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cONSTITUENCY PROFILE Anantnag
key cONSTITUENCY Dausa |
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Social activist takes on veterans
Mumbai, April 20 Govandi on the outskirts of Mumbai is literally the boondocks. By the time one gets off the train at the "Harbour Branch" line of the Central Railway, the persistent stink is a tad tolerable. People live cheek by jowl with an assorted menagerie of animals.
Mulayam promises Muslim reservation
It’s between two brothers in Dausa
Sonia 'shedding crocodile tears' for TN fishermen: Jaya
Now, Punjab is their stage, voters their audience
It all boils down to price rise, living standards
EC reaches out to lone voter
in Gir forest
Mayawati, too, woos Muslims
AIADMK, BJP workers clash
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It’s Begs versus Muftis in south Kashmir
Either of the two families rules the roost in the area; this time, NC’s Mehboob Beg faces PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti Ehsan Fazili Tribune News Service
Clash of titans
Sitting MP and NC candidate Mehboob Beg is the son of former Deputy Chief Minister Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg, who was a close associate of NC founder leader Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He is pitted against Mehbooba Mufti (PDP), daughter of former Chief Minister and former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed. Home ground
The battlefield for Mehboob and Mehbooba is their home ground, both of whom have represented the constituency once in the past. There are 10 other candidates in the fray, most of them are newcomers in politics or from newly emerged political parties at the regional or national levels. Mehbooba was elected from Anantnag in 2004, while Beg was elected in 2009. 3 Union ministers elected
The constituency has witnessed clash of titans in the past with three Union ministers having been elected from this constituency. They included former Railway Minister Mohammad Shafi Qureshi of the Congress in 1977 and former Union Minister of State for Home Mohammad Maqbool Dar of the Janata Dal in 1996. PDP patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed also got elected to the Lok Sabha from this constituency in 1998. Mufti, earlier elected to the Lok Sabha from outside the state, had also remained the Union Home Minister. Local issues
While it may not be a clash of titans this time, but the two main contenders, the NC-Congress alliance and the PDP are in a direct contest on this prestigious seat. A virtual war of words, arguments and counter-arguments on the stand of these parties on different issues ranging from the larger resolution of Kashmir issue to development, are largely witnessed in the election rallies. Canvassing in full swing
For the ruling coalition candidate, there are party bigwigs to campaign for. They include no less than NC president, a former Chief Minister and now Union minister Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the party's working president. Beg has also the support of its coalition partner, as its leaders, including state PCC chief Saifuddin Soz, are also campaigning for him. The coalition partners have their rallying points to woo the voters, which range from debate on UT status for Ladakh, NC's demand for grant of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir, while the common issues remain the development in coalition regime and the resolution of Kashmir. The NC also dwells upon its persistent demand for partial revocation of AFSPA and rehabilitation of former militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan or PoK for arms training since the eruption of militancy. These two issues have come up before the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government since January 2009. The PDP, banking upon its peace process, both on the internal and external fronts, during Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's regime between 2002 and 2005 as the head of the PDP-Congress coalition government, has a long list of issues to counter the coalition claims. This regional party born in 1999, has to foot it on its own, unlike the NC, which has got the support of its coalition partner. The PDP targets the coalition partners on the issues of "rising unemployment, rampant corruption" and claims that the NC had no issues and was engaged only in creating fear among the people over the emergence of BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. "People want change", PDP candidate Mehbooba Mufti has pointed out. Arrangements in place
"All the requisite arrangements for the elections have been finalised to ensure free and fair polls," said Saugat Biswas, Returning Officer (RO) for Anantnag, who is also the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag. "This is a huge and one of the largest constituencies in the state with 12.74 lakh voters," he said. Anantnag follows Jammu with 18.48 lakh voters and Udhampur with 14.55 lakh voters. The RO said the voters were very enthusiastic and a good turnout was expected. "All arrangements are in place,' the RO said. On the separatist's boycott call, he said the electioneering had been "largely peaceful". Vital stats
Total Voters 12.74 lakh Men 6.72 lakh Women 6.02 lakh Polling Stations 1,615 Districts 4
Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam Assembly segments 16 Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi, Shopian, Noorabad, Kulgam, Homshalibug, Anantnag, Devsar, Doru, Kokarnag, Shangas, Bijbehara and Pahalgam Those in fray
Syed Abid Ahmad Shah (JKNPP) Mirza Mahboob Beg (JKNC) Mehbooba Mufti (JKPDP) Mohammad Sharif (BSP) Mushtaq Ahmad Malik (BJP) Asif Jeelani
(AIFB) Dr Tanvir Maqbool Dar (AAP) Gh Nabi Shah (Samajwadi Party) Mohammad Yaqoob Rather
(All J&K Republican
Party) Mohammad Yousuf Ganie (Ambedkar Samaj Party) Tanveer Hussain Khan (Independent) Abdul Ahad Mir (Independent)
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With Meena votes divided, they try to woo other castes for victory
Girja Shankar Kaura Tribune News Service
And the answer is the same from most of the people in this dusty town bordering Rajasthan's capital city
Jaipur.
