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Constituency profile Anadpur Sahib
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BJP finds fodder in PM’s former adviser’s book
campaign trail
ravneet singh bittu
Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu (in yellow turban) during a road show in Ludhiana. Tribune photo
Six women join poll fray in Punjab
cONSTITUENCY PROFILE lUCKNOW
Allow every voter to cast ballot, SC tells EC
Nandan Nilekani
Never sought support from Ansari: AAP
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Constituency profile Anadpur Sahib After losing thrice, it’s a do-or-die battle for him; Ambika Soni’s clout will be put to test on the battlefield Total voters 14.7 lakh Men 7.78 lakh Women 6.29 lakh First-timers 45,000 Akash Ghai Tribune News Service
Mohali, April 11 The party had fielded Ravneet Bittu, the sitting MP and grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, before the last-minute decision of bringing in seasoned leader Ambika Soni, who had campaigned for party leaders in the last Vidhan Sabha and Parliamentary election.
Soni's entry has left local leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal nervous, but infused a new lease of life into the party's local unit, which was grappling with infighting and anti-incumbency factor against Bittu. For SAD-BJP candidate Prem Singh Chandumajra, who had already lost three elections from different constituencies, it's a "do or die" battle. Being a member of the Rajya Sabha, Soni enjoys an influential clout, but what needs to be seen is whether it will help her garner votes as she is contesting elections for the first time in her around 45-year-old political career. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are trying their luck with the first-timers. Himmat Singh Shergill, an advocate in Punjab and Haryana High Court, and KS Makhan, a Punjabi singer, are the AAP and BSP candidates, respectively. If the past record and recent reports are any indication, the main battle seems to be between Soni and Chandumajra. The Congress-dominated segments are Banga, Nawanshahr, Chamkaur Sahib, Kharar and Mohali, while the SAD dominates in Garhshankar, Balachaur and Roopnagar. The Anandpur Sahib segment is dominated by the BJP. The cause for concern for the SAD leaders is the fact that the party had lost the zila parishad elections last year from its two strongholds — Balachaur and Roopnagar. Meanwhile, with Soni in fray, local Congress leaders, including Jagmohan Kang, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Charanjit Singh Channi and Guriqbal Kaur, are claiming that they will defeat Chandumajra by more than 1 lakh votes. But, the Akali leadership had a shot in the arm when Rajbir Padiala, who has huge following in Kharar and around, rejoined the party after defecting from the Congress recently. "Several local Congress leaders have joined us. This is a clear indication of our victory," an Akali leader said. The constituency
Anandpur Sahib has been divided into nine Assembly segments - Banga, Roopnagar, Chamkaur Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Nawanshahr, Balachaur, Kharar, Garhshankar and Mohali. Before delimitation, Banga and Nawanshahr segments were in the Phillaur constituency, Chamkaur Sahib and Kharar in Ropar constituency and Garhshankar, Balachaur and Anandpur Sahib in Hoshiarpur constituency. Mohali was created as part of delimitation of Assembly constituencies in 2008. Of the nine segments, five are dominated by the Congress, while three by the SAD and one by the
BJP. The MLAs are: Congress' Balbir Singh Sidhu in Mohali, Jagmohan Singh Kang in Kharar, Charanjit Singh Channi in Chamkaur Sahib, Guriqbal Kaur Babli in Nawanshahr, and Tarlochan Singh Soond in Banga; SAD's Surinder Bhullewal in Garhshankar, Daljit Singh Cheema in Ropar, Chaudhary Nand Lal in Balachaur; and BJP's Madan Mohan Mittal in
Nangal. The past
Past victories in Ropar Year Leader Party 1977 Basant Singh Khalsa
SAD 1984 Charanjit Singh SAD 1989 Bimal Kaur Khalsa SAD (Amritsar) 1991 Harchand Singh
Congress 1996 Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal SAD 1998 Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal
SAD 1999 Shamsher Singh Dullo Congress 2004 Sukhdev Singh Libra SAD 2009 Ravneet Bittu Congress
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BJP finds fodder in PM’s former adviser’s book
