks on anti-incumbency
Chandigarh, April 9 The BJP-HJC alliance, banking on the polarisation of non-Jat votes, is pinning its hopes on the “Modi wave” while the debutant AAP is depending on “silent support” from a cross-section of society for its clean politics to transcend the caste barrier in caste-ridden Haryana politics. While Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda played the development card for “unprecedented development” in the state, the allegations of “Rohtak-centric” development may cost the Congress dear in the elections. This coupled with factionalism and anti-incumbency against Central and state governments are set to make the going tough for the Congress. The INLD, which is banking on anti-incumbency against the Congress government, may draw solace from the fact that the party cadre was still intact even after the jailing of party supremo Om Prakash Chautala in January last year. “With a strong cadre and anti-incumbency against the Central and state governments, Lok Sabha election results will mark the end of the Hooda regime,” senior INLD Abhay Chautala said here today. State BJP chief Ram Bilas Sharma, however, sees a clear “Modi wave” in Haryana, a state marked by rampant corruption and nepotism in government jobs. AAP chief spokesman Rajeev Godara, however, is hopeful of replicating the success of Delhi as a majority of its active cadre, who worked in Delhi, were from Haryana. |
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Kurukshetra to witness multi-cornered contest
Kurukshetra, April 9 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Balwinder Kaur and BSP candidate Chattar Singh Kashyap are other prominent candidates. Sitting MP and Congress candidate Naveen Jindal is confident of scoring a hat-trick. Jindal believes that the people will elect him for the third consecutive time as he had done more than what he had promised. Many others, however, believe that the ghost of the coal scam will haunt him. Also, anti-incumbency, wave of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Jat reservation, which has left other communities unhappy with the Congress, will be a matter of concern for him. Jindal is facing tough competition from INLD candidate Balbir Singh Saini and BJP nominee Raj Kumar Saini. Balbir is banking upon the conventional vote bank of the INLD, Saini community and city voters. The INLD got a big boost after the rallies of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in the constituency. The BJP candidate, who also belongs to the Saini community, will definitely divide the votes. Besides the Modi wave, no alliance with the BJP and divided Jat vote bank between the INLD and the Congress is also a matter of concern for the INLD. The BJP’s Raj Kumar Saini, who was a minister in the Bansi Lal government in 1996, is banking upon the Modi wave and anti-incumbency. The party, which was lagging behind earlier, got a major boost after Narendra Modi’s rally here. Despite Modi wave, party workers were not happy with the selection of the candidate, who is facing corruption allegations levelled by INLD leader Abhay Chautala that the INLD had bought him for Rs 25 lakh to form its government. The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, which has supported the Congress in the last two elections, is now divided into two groups. The Didar Singh Nalwi group has extended its support to the BJP, while the Jagdish Jhinda group has extended its support to the INLD. After the AAP announced the candidature of Balwinder Kaur, the party split into many sections. Warring AAP leader Gurmeet Kaura is now contesting on the Lok Dal ticket, while former IGP Ranbir Sharma, who joined AAP, is contesting as an Independent candidate. The constituency comprises nine Assembly segments. Thanesar, Ladwa, Gulha, Radaur and Kalayat Assembly segments are represented by the INLD, while the remaining four -- Kaithal, Pundri, Shahabad and Pehowa -are represented by the Congress. Jindal, Arora to cast
vote in Kurukshetra
Congress MP Naveen Jindal and INLD state chief Ashok Arora would cast their votes in Kurukshetra, INLD candidate Balbir Singh Saini will cast his vote in Pehowa, while BJP candidate Raj Kumar Saini and BSP candidate Chatar Singh Kashyap will cast their votes in Naraiangarh (Ambala) and Radaur (Yamunanagar), respectively. |
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CM back to badminton court as campaign ends
Rohtak, April 9 The crowd cheered the players as the CM’s team won two matches. Hooda had to stay away from his game of badminton as he was the star campaigner of the Congress and covered nearly 3,000 km in roadshows to seek votes for the party candidates in the Lok Sabha poll. The Chief Minister seemed relaxed and in high spirits as he left for his residence after the game. There, he met the visitors and discussed political issues with his confidants for some time. Meanwhile, Hooda claimed in a statement issued here today that the Congress would win all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana as the people of the state had full faith in the party’s politics of development. He expressed confidence that the Congress would form the next government at the Centre as well as in the state. Coming down heavily at the INLD, the Hooda