BJP’s Vinod Khanna with his wife and (below) Congress’ Partap Singh Bajwa. Tribune photographs

The seat was considered a bastion of the Congress till 1998 when actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna won the seat for the first time. He defeated Congress leader Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder, who had retained the seat since 1980. Khanna won thrice, but lost in 2009 to Bajwa, though by a thin margin of 8,300 votes.

Banking on 'Shakti Kendras'

The BJP is taking no chances this time. It has formed 'Shakti Kendras' with the RSS. Each kendra will look after a cluster of five to seven booths. Khanna is known in the area for building half-a-dozen bridges. This way, he has earned the sobriquet of being the 'king of bridges'. Wherever he goes, he is greeted by the slogan - "pulan da badshah zindabad."

AAP candidate Sucha Singh Chhotepur

With his long political experience, Bajwa is leaving no stone unturned to win the elections the second time.

The BJP and Congress are facing challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate, Sucha Singh Chhottepur, who is all set to bag the disgruntled SAD-BJP and Congress votes.

Bajwa reins in dissidents

Bajwa is banking on his personal contacts in each Assembly segment. He has managed to rein in dissident leaders of Sujanpur and Pathankot. "Bajwa tried his best to set up the Rs 1,500 crore Rail Coach Factory to Kalanaur, but Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, sensing that Bajwa would score political points in his home turf, scuttled the project which would have given employment to thousands of youth. The project was later allocated to Sonepat at the insistence of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda," admitted a Congress MLA.

The Congress has five sitting legislators in the constituency may not help the sitting MP much. "Two out of the five MLAs are inimical to Bajwa while the third is campaigning out of the state. However, he is finding support from two MLAs - his wife Charanjit Kaur Bajwa (Qadian) and Aruna Chowdhury (Dinanagar).

Political blame game

Bajwa has already gone on record alleging that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal did not allow him to set up his pet project of bringing the RCF to the constituency. He also accused the SAD government of putting impediments in yet another project - the 38 km Qadian-Beas Rail line — which he wanted to get for the constituency. Chhotepur, despite being lured by both the Congress and the SAD before the last Assembly elections, went his own way and contested as an Independent from Qadian. He got 16,000 votes.

If the Congress is gaining ground with every passing day, the BJP is trying to woo all the four SAD halqa in-charges who rule the roost in the seats of Dera Baba Nanak, Qadian, Batala and Fatehgarh Churian.

Warning to dissidents

For the past two years, these area chiefs have been given a free hand by the SAD high-command to run the administrative affairs in their respective Assembly seats. Now, they have been asked by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to either pull up their socks or face the music. Each one of them has been asked to reduce the margin of defeats they suffered in the last Assembly elections. This, in turn, will help Vinod Khanna. The BJP is expected to fare well in its traditional bastions of Sujanpur, Bhoa and Pathankot while it may hit a road block in the Dinanagar and Batala seats where dissension among the party rank and file is high. The SAD is not backing the BJP in Dinanagar owing to a long-standing feud between a senior Akali leader and the BJP halqa incharge of Dinanagar. In Gurdaspur, where SAD Parliamentary Secretary GS Babbehali won by more than 20,000 votes, the BJP may sail through. However, again it may face a tough contest in Qadian, considered to be a stronghold of PPCC chief and sitting Gurdaspur MP Partap Bajwa. Party cadres are working hard in the Batala seat, from where Bajwa took a lead of more than 18,000 votes in the 2009 elections, to regain lost ground. The two seats of Fatehgarh Churian, where Ravi Karan Kahlon, son of former Speaker NS Kahlon and Chairman of the Punjab Tubewell Corporation is working hard to ensure Khanna gets a lead from his home town, and Dera Baba Nanak , where halqa in charge and former Cabinet Minister SS Langah holds the sway, will hold the key for the BJP. Going by the response AAP top boss Arvind Kejriwal received during his road show on April 11, its candidate Sucha Singh Chhottepur is all set to play a spoilsport for both the Congress and the BJP.