Main contestants
So, it is no surprise that all three Meenas (the scheduled tribe community which forms a majority in the region) are in the fray. The BJP's Harish Chandra Meena, who took voluntary retirement to contest the Lok Sabha elections, his brother and Union Minister of State for Finance and Congress candidate Namo Narain Meena and National People’s Party's Kirori Lal Meena are all out to woo the Gujjars, Brahmins and Muslims. Development non-issue
The dismal state of development in the region, which also has an extremely high rate of crime, is a non-issue in this area. The drinking water has alarming level of fluoride and there are no roads to name. "Votes are completely polarised. In the last Lok Sabha elections, it was one community pitted against all other communities. The situation has not changed in the past five years. People, this time too, will cast their votes on the lines of caste," says Birpal Singh Gujjar, a resident of the area. Meenas in majority
There is no caste breakup for the area available with the State EC, but local leaders estimate that in Mahua, Dausa, Lalsot, Bandikui, Sikrai, Bassi and Thanagaji areas, which form the Dausa Lok Sabha constituency, there are about 14.50 lakh voters. Among them, about 4 lakh are Meena voters, while 2 lakh are Gujjars. SCs and Brahmins are 3 lakh and 1.75 lakh, respectively, locals point out. Gujjars to play key role
As a result, the Sikandra Chauraha, which caught the media limelight during the last year's Gujjar reservation agitation, could again decide the fate of the candidates in the fray here. All parties and candidates are focused to win the support of other communities, particularly the Gujjars. As such Sikandra Chauraha has again caught the attention of the main parties contesting from here and it was evident from the fact that immediately after the first phase of elections in the state on April 17, state Congress president Sachin Pilot, whose family has nurtured this region for years, turned his attention for five seats which go to the polls on April 24, by holding a rally at this point. State Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is also due here for a rally and it is being said that this would mean a lot for the region. The importance of the chauraha can also be gauged from the fact that not only is it the focal point for the Dausa Lok Sabha constituency due to the strong Gujjar presence in the area, but it also borders some of the Gujjar dominated districts of the bordering Karauli-Dholpur Lok Sabha constituency, which also goes to the polls on April 24. Other contestants
Apart from three Meena contestants, there are three Dhankas -- Sanjit Dhanka (Aam Aadmi Party), Anju Dhanka (Independent) and Surajbhan Dhanka (SP) and Haryana businessman Shivpal Gurjar who claims to have support of the Gujjar voters in the constituency and is contesting as an
Independent.