maintained that its top leaders were behind bars due to their wrongdoings. “They had fraudulently changed the list of selected JBT teachers and appointed certain other persons in their place. It was a case of breach of faith of general public as well as blatant violation of the law of the land. There was large-scale bungling in recruitment process during those days and due to this, the youth of the state was getting involved in criminal activities,” he remarked. Commenting upon the Gujarat model of development, the Chief Minister asserted that Haryana was far ahead of Gujarat in matters pertaining to public welfare. “Old-age pension in Haryana is Rs 1,000 per month, whereas it is only Rs 400 per month in Gujarat. Rates of petrol and diesel are cheaper by Rs 8 and Rs 7 respectively in Haryana in comparison to Gujarat. Haryana provides electricity at the rate of 10 paisa per unit whereas in Gujarat, the rate is Rs 2.70 per unit. The price of sugarcane is Rs 301 per quintal in Haryana whereas it is Rs 210 per quintal in Gujarat. Per-capita income is also higher in Haryana,” he said, adding that freedom fighters’ pension is Rs 6,000 per month in Gujarat while it is Rs 25,000 per month in Haryana. |
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Candidates bribe voters with gifts
Faridabad, April 9 "The last 36 hours, including the night before polling, can be decisive as a large chunk of voters belong to the section vulnerable to offers made by candidates in the form of cash, liquor or items of daily use. It is a matter of concern if the authorities have no plan to check this activity," said Ram Kumar, a retired government official. "It is the practice and this time will be no different. Some candidates or their supporters can resort to every weapon in their armoury to turn the vote bank in their favour," said a political activist on the condition of anonymity. He said the distribution of cash, liquor and goods which might be illegal and banned were some means which could be tried to 'buy' voters at the last moment. A resident of Indira Colony said many voters here were awaiting gifts likely to be distributed on the night before polling. "We have reports that household gadgets, motorcycles and vehicles may be distributed at select places tonight as part of last-ditch efforts of certain candidates or their supporters," said a resident of Palwal. He added that this had been done in previous elections as well. District returning officers of Faridabad and Palwal announced that strict action would be taken against violators. In a press note, the authorities said officials were alert about checking violations and warned of action against those found violating the law. It was stated that taking or giving bribe was illegal and offenders could be prosecuted. A toll-free number was set up to lodge complaints. Sources in political parties said one-on-one contact would continue till the start of polling. |
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Kosli villagers reiterate decision not to vote
Kosli (Rewari), April 9 Villagers said they had no other option but to boycott the elections. Dominated by the Ahir community, the town has over 8,000 votes. The villagers demanded the arrest of the accused in the Mahavir murder case. Mahavir was killed when residents of Bhakli village attacked Kosli villagers who were taking out a peaceful march against the naming of Bhakli village on the foundation stones of Kisan Rest House and a railway overbridge last month. A panchayat was held last evening to review the decision after some villagers raised an objection that it was a violation of the fundamental rights. Sarpanch Devender Yadav unanimously resolved to go with the earlier decision. He said the villagers had already taken a pledge to boycott the polling process in the last panchayat held on April 4. He said it would not be appropriate if they break the pledge without any firm reason. “The decision of boycotting the poll has been taken collectively by the villagers in a panchayat. There is no pressure on anyone and no one from the panchayat will prevent any villager from casting his vote. Since all have taken a pledge in this regard, I am confident that no one will go to polling booth,” said Yadav while talking to The Tribune. “Kosli SDM and other political parties had contacted us to change our decision, but we have categorically refused to do so,” said a Kosli villager. The district authorities said a stern action would be taken against those found stopping villagers from casting their votes. Adequate security arrangements have been made to avert any untoward incident. |
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16 lakh to decide fate of 23 candidates in Karnal