HIGHS AND LOWS

Vinod Khanna, BJP

STRENGTHS
Non-controversial and an honest politician. Got nearly a dozen bridges constructed on the Ravi, Beas and Ujh rivers during his tenure. These bridges connected Gurdaspur to the mainland Punjab. Unlike other MPs, he does not interfere in the day-to-day administrative affairs of his constituency.

WEAKNESSES
Inaccessibility, listens to only a hand-picked group of people.

Partap Singh Bajwa, Congress

STRENGTHS
A former Punjab Minister, he is considered an experienced politician. He has the ability to woo dissidents. His chief ministerial (CM) candidate image is helping him as he continuously drills into the minds of the voters that "the area from where the CM belongs always sees development”.

WEAKNESSES
Failed to bring big projects to the segment. Has not fulfilled a majority of his promises. Believes in dynastic politics as he made his wife Charanjit Kaur Bajwa contest the 2012 Assembly polls from Qadian. Before that he made his younger brother Fatehjung Bajwa contest assembly elections for three times from various seats.

Sucha Singh Chhottepur, AAP

STRENGTHS
Nonconformist politician liked by people, leader of the masses, considered to be an honest and hardworking leader.

WEAKNESSES
Party hopper, has changed many parties during his three-decade political career, considered to be a fundamentalist.

Nine Assembly segments

The Lok Sabha seat has nine Assembly segments, including Pathankot, Dina Nagar, Qadian, Batala, Fatehgarh Churian, Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, Sujanpur and Bhoa.

Ludhiana, April 16
Farmers' unions, as always, will play a crucial role in the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.

Although there are various factions of the Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) in the state, but all have either aligned with the Congress or with the SAD-BJP combine.

The BKU led by Ajmer Singh Lakhowal has announced its support to the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party candidates. The BKU led by Balbir Singh Rajewal is also supporting the Akali-BJP combine.

Bhupinder Singh Mann, president of the BKU (Mann) and a former Rajya Sabha member, has declared that he would support the Congress in the state. He had claimed that the Congress had been sensitive to the issues of farmers.

However, some unions have decided to boycott the elections with the BKU (Ugrahan) already giving a call not to vote for the SAD-BJP alliance as it had 'failed' to address the farmers' issues.

The Kisan Sangharsh Committee has decided to support the Aam Aadmi Party. The committee has its influence in the Majha region.

Ajmer Singh Lakhowal said: "We have decided to support the SAD-BJP after consulting our union members. The Akali-BJP combine is better than the Congress. The UPA government adopted anti-farmer policies."

Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the BKU (Dakaunda), said they had organised a rally at Bhawanigarh on March 31. "The ruling parties in the state and the Centre have done nothing for the farmers. We have asked our members not to support any party. If they want to vote, they are free to vote for any party," he said.

Jaipur, April 16
As 20 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan go to polls tomorrow, all pre-poll surveys have predicted a clean sweep for the ruling BJP and a total decimation of the Congress which was in power till December 2013.

Analysts are predicting a reverse of the 2009 Lok Sabha election results, where the Congress won 20 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP won just four. Predictions are to the extent that the Congress may not be able to win even five seats in the state.

The prestige of many Congress bigwigs is at stake in the state tomorrow, while the remaining five seats in the state go to polls on April 24.

A drive through the region going to polls on April 17, however, reflects a different picture than what was for the BJP in the state till recently. A possible wrong choice of candidates, along with open rebellion by some of ignored party leaders, has left the situation not so simple for the ruling party.

The biggest challenge the party is facing is in Barmer where the BJP could have had a smooth ride. The choice of Col Sonaram, a former Congress MLA who had joined the BJP three days before being chosen the party candidate from this seat, over party veteran and long-time loyalist Jaswant Singh, has left a bad taste among the people.