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Social activist takes on veterans
Medha Patkar - the Aam Aadmi Party's candidate for the Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency - along with a few party activists sporting brooms (the party symbol), appear to be at home while moving through the narrow streets of the area on her campaign trail. The sprawling slum colony came up here on marshy land over the past 50 years. Majority of the residents own two-wheelers and their homes have the mandatory television, refrigerator and even computers. "Who does not want to live in a proper building with running water and a toilet indoors," asks Mohammad Ansari, a resident of the Shivaji Nagar cluster. For years, Ansari and his neighbours have been part of the "Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan" (GBGBA) headed by Patkar, seeking affordable housing for the residents of Govandi's slums. After years of being at loggerheads with the powerful builders' lobby, activists of the GBGBA are looking at politics as a solution for their housing problems. "We are looking towards tai (elder sister, as Medha is known here) to raise the issue of regularising her tenements in Parliament," says Ansari. According to him, members of the GBGBA insisted that Patkar contest the elections under the AAP banner. Patkar's supporters say they have received good response from the slum dwellers of Govandi, Mankhurd and Deonar who account for the bulk of the population. As part of its strategy to increase its appeal, the AAP has also been reaching out to lower middle-class residents of buildings in the constituency who form a significant chunk of the 16 lakh voters here. "While slum dwellers regularly participate in agitations and know how to take care of themselves, the middle and lower middle-class people are clueless. They do not know where to go for help," Patkar says. Despite lack of resources, Patkar's "padyatra" has helped the AAP reach out to vast segments of the population in the constituency. "We are making do with several restrictions imposed by the Election Commission," says the veteran activist. Patkar is taking on Congress' Sanjay Dina Patil who won by a slender margin of 2,933 votes in the 2009 elections. Patil was helped in large measure by the presence of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which ate into BJP candidate Kirit Somaiya's vote share. Somaiya is in the race this time as well and is banking on his Gujarati community and the substantial middle-class presence in upmarket suburbs such as Mulund for victory. Both Somaiya and Patkar are targeting Patil's "non-performance" during his tenure as the MP. "Patil has done nothing during his tenure as the Member of Parliament. He has not spent much of the funds under the MPLAD Scheme and was completely absent from the constituency in the past five years," Somaiya says. According to him, "Modi wave" will seem him through at the hustings. Rubbishing all allegations levelled against him, Patil has put out a list of his achievements. However, the body language of his supporters at his campaign office indicates the monumental task ahead of them. For the record though, Patil's supporters insist that he would do an encore this time as well. "Patkar will eat into the Kirit Somaiya's votes and we will win this time as well," one of Patil's aides says. The Congress-NCP machinery is hard at work in the same area where the AAP is fishing for votes. Patkar and her supporters seem to be a tad worried at AAP's lack of funds even while rival parties are splurging money. "We are concentrating more on door-to-door campaigning and contacting voters in person," says one of her aides.
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Ready to oust ‘zalim Cong sarkar’
Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service
"I had never heard of Gurdaspur before 1998 when the party asked me to contest the election from here. I had crossed Pathankot a number of times for my film shoot in Dalhousie, but never knew it was a part of Gurdaspur constituency. However, the love that I received from people here has made me feel at home. I have tried to do maximum for my constituency, mainly by getting bridges built, getting an airport for Pathankot and numerous other development works," says the three-time MP and Bollywood actor taking about his journey from Mumbai to Punjab. Khanna won the General Election from here in 1998, 1999 and in 2004, but lost in 2009 to Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa. Khanna leaves for his first election meeting of the day in his shimmering XUV 500, driving his car himself. "I lost the 2009 election by a narrow margin of 4,000 votes. The defeat mainly was because of delimitation. But this time, I am sure of a win with a huge margin. The development works carried out by me and Bajwa's non-performance will contribute to my win. Bajwa never made any effort to reach out to the electorate," he says in reply to a query on why he lost. Khanna walks into his first election meeting for the day, with representatives of various auto unions, which has been arranged by Pathankot BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma. As the cine star enters inside, the hall resonates with "Bharat mata ki jai", "Vinod Khanna zindabad" and "Narendra Modi zindabad" slogans. Appearing calm and suave so far, Khanna turns into an aggressive politician and straightaway targets the UPA government, calling it "the zalim Congress sarkar in Delhi that ruled only to serve itself". He talks of the need to ensure Narendra Modi's win and the need to have a BJP government at the Centre. He promises that like in his previous tenures as an MP from here, he would initiate and bring development projects for the constituency, if voted to power again. The voters listen to him eagerly and pledge their support. Contented with the response, he thanks them and moves on for his next meeting. He seems to have none of the starry airs and is quite down to earth, a quality that endears him to people here. Asked how he remains so calm amid such hectic campaigning, he says, "Well, I meditate and my guru (referring to Osho Rajnish) helps me remain calm from within. Meditation is a part of my life and my day does not begin without it." In a crowded market, Khanna decides to walk down to the hotel nearby, waving and shaking hands with people who meet him and asking them to support him. This is a meeting with district chemist and district medical representatives' associations. He again gets a hero's welcome and once he starts speaking, he asks them: "Did Bajwa come here in the past five years? Did Bajwa do anything for you?" As the crowd replies "No", Khanna again lists his achievements, his successor's "failure" and "failure" of the Rajya Sabha MP from Gurdaspur and former Law Minister, Ashwani Kumar. With promise of a "better future" for Pathankot, he moves on. Khanna says that on an average, he attends almost 15 to 20 meetings in a day and is getting a "good response". He claims he calls it a day and moves to bed as late as 2 am, to be up again at 6:30 am for the next day's grind.