Karnal, April 9 The constituency has 1,559 polling booths, including 158 hyper-sensitive and 170 sensitive booths. The number of electorate has increased by 4,71,481 in five years, from 12,12,840 in 2009. District Election Commissioner-cum-DC Balraj Singh and SP Abhishek Garg have reviewed the arrangements for ensuring free and fair poll and expressed satisfaction over the arrangements. The DC directed the officials concerned to ensure fair and free elections and make provision of ramps at all polling booths to facilitate the specially-abled voters to exercise their franchise. He also asked the officials concerned to make adequate provision of safe drinking water at all booth sites on the polling day. The Nilokehri constituency comprises 1,85,900 electors, including 1,00,461 male, 85,439 female and 915 service voters. Indri comprises 1,73,053 voters, including 93,494 males, 79,559 females and 525 service voters. Karnal has maximum number of voters- 2,02,460, including 1,06,925 men, 95,335 women and 312 service voters. Gharaunda has 1,87,182 voters, including 1,02,222 males, 84,960 females and 785 service voters. Meanwhile, Assandh comprises of 1,98,828 electors, including 1,08,558 males, 90,270 females and 83 service voters. Panipat (R) constituency comprises of 1,96,618 voters which include 1,08,335 males, 88,283 females and 238 service voters. Panipat (U) comprises of 1,99,357 voters, including 1,07,581 men, 91,776 women and 84 service voters. Israna has 1,59,800 voters, including 86,725 males, 73,075 females and 659 service voters and the Samalkha seat comprises of 1,81,123 electors, including 99,020 males, 82,103 females and 594 service voters. "We have made adequate security arrangements to ensure smooth polling," said SP Abhishek Garg. |
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Acid test for parties in Karnal
Karnal, April 9 “This election will be an acid test for the Congress, the BJP-HJC, the INLD, the BSP and the AAP as the verdict will indicate the mood of people for Assembly elections,” said a political expert. These are the first general elections when BJP-HJC alliance is contesting jointly. They have to prove the strength of their alliance. Meanwhile, the INLD has to prove that they can alone win a Lok Sabha poll and the Congress has to prove that there is no anti-Congress wave in Haryana. Congress candidate Arvind Sharma started his campaign many days ago. He had covered all areas of the constituency, but is facing the anti-Congress wave. He is firm to make a hat-trick as he is counting on his achievements and projects brought by him. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s visits also boosted his campaign and he is giving a tough fight to his opponents. Ashwini Chopra, HJC-BJP alliance candidate, is riding high on the Narendra Modi wave. Although this is his first elections and he got a ticket very late, he has faced alliance partner leader’s resentment. As time passed, he managed to win their support. Visits of BJP president Rajnath Singh, Satpal Maharaj and Baba Ramdev will also help him. Two rallies of Narendra Modi adjoining Karnal constituency have helped him become the front runner in the race. INLD candidate and former minister Jaswinder Singh Sandhu is also confident of a win from the Karnal seat with the support of Punjabi, Sikh and Jat voters. He covered all the areas of his constituency with other INLD leaders. Abhay Chautala and Ashok Arora’s visits brightened his chances. Also, the HSGPC support will help him be in a winning position. Maratha Virender Verma from BSP, who remained second in the last parliament elections is also in the fight as he belongs to Ror community, which has a sizeable number here and is getting support from the BSP cadre. He covered the constituency and was firm to win this election. AAP candidate Paramjeet Singh could also dent major votes. Arvind Kejriwal’s visits have helped his cause. Experts said due to increased awareness, large number of voters are expected to cast vote this time. |
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Jind officers busy ordering flowers for day of polling
Jind, April 9 At all these centers, after exercising their franchise, voters will return with not only an ink mark on their fingers, but they also walk back with flowers in their hands, as the Election Commission has mandated “flower greetings” to voters. During the 2009 General Election, the district witnessed around 67 per cent voting. This time, the commission wants to see a considerable increase in the polling and for that it has taken the “flower” route to motivate voters of the district to come to polling centers. Some AROs said they had placed bulk order for flowers, while others said they had ordered a small quantity to begin with and later they would ask flower suppliers for more as they did not have required arrangements to preserve flowers for long time at election centers. “It’s an effort to motive maximum voters to exercise their franchise. Apart from flowers, we have also made all other necessary arrangements. But if anyone faces any problem he should immediately call officers of the area concerned,” said District Electoral Officer Jind Rajiv Rattan. The unique initiative has evoked mixed reactions. Many said officers would misappropriate the money meant for flowers, while some said the focus should be on solving their problems. “In papers, officers usually take many initiative. But in reality they are nowhere to be seen,” said Faqir Chand, an Ikas village resident. |
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Sirsa voters’ silence keeps contestants on tenterhooks