Although Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has put all her weight behind Col Sonaram, response from the people of Barmer is in favour of the 78-year-old founder member of the BJP, who held key portfolios like Defence, Finance and Foreign Affairs. Contesting his 10th election, Jaswant is seeking vote one last time from his people.

The situation is the same in Sikar. The decision to accommodate yoga guru Baba Ramdev's request and field Swami Sumedhanand as the BJP candidate could prove costly to the party, as miffed at being ignored, former Union Minister Subhash Maharia has declared open rebellion and is running as an Independent.

There are 4.26 crore voters, including 2.01 crore women in the state. The voting will take place across 47,948 polling booths to decide the fate of 320 candidates, including 27 women.

Of these, more than 3.80 crore electors would cast their votes in first phase polls to decide the fate of 239 candidates, including 20 each of the Congress and BJP.

Five seats in Eastern Rajasthan - Alwar, Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and Bharatpur - will go to polls on April 24. As many as 38,835 polling booths have been set up in 20 constituencies. There are 17 women contestants in the fray of these, six are from the Congress, including three sitting MPs, and one from the BJP.

The three sitting women MPs include Girija Vyas from Chittorgarh, Jyoti Mirdha from Nagaur and Chandresh Katoch from Jodhpur. The new faces are Raj Bala Ola from Jhunjhunu, Munni Devi from Pali and Reshma Malviya from Banswara. The BJP has fielded woman candidate, Santosh Ahlawat, from the Jhunjhunu seat.

Bellary, April 16
Nearly 200-odd youths greeted B Sreeramulu (43), BJP candidate from Bellary, as he emerged from his home after a quick lunch break. The youths wearing identical T-shirts were waiting patiently for Sreeramulu in the covered courtyard of his Bellary mansion.

The show of solidarity must have gladdened Sreeramulu as some of his most trusted friends, who are also his political colleagues, are in prison in illegal mining related cases.

Mining magnate Janardhana Reddy - widely acknowledged as Sreeramulu's mentor - is in jail for the past more than two years now. Three of Sreeramulu's close associates, who represent Assembly segments of the Bellary Lok Sabha seat, are also in prison.

"I have met them in prison and they have offered me their best wishes. Their workers are with me," Sreeramulu told the TNS.

An aide of the BJP candidate said incarceration of his associates might even help the BJP candidate. "Supporters of Reddy and the three imprisoned MLAs know that Sreeramulu will try to help his friends if he becomes an MP. They want Sreeramulu to win," he said.

Congressmen, on the other hand, do not hide their relief at Janardhana Reddy's absence from the poll scene.

Vijay, who with his two brothers manages the campaigning for their father NY Hanumanthappa (74), Congress candidate from Bellary, a constituency reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST), says that the election this time is taking place in "a much more democratic manner".

"There is no sense of fear among people. They are responding well. There is also no misuse of the official machinery this time," Vijay told the TNS.

Hanumanthappa, a retired chief justice of the Orissa High Court, had won an election from Chitradurga in 2004. He shifted to Bellary in 2009 and lost to Sreeramulu's sister J Shantha, BJP candidate, by a margin of 2,243 votes. Sreeramulu, Janardhana Reddy and Karunakara Reddy were all members of the Karnataka Cabinet headed by the BJP at that time. But voters in two of the seven Assembly segments forming the Bellary Lok Sabha constituency backed the Congress candidate reducing the victory margin of Shantha.

Bellary first shot to prominence due to the high-voltage showdown between Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj here in 1999. Sonia won the battle but in the General Elections that followed in 2004, the seat was won by BJP candidate Karunakara Reddy, eldest of the three Reddy brothers. Since then, Bellary has been synonymous with the Reddys and their protégé Sreeramulu.

Sreeramulu, after having broken away from the BJP in 2011, won the Assembly byelection as an Independent candidate and then again won from the same seat in 2013 as a member of the BSR Congress floated by him. "The BJP is in my heart," he replied when asked why he decided to return to the saffron party.