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Rahul takes a dig at NaMo
Karauli (Rajasthan), April 20 The Congress vice-president took a dig at Modi for his statement at rallies asking voters to make him the “chowkidar” (watchman) of the country, saying the BJP PM candidate was a “chowkidar” only to businessmen and had ousted senior leaders and “brought in Adani”. “He (Modi) boasts of development in Gujarat but it was not a single man who changed Gujarat. It was the hard work of labourers and farmers who made Gujarat. “He wants to get the keys (control) of the country in his hands but what happened in Gujarat? People gave him keys but he brought in (businessman) Adani,” Gandhi said at a public meeting here. “A group of Sikh farmers from Gujarat told me that their forefathers migrated from Pakistan to Gujarat and they put in their hard work and efforts to make the land allotted to them fertile. Now, Gujarat government officials have asked them to leave the state saying they were outsiders, he said, adding the same treatment was meted out to senior leaders in BJP. “L K Advani and Jaswant Singh were told ‘you are outsiders go from here’. If Atal Bihari Vajyapee would be in public life today, he would also be asked the same thing,” he said. Questioning Modi’s claims on development of Gujarat, Gandhi again raised the issue of allotment of farmers’ land to industrialists. “As many as 45,000 acre land, an area equal to Bikaner, was doled out to a businessman in Gujarat for Rs 300 crore. One rupee for one square meter. This is toffee model because you have a toffee in one rupee. If you are surname is Adani, you can get farmers land at such a rate under toffee model,” Gandhi said He alleged that development for BJP is “development of selected businessman”, not for people at large. “Textile industry has been closed.Farmers lands are being snatched.If you have Rs. 11.50, you are not poor in Gujarat. This is the reality of Gujarat,” he said. Gandhi said that the UPA government empowered the common man and the poor in the last ten years by way of various rights including MGNREGA, RTI and Right to Food, and lashed out at the Gujarat Chief Minister for not ensuring that people gets advantages of RTI.
— PTI Ahmedabad: Giving all credit to the Gujarati people for the state's development, Congress national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Sunday criticised the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for taking all the credit and hiding crucial information from the people. During his visit here, Singhvi labelled Modi as a 'Man Of Damage to India' and BJP as the 'Bharat Jalao Party', referring to Modi's comment on the Gandhi family, when Modi asked the Congress to explain the 'RSVP' (Rahul Sonia Vadra Priyanka) model.