New Delhi, April 11 "I have been saying from Day 1 that the PM presides and madam decides. This has been proved by this book now," BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said, referring to "The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh" written by Sanjaya Baru. He said even this has been "outdated" now with the current norm being "PM presides, nobody decides". BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said the book proves true the "fear" the party had been expressing over the years. "Between the two of them, the decision is taken by Sonia Gandhi," she said. Naidu said such a situation had caused a "yearning" among the people for a "strong and decisive leadership" of BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The book says Singh had been "defanged" by the Congress in his second term with Gandhi deciding on key appointments to the Cabinet and to the PMO. The PM, Baru says, seemed to "surrender" to her and to the UPA constituents as he provides an insight into the "cautious equation" between Singh and the Congress president and Singh's "often troubled" relations with his ministers. — PTI
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ravneet singh bittu He recounts sacrifice of his grandfather Beant Singh Minna Zutshi Tribune News Service
Mullanpur Dakha (Ludhiana), April 11 Bittu addresses a small, informal gathering at the village. It is an impromptu programme, squeezed into Bittu's scheduled visit to Nanaksar Gurdwara at Bharowal village. This is the Congress candidate's fourth public meeting for the day. An early start
Bittu's day starts at 4.30 am. After getting ready, he says his prayers. A glass of milk with cornflakes serves as his breakfast. By 5.30 am, his supporters have started making a beeline for his residence. Around 6 am, he and his supporters leave for Leisure Valley at Sarabha Nagar in Ludhiana. An informal chat with morning walkers follows. After the talk session, he walks down to another park in Sarabha Nagar. Senior citizens strolling in the park get nostalgic talking about his grandfather, former Punjab CM Beant Singh. The family ties figure prominently in Bittu's interaction with this group of elderly persons.
A man, appearing to be in his 60s, recalls his association with Beant Singh's daughter and Bittu's paternal aunt Gurkanwal Kaur. Bittu seizes the opportunity to call up his aunt. He hands over his phone to the man who exchanges pleasantries with Beant Singh's daughter and promises his family's support to
Bittu. Next on the schedule is a visit to a supporter's house on Cemetery Road. Bittu has a somewhat miffed supporter to win over. From here, it's over to villages in Dakha. There are at least 13 villages to be covered today. The first stop at Bharowal is followed by a public meeting at Janghpur, where Bittu launches a scathing attack on the Akali Dal-BJP government. He shows a copy of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) manifesto. "The SAD-BJP government failed on every count. It has not fulfilled even a single promise made in the manifesto," alleges
Bittu. Armed with statistics
He is ready with statistics. "The Punjab Government had promised 10 lakh jobs for the youth in the state. There are 12,500 villages in Punjab. Going by this, the state government should have job openings for at least 80-90 youngsters from each village," he
says. Family connection
In his public addresses, Bittu recounts the sacrifice of his grandfather. He speaks at length on Beant Singh's contribution to Punjab and his connection with
Ludhiana. The Congress candidate is humble when he says: "Main tuhade charana di dhool haan (I'm a speck of
dust)." Drawing on his experience as the Anandpur Sahib Member Parliament (MP), he assures the audience that he knows how to raise the issues concerning public welfare in the Lok
Sabha. Making an appeal
Listing the UPA Government's achievements, Bittu talks about the RTI Act, Right to Education, Right to Food Security, one rank, one pension and Anand Marriage Act. Seeking to buttress his point, he draws a contrast between the "achievements" of the UPA Government and the "unfulfilled" promises of the Akali Dal-BJP
alliance. Bittu makes a fervent appeal to the gatherings in all the villages he visits: "My grandfather Beant Singh served the country till his last breath. I promise to be at your service. You may call me at midnight and I will be there to redress your grievances."