Morena (Chambal), April 16
Election in Chambal ravines, "beehads" in local dialect, is not just another passing season. Known as heaven for dacoits (or "rebels" as they prefer being called) since ages, the uneven mound of anthill-like structures is being flattened to promote tourism and agriculture.

BJP’s Anoop Misra Shakes hands with a supporter during a rally. A file photograph

People still have fascination for guns in this region, which reeks of unemployment, disputes and has a history of violent rebellion. It is an uphill task for the police to ensure that all licensed weapons are seized before every election in the region, where gunshots are frequently heard, even over trivial issues.

Every village in this region has more guns than police stations. The Morena constituency houses 17 lakh voters who own 27,000 licensed arms and more than 1.5 lakh illegal weapons.

"We have received orders to shoot anyone trying to disrupt the polling," said Additional Superintendent of Police Raghuvansh Singh Bhadoriya.

Asha Singh Sikarwar, granddaughter of Dongar Singh Sikarwar (a "rebel" from Morena and reportedly the country's first dacoit), says excitement for the Lok Sabha polls is palpable in the area.

"If you keep on taking the same medicines for days, it will stop affecting you. On the same lines, change is necessary in political system too. The current government needs a break to reflect upon itself," Asha said.

The battle fought by the two generations of her family has turned her into a social activist and she now runs an NGO that spreads awareness among masses and aims at protecting the girl child. "My grandfather fought for the poor. He was a real patriot and a man of dignity," she said. However, caste politics rule the region and is exploited to the hilt by political leaders.

The key players

With BJP's Anoop Misra (nephew of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) pitted against Congress' Govind Singh and BSP's Virandhawan Singh Sikarwar, the constituency is set to face a triangular battle.

Though Vajpayee's surname is bound to mobilise support for Misra, he is still considered to be an outsider in the area. He had also been allegedly involved in the murder of a member of the Kushwaha community, which might work against him as other members of the community are opposing him in the region.

"Who is an outsider…My whole family belongs to Morena. I have worked for these people. This will be proved in the election when I will win by a huge margin," Misra said.

Unaware of the burgeoning problems in the region, the past leaders, locals say, have done nothing in the name of development. Industries are on the downfall despite a proposed industrial corridor and talks to convert a British-time railway narrow-gauge into broad-gauge, which will connect the area to the neighbouring states, have also not been able to yield desired results.

Maintaining law and order is another daunting task for any government in the area as violence creeps in occasionally. "Booth capturing is common here. People come loaded with guns and rifles. And surprisingly, the authorities have never announced re-polling," said Vinod Tripathi, a local businessman.

Though the Congress is promising industrial development and the BJP is assuring to convert Chambal into a tourist hub, it remains to be seen what will be the fate of mysterious tumultuous ravines.

Mumbai, April 16
The coastal Konkan region, extending from Mumbai till Goa, is proving to be a tough battle for the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition in Maharashtra.

Voters in one of the most fertile regions of the state, who are unhappy with the government over the acquisition of land for several projects, are showing up in large numbers at rallies organised by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) much to the discomfiture of the ruling front.

The big-ticket projects that have been mooted in the region include Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant, Dighi Port under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and a greenfield airport at Chipi in Sindhudurg district bordering Goa.

Land acquisition has run into rough weather in all these places and the Maharashtra government has had to face protests from villagers. However, the run-up to the elections has seen the Maharashtra government increasing the compensation for land acquired for projects. Ruling party politicians say their efforts have yielded fruit and there is little opposition to the projects now.

"We have developed the area. Apart from the big projects, the government is quadrupling the Mumbai-Goa highway. We have also solved the problem of power shortage in the area," Industries Minister Narayan Rane said. His son, Nilesh, is the sitting Congress MP from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, who is vying to retain the seat.