Sirsa, April 9 The party has organised impressive rallies of Abhay Singh Chautala in all nine assembly segments of Sirsa. SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal also sought votes for Rori at meetings in Odhan and Ratia. Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal addressed a rally at Sirsa on the last day of campaigning. However, what is worrying INLD supporters is the fact that urban voters are still not showing much interest in Rori. This is partially due to the reservation of urbanites towards the INLD and largely because of Rori’s educational status of (Rori is merely a matriculate as against Ashok Tanwar (PhD) and Sushil Indora (MBBS). Also, the fact that the INLD has never been able to win the Sirsa seat without the BJP by its side is also a factor that is cause of concern for Rori’s supporters. State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar’s supporters claim his victory on the basis of his performance and his accessibility to the people. Tanwar’s campaign has been well organised. Various senior leaders like Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former Union Minister Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh and Speaker Kuldeep Sharma have campaigned for him. Tanwar’s supporters are also hoping support from Dera Sacha Sauda and Dera Bhumman Shah. However, while talking in private, Tanwar’s supporters too are worried about the anti-incumbency factor and the “Modi wave”. Similarly, HJC nominee Sushil Indora’s supporters too are projecting him as winner on the basis of the “Modi wave.” Indora’s poll campaign has been the weakest among the three contestants, though he had the backing of Dura Ram at Fatehabad and Gopal Kanda at Sirsa, both leaders with a mass following. The HJC nominee could not organise a single rally during his entire campaign. A rally to be addressed by Narendra Modi at Fatehabad on April 7 was cancelled. However, Modi later made a vote appeal in Indora’s favour during the Jhajjar rally of the BJP. |
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Dera Sacha Sauda keeps cards close to chest
Sirsa, April 9 "We have a trusted system of dissemination of information to each and every follower of the dera within minutes. On several occasions, the dera announces a sanitation campaign or some other activity hardly a day before the event. Even then thousands of followers arrive due to the effectiveness of our system," said a member of the 15-member district committee at Fatehabad. Earlier, the political affairs wing of the
dera headed by Rampal Insan conducted a week-long exercise to ascertain the views of dera followers. The dera had remained in favour of the Congress during the last 10 years, though this time the BJP-HJC alliance was exerting pressure on the political affairs wing to support candidates. In the recent days, state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, Haryana Janhit Congress supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi, Kurukshetra
MP Naveen Jindal and some other leaders had met dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to seek his blessings. "The dera does not have any direct role in political activities as such. Its followers have constituted political affairs wings for different states. These wings take decisions at their level after consultations with the 'saadh sangat' (followers)," said Aditya Insan, a spokesperson of the dera. During his discourses, the dera chief had been justifying a collective decision by followers for common good. The dera's political role came into prominence during the Punjab Assembly elections in 2007 when its followers took a collective decision to vote
in favour of the Congress. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) lost a majority of seats in the Malwa
belt, where the dera wielded influence. Later, a case of blasphemy was registered against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as he was charged with imitating the dress of Guru Gobind Singh during a congregation at
Salabatpura, near Bathinda. Though the number of politicians visiting the dera to seek support during elections had increased since then,
the Punjab episode had forced the dera go secretive in strategy. The episode also dented the dera's authority over votes of its followers as SAD won many seats in the Malwa belt in the 2012 Assembly polls. A relative of the dera chief lost
the election from Bathinda. "Only 25 to 30 per cent followers vote according to the decision of the political affairs wing these days as its diktat is longer an edict from the dera chief, as was considered earlier," said a dera follower in Sirsa. Meanwhile, Tarlochan Singh, a former Rajya Sabha member, today suggested that the dera should stop meddling in political affairs in the region as it did not enhance the dera chief's stature. He said gurus
of other sects like the Namdharis, the Nirankaris and the Radha Soamis did not take any interest in politics. Different seats, separate parties
Dera sources said the political affairs wing decided to support Congress nominees Ashok Tanwar from
Sirsa, Deepender Singh Hooda from Rohtak and Naveen Jindal from
Kurukshetra. They said the dera wing decided to support Kuldeep Bishnoi of the HJC from Hisar and Ashwani Kumar Chopra of the BJP from
Karnal. No office-bearer of the dera wing responded to telephone calls. |
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Rohtak seat: Can Dhankhar repeat Capt Inder’s feat?