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Six women join poll fray in Punjab
Bathinda, April 11 Those in the fray include the maharani of erstwhile princely state of Patiala Preneet Kaur, Harsimrat Kaur of the Badal family from Bathinda, AAP's Yamini Gomar, seasoned politician Ambika Soni, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan and Jyoti Mann of AAP from Jalandhar. Congress' cards
The Congress has reposed faith in its seasoned politician Ambika Soni from the Anandpur Sahib seat. Salt-and-pepper-haired Soni, who would be contesting her maiden Lok Sabha election, is pitted against Prem Singh Chandumajra of the SAD, KS Makhan of the BSP and Himmat Singh Shergill of
AAP. A confidante of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Soni has already expressed that there is an undercurrent of discontent with the SAD-BJP government in the
state. Party's second woman contestant Preneet Kaur, wife of former Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amrinder Singh, is known for having a stronghold in Patiala as she has been holding the fort since 1999. She is seeking her fourth consecutive Lok Sabha term from
Patiala. If she wins this time, she will be just one win away from matching the record of five consecutive wins by a woman candidate from Punjab, held by former Union Minister Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder, who represented the Gurdaspur constituency. This election, Preneet will face Dipender Singh Dhillon of the SAD, Ram Singh Dhiman of the BSP and Dr Dharamvir Gandhi of
AAP. The Congress has, however, preferred winnability over experience as it has replaced Santosh Chowdhary, Hoshiarpur MP, with first-time MP from Jalandhar Mohinder Singh
Kaypee. Post 2009 delimitation, Santosh moved to Hoshiarpur when the constituency was reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate. Earlier, she had represented the Phillaur constituency from 1992 to 96 and 1999 to 2004, which now stands
dissolved. SAD-BJP aces
The SAD-BJP alliance has also played it safe by reposing faith in sitting women MPs - Harsimrat Kaur Badal from Bathinda and Paramjeet Kaur Gulshan from
Faridkot. Harsimrat, wife of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal made her mark in state politics after she won the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat defeating Captain Amrinder Singh's son Raninder Singh by a margin of 1,20,948
votes. Mostly dressed in bright coloured kurta-churidar sets, the Badal bahu is known for running down her opponents with her
speeches. She, however, looks a little rattled these days as she has come under the scanner for going on a foundation-stone-laying spree a month before the model code of conduct was put into force. She is also being derided for paying a lip service for the uplift of women through her Nanhi Chhan
campaign. Apart from facing the wrath of the Bhullar community, she has a tough battle ahead, as she faces the estranged Manpreet Singh Badal (Congress-PPP), Kuldeep Singh (BSP) and singer Jassi Jasraj (AAP). The fight is weighing heavy on Harsimrat as Bathinda is one of the most important seats for the Badal
family. Party's another woman candidate is Paramjit Kaur Gulshan from Faridkot. Apart from winning the Bathinda LS seat in 2004, she also wrested the Faridkot seat from Sukhwinder Singh Danny of the Congress by a margin of 62,042
votes. Paramjit recently suffered a blow when Congressman-turned-Akali former MLA Gurdev Singh Gill announced to contest as an Independent from the Faridkot seat. The other candidates in the fray are Prof Sadhu Singh (AAP), Sant Ram Malih (BSP) and Joginder Singh Panjgrain
(Congress). AAP's choice
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded Yamini Gomar, a graduate from Delhi University, from the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat. She is a resident of the Labh Nagar area in Hoshiarpur and runs a computer institute. The commoner will face Mohinder Singh Kaypee of the Congress, Bhagwan Singh Chauhan of the BSP and Vijay Sampla of the
BJP. Jyoti Mann, a schoolteacher in a private school has been named AAP candidate from Jalandhar. Her name was announced after party's nominee Rajesh Padam announced to opt out of the electoral race. A 28-year old IT Graduate Jyoti Mann has never been associated with any political
party. Women candidates fare well
Since 1977, a couple of women candidates have won the Lok Sabha seats for their parties. Sukhbuns Kaur holds the record of five consecutive wins. She won the Gurdaspur seat in 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991 and 1996 before being defeated by actor-turned-politician Vinod
Khanna. While Paramjit Kaur Gulshan won from the Bathinda seat in 2004, she won the Faridkot seat in 2009. Harsimrat Kaur Badal won the Bathinda seat in 2009. Santosh Chaowdhary won the Phillaur constituency twice - 1991 and 1999 - and the Hoshiarpur constituency in
2009. Preneet Kaur won from the Patiala seat in 1999, 2004 and 2009. Gurbinder Kaur won from the Faridkot seat in 1980, Bimal Kaur from Ropar in 1989 and Satwinder Kaur won the seat in 1998. Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, like Santosh Chowdhary, has the distinction of contesting the Lok Sabha elections from two different constituencies and winning both. She won the Bathinda seat in 2004 and Faridkot in 2009. Women voters Year Electors Women voters Poll% 1999 74,23,396 40,46,950
54.52% 2004 79,63,105 47,94,658 60.21% 2009 81,29,384 56,45,170
64.43% Women candidates Year Contestants Elected 1999 14 2 2004 10
2 2009 13 4
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Caste cauldron on the boil yet again
BJP president Rajnath Singh, Cong state unit chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi locked in straingt fight Shahira Naim Triune News Service 
Lucknow, April 11 The constituency's political significance seems to have suddenly proliferated with the BJP national president deciding to contest from here. Traditional BJP seat
BJP top leader and UP's former Chief Minister Rajnath Singh got his way to contest from here in place of incumbent party MP Lalji Tandon. Tandon had earlier ruled out changing his constituency for Rajnath Singh. Rajnath won his last election from Ghaziabad. The Congress ticket goes to the party's state chief, Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
Lucknow has been a traditional seat of the BJP as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee represented it in five consecutive Lok Sabha elections from 1991 to 2004.