The opposition NDA is, however, banking on the work done by its leaders in the region. "The government was forced to increase compensation for the land acquired for various projects due to protests by the Shiv Sena," says Vinayak Raut, who is taking on Rane from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat. Raut had been in the forefront of the protests by villagers against the Jaitapur project.

Though Nilesh is seen as a strong candidate, thanks to his father's clout in the region, the Shiv Sena is banking on Narayan Rane's foes in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. Congress and NCP workers in the constituency are staying away from the campaign and Rane is depending on the crowd he brought with him when he left the Shiv Sena 10 years ago.

New Delhi, April 16
The Bharatiya Janata Party today, perhaps for the first time, admitted that not “enough” representation has been given to the Muslims in the 2014 General Election. In spite of its talk of equal participation to all communities, the party has fielded only “half a dozen” Muslim candidates across the country.

Party’s senior leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said though they had not been able to field enough number of candidates from the community, his party would “make amends” for the “lapses” by ensuring “equal participation” to the community in welfare measures, if the BJP-led NDA forms the government.

“We have not been able to field enough number of Muslim candidates. ‘Par ticket tarakki ki guarantee nahin hai’ (but ticket does not guarantee growth). I promise we will make amends for lapses, if any, and ensure equal participation of members of the community in welfare measures,” Naqvi said. He was responding to a question on the number of Muslim candidates fielded by the BJP for around 440 seats declared so far.

Party’s soft Muslim face - Shahnawaz Hussain - is its sole representative in Bihar to woo the 17 per cent Muslim population, who will play a vital role in influencing electoral results of the state.

BJP’s Muslim candidates include three from Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag).

Another two have been fielded from West Bengal’s Tamluk (Badsah Alam) and Ghatal seats (Mohd Alam).

No one from the community has been fielded in Uttar Pradesh, from where the party hopes to win maximum seats.

Party president Rajnath Singh is busy wooing the community in the state, meeting its leaders and also wearing a traditional Muslim cap that Narendra Modi had once publicly refused to don. A photograph, believed to have been taken a few days ago, showing Rajnath wearing a Muslim cap has evoked interest in Lucknow - the constituency he is contesting.

Just a day ago, he reached out to prominent Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad. The Shia leader’s open snub to Modi, whom he said Muslims were scared of, also revived talks of saffron party’s “plan B” in case the BJP under the Gujarat Chief Minister does not reach the magic half-way mark in the Lok Sabha.

While party leaders refuse to attribute any political significance to Rajnath’s moves, sources say the attempts are meant to ensure that the 4.5-lakh Muslim electorate in his Lok Sabha constituency does not entirely consolidate behind his rivals from the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress.

The BJP has been under attack for not fielding Muslims from Uttar Pradesh that sends the largest contingent of 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha and also accounts for around 17 to 18 per cent of its electorate.

Sources say BJP’s UP managers led by Modi’s point man Amit Shah were of the view that symbolic fielding of a Muslim might dilute the party’s chances in the state where polarisation became the key word after the Muzaffarnagar riots.

Deep polarisation in western Uttar Pradesh - which has 26 seats - after the riots is expected to give the BJP good gains.

Lucknow, April 16
Is Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad’s statement that Muslims are scared of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi the unfolding of BJP national president Rajnath Singh’s plan B?

BJP chief Rajnath Singh with Maulana Khalid Rasheed, Darul-Uloom, Farangi Maha, in Lucknow. PTI file photo

A day after their meeting with Rajnath Singh, who is the BJP candidate in Lucknow, Jawwad and Sunni cleric Khalid Rashid reiterated the Muslim community’s inability to accept Modi as the Prime Minister due to his role in the Gujarat riots.

Jawwad has even gone on record of having seen “inclusive” qualities in Rajnath Singh which he earlier saw in five-time Lucknow MP and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

While Rajnath has vehemently being denying -- on every occasion -- a BJP plan B by underlining that Modi and only Modi would be the Prime Minister, his detractors believe otherwise.