Rohtak/Jhajjar, April 9 Dhankhar’s supporters are upbeat after the Modi rally and started claiming that he would trounce his formidable opponent - Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s scion and Congress nominee Deepender Hooda. The BJP leaders and sympathisers cite the example of Capt Inder Singh, a political non-entity, who defeated Deepender’s father and three-time MP Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Rohtak in 1999. Hooda, who had shot to fame by beating veteran political leader Ch Devi Lal in the 1991, 1996 and 1998 elections, was trampled by political greenhorn Capt Inder Singh of the INLD in 1999. “There was a Kargil wave at that time; and there is a Modi wave now. People are fed up with the present regime and desperately want change. So, if a political novice like Capt Inder Singh could have won then, why can’t Dhankhar win now ?” maintains a BJP old-timer. Moreover, the enthusiasm displayed by the rallyists notwithstanding, the possibility of a political greenhorn beating the two-time MP seems a bit hard to swallow, especially in view of Rohtak’s “chaudhar” factor and the impressive development of educational, civil and industrial infrastructure in the constituency during the past few years. Apart from the commendable developmental projects sanctioned and set up during his successive tenures, the genial conduct of the incumbent MP makes him popular. Though the Congress candidate is facing opposition in certain Assembly segments of the constituency, his supporters believe that he will retain the seat, though the winning margin may be lower. Political observers feel that the votes going in favour of INLD’s Shamsher Kharkara and AAP’s Naveen Jaihind can also sway the poll outcome. |
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Polling in Ambala expected to rise by 10%
Ambala, April 9 He said more and more voters had registered in the educational institutes of the district and they were also educated to use their right to franchise. Rallies in this regard were also conducted in the rural and urban areas of the district by school children and painting, debate and slogan-writing competitions were organised in the educational institutes. He advised the voters to carry the slips given to them by the Election Department which mentioned their name, polling station and serial number. In case somebody had not got such a slip, he could get a duplicate copy from the BLO at the polling station. Besides, the voter should also carry their identity cards such as election card, driving license, pan card, passport, or any other document identifying them so that no other person could cast vote on their
behalf. — TNS |
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16.6 lakh voters to seal fate of 18 candidates
Fatehabad, April 9 Besides, 15 other candidates, including Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria of Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPI M), Mange Ram Dahiya of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Poonam Chand Ratti of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are in the fray. The constituency covers the entire Sirsa and Fatehabad districts and part of Jind. It is reserved for SC candidates since its inception in 1967. This constituency covers nine Assembly segments, namely Narwana (SC), Tohana, Fatehabad, Ratia (SC), Kalanwali (SC), Dabwali, Rania, Sirsa and Ellenabad. The total number of voters from Sirsa are 16,60,557, out of which 8,86,303 are men and 7,74,254 women. As many as 1,678 polling stations have been set up in this constituency, out of which 236 have been identified as hyper-sensitive, 247 as sensitive and four as critical. Out of the nine Assembly segments, Fatehabad and Kalanwali have the highest and lowest number of voters, respectively. Fatehabad segment has total of 2,19,502 voter, which include 1,17,682 males and 1,01,820 females. Kalawali segment has 1,60,704 voters, out of which 85,803 are men and 74,901 are
women. — TNS |
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Factionalism comes to fore in HSGPC
Karnal, April 9 Amrinder Singh said, “The Congress has always supported the Sikh cause and we are hopeful that the party will announce a separate Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee.” “The Congress has honoured the Sikh community by giving them high posts, like to Manmohan Singh, Giani Zail Singh, General J J Singh, General Bikram Singh and Montek Singh Ahaluwalia,” said Arora. He attacked the INLD and said it had spoiled the interest of the people of Haryana on SYL issue. The project was almost complete in the Congress regime, but it was INLD who stopped it because of their relations with Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal. The step had affected the farmers of the state. “The Congress is the only party, who can save the rights of the Sikh community in the state,” said the youth president of HSGPC. “He is no authority to give support to any political party on behalf of the HSGPC. Our support is with the BJP-HJC alliance as we had announced earlier,” said Didar Singh Nalvi, president of HSGPC (Nalvi group). HSGPC (Jhinda group) president Jagdish Singh Jhinda has already announced support to INLD in Haryana. |
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Discounts to motivate voters