Rajnath Singh's decision to shift his seat from Ghaziabad to Lucknow is seen as an attempt to inherit Vajpayee's
legacy. Brahmins, Muslims hold the key
Brahmins and Muslims votes are decisive in Lucknow which when combined can see any candidate sail
through. The constituency has 12-15 per cent Brahmin, and 23-24 per cent Muslims votes of which one-third are
Shias. There are 11 per cent Dalit votes, a sizeable Kayasth, bania, and a sprinkling of Thakur votes. Native Uttrakhandis called 'pahadis' are also present in large numbers often living in exclusive residential colonies.
Being the state capital, the constituency has approximately two lakh votes of government employees, teachers and people from the organised
sector. This election is once again being fought on caste lines, and national and local issues taking a backseat.
Lucknow constituency has five Assembly segments of which three are represented by Brahmins. Incidentally all the Brahmin candidates are once again in the
fray. Sitting Lucknow west MLA, Samajwadi party's Abhishek Mishra, a minister is the SP Lok Sabha candidate, while Lucknow East MLA BJP's Kalraj Mishra is contesting as the BJP candidate from
Deoria. The third Brahmin candidate is Rita Bahuguna Joshi of the Congress who is contesting from
Lucknow. Her father Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, an immensely popular chief minister, had also represented Lucknow. "Being a woman and 'pahadi' she definitely has an edge".
In 2009, despite Congress' delay in declaring Rita Bahuguna's candidature from Lucknow, she with a well-planned structured campaign gave a tough fight to BJP's Lalji Tandon. He won by getting 34.93 per cent votes, while she captured a good share of 27.93 per
cent. This poll, Rita is doing all to woo voters. In contrast, Rajnath Singh's campaign is yet to pick-up momentum. Controversies surrounding his candidature are still to settle down.
Lalji Tandon, unseated by Singh, has been made Singh's campaign convenor along with BJP's mayor and another discarded aspirant Dinesh
Sharma. While Singh's son, Pankaj Singh is coordinating his father's campaign, BJP insiders say that Tandon and Sharma's half-hearted mobilisation may prove expensive in coming days.
SP is facing flak for changing its Lucknow candidate after Rajnath joined the fray. Senior leader Ashok Vajpayee who had been continuously nurturing Lucknow was unceremoniously dropped in favour of the first-time MLA and political lightweight Abhishek
Mishra. Incidentally, in 2009, SP had not fielded any candidate against Rajnath Singh in Ghaziabad. Replacing Vajpayee with Mishra is said to be another example of the SP facilitating Singh's
victory. Muslims who had voted for the SP in 2012 helping it win three of the five Assembly segments are keeping their cards close to their chest and would tactically side with the candidate who appears to be in a position to defeat the
BJP. BSP's Brahmin candidate Nakul Dubey and Aam Aadmi Party's candidate actor Javed Jafri are yet to make an impression.
If their campaign remains lacklustre, voters are likely not to entertain them.