His strident denial has been interpreted as a classic case of “chor ki dadhi mein tinka” (the guilty giving himself away by over-defence) by his detractors both within and outside the party.

The plan B is about projecting Modi as the undisputed prime ministerial candidate and use the Modi charisma to put to one side senior leaders like veteran LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi, Arun Jaitley et al.

And when numbers run short, Rajnath would present his case for the top job as a more acceptable consensus candidate in the mould of Vajpayee, which allies would willingly support.

Back-up plan?

• Project Modi as the undisputed PM candidate to put to one side senior leaders like LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi and Arun Jaitley
• If the numbers fall short, Rajnath would present his case for the top job as a more acceptable consensus candidate in the mould of Vajpayee, which allies would willingly support

Hyderabad, April 16
In her first visit to Telangana after granting statehood for the region, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today sought to strike an emotional chord with the people, saying the statehood dream would not have been fulfilled without the bold and unflinching commitment of her party.

Seeking to claim the sole credit for formation of separate state, she alleged the BJP, Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress had tried to “stall” the passage of the Telangana Bill in both Houses of Parliament.

“The long cherished dream of Telangana people would not have become a reality without the Congress at the helm. It was the Congress which prepared the Bill and ensured its passage in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,” Sonia told a public meeting at Karimanagar town, the nerve centre of the Telangana movement.

Incidentally, it was at the same venue --- Ambedkar stadium - in the run-up to the 2009 General Elections that Sonia had promised that her party would “honour” the sentiments of the people of the region and their yearning for separate state. Her visit today carried a symbolic value for the ruling party which is facing a tough poll battle as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has positioned itself as the sole champion of the Telangana cause.

“The TRS had no role whatsoever in the formulation and passage of the Telangana Bill,” said Sonia.

She pointed out how the BJP and TDP tried their best to obstruct the Bill in Parliament “till the last minute” and how they opposed the legislation “with full force.”

Kanyakumari/Kishanganj/Rae Bareli, April 16
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka today singularly targeted BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, saying he believes in keeping all powers to himself and claims he alone can make the country a paradise.

“One individual goes across the country and says he will make India a paradise. You should reject the ambition of that individual,” Sonia said in an apparent reference to Modi at a rally in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.

In Kishanganj, Bihar, Rahul said: “He (Modi) claims he knows everything. He says nobody else except him contributed to the development of Gujarat and now he will say the same about the entire country.”

“Hindustan ko ullu banana band karo (stop fooling the people of the country),” Rahul said at a rally in the minority-dominated constituency.

Modi also came in for severe attack from Priyanka in Rae Bareli where she kicked off the campaign for her mother who is fighting the election from here. Without naming Modi, Priyanka said some people believed power should be centered around a few. “Those who believe in such an ideology say ‘Listen to me, I will take all decisions’. All capacities are within me and you should vote seeing this.”— PTI

snapshots

BJP’s Smriti Irani files papers from Amethi
Amethi: BJP candidate Smriti Irani on Wednesday filed her nomination from Amethi and attacked her main opponent Rahul Gandhi, saying his own party did not have faith in his abilities to name him the PM candidate. Addressing a meeting after filing her papers, Irani declared that this time Amethi would script history by ensuring that Rahul Gandhi does not retain his seat. —TNS

EC bans films of actors contesting polls
Lucknow: The Election Commission has banned telecast of movies of actors on Doordarshan, who are contesting the Lok Sabha polls. "According to the EC directive, during the period of implementation of model code of conduct, the films of actors contesting polls should not be telecast on Doordarshan," Uttar Pradesh CEO Umesh Sinha said. — PTI

Women outnumber men in voter turnout in 5 states
New Delhi: Women have outnumbered men in casting votes in five of the 13 states and Union Territories which went to polls in the first four phases of the LS polls and an increase in the aggregate voter turnout was also witnessed. According to data complied by the Election Commission, women voters outnumbered men in Chandigarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim and Lakshadweep. — PTI