Jind, April 9 The administration has decided to provide 20 per cent discount at food outlets on April 10 and 11 and 10 per cent discount at theatres. “We have taken this decision to improve the poll percentage as the maximum participation of voters is must,” said ADC-cum-district nodal officer Jaiveer Singh Arya. However, the discount offers has evoked mixed reactions from people. While, many have welcomed the discount, others said these will not help as lack of clean candidates and corruption in politics were mainly responsible for the low voting percentage. “Instead of providing such discounts, the authorities should work to block the entry of criminals and corrupt in politics,” said Narinder Kumar, a local. Shrishti, a student, said discounts in hotels and theatres would motivate youngsters to vote. — TNS |
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Candidates give the final push
Karnal, April 9 BJP-HJC candidate Ashwini Chopra today met several people and families in Karnal and Panipat districts. Ashok Sukhija, BJP district president, addressed workers in the party office and allocated them poll duties. Congress candidate Arvind Sharma also interacted with people while on his door-to-door campaigning in Karnal and Panipat districts. He talked with workers over telephone and urged them to ensure maximum polling. The INLD candidate, Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, also went door-to-door and urged voters to ensure his victory. He also talked to several persons over telephone. Maratha Virender Verma, BSP candidate from the segment, interacted with party workers and discussed tomorrow's planning. AAP candidate Paramjeet Singh and other candidates also concentrated on going door-to-door. |
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Pollution-hit villagers to exercise NOTA option
Panipat, April 9 Raj Singh, a resident of Sutana village near Panipat thermal power station in the district, said, “I along with several other villagers have decided to use NOTA option as no political party has paid any heed towards finding a permanent solution to numerous problems being caused by pollution produced by the thermal power plant.” He said: “Earlier, we have decided to boycott the Lok Sabha elections as we were not aware of the NOTA option. Now, we have decided to opt for NOTA option instead of boycotting the elections.” Besides, some of the first-time voters are
also likely to opt for the NOTA option. Another voter Bindu Singh said: “NOTA is my right to reject wrong candidates. If adequate number of voters opts for NOTA, it will definitely send a message to the political parties to field right candidates.” |
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Pension a day before poll creates ripples
Rewari, April 9 Locked in a multi-corner contest from Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee and a turncoat from Congress Rao Inderjit Singh has accused the state government of disbursing the pension a day before the polling day to influence the electors. While interacting with mediapersons, he said this was violation of the model code of conduct, hence he had lodged a complaint with the election observers in this regard. “Generally, the pension is disbursed within the first five days of every month but the state government deliberately delayed the procedure this time and distributed the pension today to influence the voters, which is violation in the eyes of model code of conduct,” he said. — TNS
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HJC misguiding public on SYL canal: INLD
Panipat, April 9 SAD spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema said, “Every party has its own stand. The same applies to the Punjab and Haryana units of the Congress and the BJP. So, there is no need to make a hue and cry over this issue.” State INLD president Ashok Arora said Bishnoi was misguiding the public over the issue. “This is nothing but Bishnoi’s frustration,” he said. |
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Show-cause notice to Sirsa INLD candidate
Sirsa, April 9 Deputy Commissioner-cum-returning officer for Sirsa Anshaj Singh has referred to a news item published in an evening daily stating that the INLD nominee had organised a roadshow here on the evening of April 7. The notice said Rori
had not obtained any permission from the authorities before holding the
roadshow. Rori has been asked to explain his position within 24 hours of the notice. |
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Border with UP sealed
Karnal, April 9 A special control room has been established. The law and order machinery has tightened its grip over sensitive areas. With reinforcements from paramilitary forces and the Haryana Police, the administration has drawn up elaborate security arrangements. |
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IAS officers given addl charge
Chandigarh, April 9 Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Navraj Sandhu will also hold the charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Food and Supplies Department, in addition to her present duties during the election duty of T V S N Prasad. Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Roshan Lal has been given the additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Cooperation, in addition to his present duties during the election duty of Alok Nigam. |
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Officer earns HC rap for rewriting seniority rules
Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 9 Some petitioners were promotee members of the State Forest Service while others were direct recruits. Taking up the petitions, the Bench also set aside the orders passed by the Additional Chief Secretary on May 25, 2011, and November 5, 2012, after holding that the same were “not sustainable in law”. In an order dated May 25, 2011, the state government had modified an earlier order regularising the services of promotee officers and the order of confirmation after relying upon instructions issued by the Chief Secretary on December 15, 1971, due to their failure to pass departmental examinations. The Additional-Chief Secretary found that many members had failed to pass the departmental examination within the prescribed period. As such, they were liable to be removed from service or reverted to the previous position. Taking a lenient view, such employees were not being removed or reverted, particularly because they passed the departmental examination at a later stage. But, it was held that the employees were entitled to regularisation of their service and confirmation against the cadre post from the date of passing the departmental examination”. The Bench observed: “The state government through the Additional Chief Secretary had changed the date of regularisation holding that the failure to qualify the departmental examination was proof of unsatisfactory work and conduct. It was held that the officer could not be said to have completed the probation period prior to qualifying the departmental examination?.” “We find that the Additional Chief Secretary has re-written the rules of seniority?. An officer becomes a member of the service from the date of promotion and not from the date of qualifying the departmental examination?. Qualifying the departmental examination is not the starting point for determination of seniority. We find that the orders passed by the Additional-Chief Secretary are not sustainable in law. Consequently, the said orders are set aside except to the limited extent of confirmation of the officers.”
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Fashionable writing not literature: Maurya
Rohtak, April 9 Delivering the valedictory address, Prof Abhai Maurya, a noted scholar and founder Vice-Chancellor of English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, said only literature related to societal concerns and life would survive the test of times. He remarked that the so-called popular literature was fashionable writing as it was not concerned with the core issues of life; rather it reflected narcissistic tendencies of the authors. He highlighted the emerging trend of Dalit literature and feminist writing in Indian literature. He advocated the introduction of literary works in syllabi to develop a culture of literary appreciation in students. In the plenary session held today, Prof Anand Prakash, Prof Tejinder Kaur, Prof Sucheta Pathania, Dr Pankaj Sharma, Prof Monika Sethi, Dr Parneet Jaggi, Dr Rashmi Malik and Dr Loveleen Mohan talked about myriad aspects of contemporary Indian literature. Prof SPS Dahiya, Head, Department of English and Foreign Languages at MDU, said contemporary Indian literature grappled with the socio-cultural realities of life. He said various forms of literature and literary works were discussed during the two-day seminar. He also proposed the vote of thanks. |
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Bodies of woman, 2 kids found
Fatehabad, April 9 Sonal (30) belonged to Hisar and was married to Jai Prakash Bansal of Agarwal Colony in Fatehabad. She and her children Khushi (5) and Nikunj (3) were reportedly missing since yesterday. The deceased’s cousin Vijay alleged that the victim’s husband, father-in-law Mangat Ram Bansal, brother-in-law Bobby and sister-in-law Sunita had killed Sonal and her children and tried to dispose of their bodies. He spoke to media persons at the General Hospital here. He alleged that Sonal’s in-laws had been harassing her ever since marriage seven years back. Sonal’s parents and other members of her immediate family had been living at Ahmedabad in Gujarat for the last four years in connection with their business. Dr Manav Sethi, who was a part of the board of doctors which conducted the postmortem, said the cause of death would
be ascertained after receiving reports of certain tests from the government laboratory. The police said a case of murder and causing disappearance of evidence was registered against the four accused on the basis of Vijay’s complaint. |
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Man booked for raping daughter
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, April 9 The accused, a watchman, is a resident of Kalanaur. He has been booked under Sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural sex) and relevant Sections of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
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Two killed in road accidents
Yamunanagar, April 9 He
was working in a private company and was going for his duty on a motorcycle when the accident
took place. It was not clear how he came under the truck. The police have registered a case against the truck driver. In another accident, a boy was killed when his motorcycle was hit by a truck near Damla village. He was rushed to Civil Hospital, Yamunanagar, from where he was refferred to PGI. He died on the way to PGI. The police have registered a case against the truck driver. |
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Youth's body found
Ambala, April 9 The police said the youth was Sushil of Panipat. A suicide note was recovered from his possession in which he stated that the girl whom he loved had got a criminal case registered against him on charges of raping her. Therefore, he was committing suicide. The body was found hanging from a tree.
— TNS |
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