Main contenders Lok Sabha 2014 BJP Rajnath Singh Cong Rita Bahuguna
Joshi SP Abhishek Mishra BSP Nakul Dubey AAP Javed Jaffrey
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Allow every voter to cast ballot, SC tells EC
New Delhi, April 11 A Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Vikramajit Sen said the postal ballot and other facilities being extended to diplomats posted in foreign countries and Defence personnel on transferable jobs to enable them to participate in the election process should be offered to every citizen facing similar
problems. "Why should private sector employees be disqualified? Every citizen should be able to vote. We will look at it comprehensively," the Bench said while hearing a PIL seeking facilities for non-resident Indians (NRIs) to cast their votes from the countries they were staying, instead of forcing them to travel all the way to India if they wanted to exercise their
franchise. Expanding the scope of the PIL to find methods to enable all voters to cast their ballot, the Bench asked the petitioner to amend his plea to this
extent. Meanwhile, the Bench asked the EC to have a comprehensive view while responding to the PIL. Senior counsel Meenakshi Arora, who appeared for the EC, said the Commission had appointed a panel to look into the issue. Asking the EC to submit the panel's report within a month, the court posted the next hearing for
August. Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi said another SC Bench had recently passed an order directing the EC to register Defence personnel as regular voters in their present places of posting, instead of forcing them to use the postal ballot or proxy
voters. The Bench, however, said a similar order in the NRI case was not possible as three phases of voting were already over in the ongoing Lok Sabha
elections.
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Baichung kicks it off in style
Kolkata, April 11 Baichung was a surprise entry in the political arena by Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee. He is contesting from Darjeeling in West Bengal against BJP national vice-president Surinder Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Gorkha votes matter
Aware that his success will depend much on the support of Gorkhas, Baichung is doing all he can to woo them. Recently, Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Subash Ghisingh announced his support to Bhutia, which has come as a shot in the arm for the party as it will help Trinamool cut into Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) vote-bank on its home turf, which has pledged its support to the BJP candidate.
Though GJM top boss Bimal Gurung showed his disapproval on the incumbent BJP MP, Jaswant Singh's name, he agreed to put his weight behind
Ahluwalia. Statehood demand
The Morcha was unhappy with Mamata's decision to field Bhutia, who is from Sikkim, from the Darjeeling seat. Also, Gurung was furious with her for not addressing the long-pending demand of a separate Gorkhaland. Mamata wanted the GJM to support her candidate in Darjeeling, to which they said no. As a strategy, the Chief Minister picked up the Sikkimese Sniper as the TMC candidate against Ahluwalia as football and the player holds good ground in the hills. Baichung too tried to persuade Gurung to support him in the General Election, but was unsuccessful.
A Morcha supporter said: "If GJM supports Bhutia, who is from Sikkim, we will not do justice to the people of Darjeeling."
In a statement, Gurung had said: "The BJP is known for its open-mindedness of creating smaller states and I am sure that it will give us a sympathetic hearing to our demand of a separate
state." Among others, CPI (M) leader Saman Pathak is also in the
fray. Launching his campaign in Darjeeling, Baichung said: "I hate defeat and I am here certainly not to
lose." While it's a maiden stint for the TMC player, Ahluwalia, who was born and brought up in the coal town of Asansol, has a long political career behind him, dating back to mid-eighties. But he remained in Parliament as Rajya Sabha member and contesting the Lok Sabha polls is a new thing for him.
"I may be contesting the General Election for the first time, but my long experience in politics will help me. Also, I have the support of GJM," the BJP candidate
said.
Winners: 1977-2009 Year Winner Party 1977 Krishna Bahadur Chhetri
INC(I) 1980 Ananda Pathak CPI(M) 1984 Ananda Pathak CPI(M) 1989 Inderjeet
GNLF 1991 Inderjeet INC 1996 R.B.Rai CPI (M) 1998 Ananda Pathak CPI
(M) 1999 S.P.Lepcha CPI (M) 2004 Dawa Narbula INC 2009 Jaswant Singh BJP
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Ex-IT czar Nandan Nilekani sets his eyes on new venture
Bangalore, April 11 Katriguppe falls in the Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency and Nilekani, the billionaire co-founder of Infosys, is the Congress candidate from here. He was in the park in the morning and fraternised with morning walkers. But the park transformed into a bastion of hardcore supporters of the BJP in the evening. "Nandan is a good fellow but he is no match for Ananth Kumar," said a frail looking retired government servant sitting alone on a bench. A retired cinema hall manager sitting close by butted in to shower accolades on the BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi. Ananth Kumar, BJP national general secretary and former Union Minister, has won five consecutive elections from this constituency. Nilekani, who left all his position in Infosys to head the UPA Government's Aadhar project for which he was handpicked, has been given the responsibility of interrupting Kumar's applecart. The IT czar is trying his best to accomplish this goal. He came to the park at 6.30 am and interacted with the people. He then went to neighbouring Girinagar and concluded his morning programme by having breakfast at a well-known local eatery serving traditional Mysore food. "I started my day early by visiting parks in and around Katriguppe and Girinagar wards. I got to hear from the walkers in the park about their problems. I later stopped for a dosa at Vidyarthi Bhavan in Gandhi Bazaar and shared my ideas of Bengaluru with the people there," Nilekani wrote in his blog. Vidyarthi Bhavan charges Rs 40 for a masala dosa. Coffee served in traditional South Indian style costs Rs 15. Nilekani, worth a staggering Rs 7,700 crore according to his election affidavit, had come to this popular joint to strike a chord with the ordinary folks of the area. But clients of Vidyarthi Bhavan are not impressed.
"Whatever Nilekani may try to do, people here will vote for Ananth Kumar only. Moreover, who does not know that there is a Modi wave sweeping the country," said Vijayendra Athanikar (30), a Hindustani classical vocalist and a regular at Vidyarthi Bhavan. Pawan, Vijayendra's friend, also expressed his approval in between chewing mouthfuls of crisp
"dhose". Nilekani's supporters, however, will assure you that the scene is different in other parts of the constituency. Bangalore South has large areas, including Electronic City, that are populated by "techies", many of whom are from other states. Nilekani, for this lot, is an
icon. It is also pointed out that Ananth Kumar's victory margin has been going down continuously. While Kumar won by a margin of 1.8 lakh votes over his nearest rival in 1998, he could defeat young Krishna Byregowda of Congress in 2009 by 37,000 votes only.
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Never sought support from Ansari: AAP
New Delhi, April 11 "We have never asked for support or contacted him (Mukhtar) but if someone offers support in our fight against Modi, then it will be positive for us," AAP leader Ashutosh told The Tribune when asked about the rumours that Afzal Ansari, brother of Mukhtar who is currently jailed in the BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai murder case, had met AAP leaders in Delhi. Afzal said Mukhtar would not contest from Varanasi "to strengthen secular forces and avoid division of votes." "We will discuss our future course of action later. Now the SP, BSP and AAP have to decide how to defeat Modi," Afzal said. Four-time MLA from Mau, Mukhtar had contested the 2009 General Election on a BSP ticket against Murli Manohar Joshi and lost by a narrow margin. The move is obvious to work in AAP's favour with the Muslim electorate leaning towards Kejriwal in the high-voltage Lok Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh. "Arvind is a mass leader and has his own support among all sections. The fact is Muslims all over India are fed up with the Congress and they are backing AAP, as seen in Delhi," said Ashutosh, who is contesting from Delhi's Chandni Chowk seat. "We have to defeat the Congress and the BJP. Corrupt and communal forces have to be ousted from power," said AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. — TNS
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I am a widower and if I remarry i won't hide like your Dear Feku ! — Digvijaya Singh
We all have to throw out the party which has tried destroying yog, ayurveda & other tenets of Indian culture — Swami Ramdev Strongly deplore the statements made by senior SP leaders.Ballots will reflect public anger on this irresponsible attitude towards women. — ShivrajSingh Chouhan We all knw hw #UPA tk leadership in killng #InternetFreedom in India. We need new govt tht respects freedom of expressn & nt fetter Internet My political assessment - AAP getting 6 to 7 seats in Delhi |
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88 in fray for April 30 polls in Bengal Defamation complaint against Munde's nephew AIADMK moves EC against Dayanidhi Maran
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As Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu's cavalcade moves towards Bharowal village in the Dakha Assembly constituency of
Ludhiana, the sleepy village is stirred out of its daily quiet.
Like the last General Election, Lucknow will see a direct fight between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP). The constituency's political significance seems to have suddenly proliferated with the BJP national president deciding to contest from
here.
In the 2009 election, Ravneet Bittu bagged 4,04,836 votes and defeated his SAD rival Daljeet Singh Cheema, who was polled 3,37,632 votes, by 67,204 votes. The BSP candidate had remained at number 3 with 1,18,088 votes and rest of the candidates had failed to cross the even 5,000-mark, except Mahan Singh of the CPM, who got 17,147 votes.