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Modi sharpens attacks on Sonia, Rahul
Sarguja (Chhattisgarh) April 20 The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate kept up with his sharp attacks on the first family of the ruling party as he referred to the “whopping rise” in the assets of Rahul’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra and termed it the model of “ma-bete ki sarkar” (mother-son’s government). “Sonia told the people in Amethi to take care of her son. We are told that he will take care of the country. Tell me, is there any logic in this? One who is begging with the people in Amethi to take care of her son....If he can’t handle Amethi, then how can he handle the country,” he told a rally here. Sonia had told a rally in Amethi yesterday that the people should support policies of Congress and ensure victory of Rahul. “I have handed over Rahul to you in 2004 following the tradition of Indira Gandhi, who had handed over her son Rajiv Gandhi to you,” she had said. Criticised by Gandhis for selling people dreams and giving an impression that he has a magic wand to turn around the country, Modi tried to turn the tables as he said he often wondered who they were referring to as they never named anyone. He then cited a recent report in a US newspaper on Vadra’s fortunes and said sarcastically he finally realised who Gandhis spoke about after reading the story. “They spoke about a Class X pass youth who had only Rs 1 lakh in pocket and then went on to own Rs 300 crore in three years. This is the mother-son’s model. You heard about 2G, now hear about jijaji (brother-in-law). Do we have to leave this country in their hands?” he said. Accusing Rahul of misleading the country on issues of women’s safety, he said seven of the top 10 states in terms of crimes against women were ruled by Congress. “I think the new slogan of Congress is ‘har haath loot har bol jhoot’ (Loot with every hand, all words are lies).” Modi also took a dig at the comments made by PM’s communications adviser Pankaj Pachauri in a recent media interaction. “For the first time the PMO had to do a press conference to say what, that the PM spoke 1100 times in 10 years,” he said. He said the PM’s “performance” is that he spoke 1100 times in 10 years. Referring to former media adviser to the PM, Sanjay Baru’s book, he said it revealed that it was not Manmohan Singh but “ma-bete (Sonia-Rahul)” who were running the government.
— PTI Hyderabad: Claiming that the ‘wave’ in favour of the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is getting stronger, senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said the ‘Congress era’ is coming to an end. "The only way for better future of the country is the BJP coming back to power and Narendra Modi becoming PM. The Congress era is coming to an end. The dynasty is over. It is a good news for the country. The BJP era will start and Narendra Modi's era also is beginning,” he told reporters here.
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Advani bats for compulsory voting
Ahmedabad, April 20 “I have seen elections from 1952. I have also studied election processes of other countries. I had recommended that compulsory voting should be introduced in the country,” Advani said addressing a gathering here. The Supreme Court also said there should be compulsory voting in the country. Compulsory voting is practiced in countries like Italy and Australia, Advani said. “Not only compulsory voting, there should also be some punishment for those who do not vote. In some countries, there is a fine, but in India there are many poor people. So I had suggested that those who do not vote should be barred from voting in future,” Advani said. He said that Gujarat is the only state which has passed the bill on compulsory voting in local body elections, though it cannot be implemented since it was not signed by the Governor. “I hope that the new government will look into the issue of compulsory voting,” Advani said. As part of electoral reforms, candidates should be given election grants to curb poll expenses in the country. “Earlier elections were fought with very less amounts of money, but nowadays one cannot imagine the amounts spent on elections. To curb this, grants should be given to candidates,” Advani said.
— PTI
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Mulayam promises Muslim reservation
“Muslamano ne desh ko banaya hai aur musalamano ke liye sanvidhan mein sanshodhan karke arakshan diya jayega” (Muslims have made this country, and for Muslims, amendments would be made in the constitution for their reservation),” the SP supremo said at Government Inter-College Grounds in Etah. While addressing another election rally backing Akshay Yadav, son of SP national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, he said, “Only the SP could prevent Modi from becoming the Prime Minister of the country.” Mulayam said that Modi claims that the SP was spying on BJP people but in reality BJP people were themselves informing him about everything. Claiming that there was internal split in the BJP, Mulayam said that the BJP would never be able to touch the figure of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. He exuded confidence that the Third Front would form the next government at the centre and SP would get the highest number seats in Lok Sabha.
— PTI
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It’s between two brothers in Dausa
With the new de-limitation, the constituency’s caste make-up has become such that it brings forth a direct fight between the highly educated and forward looking Meenas and the Jats, with the minority Muslims having a little say. So it is no surprise that when this dusty, sleepy constituency goes to polls in the second phase of voting in Rajasthan on April 24, it would be the Meenas who would be holding the sway, due to their majority population. But this fight to garner the Meena community vote in Dausa has resulted in the two brothers, both former Indian Police Service officers, contesting against each other forcing the electorate to make do with this “peculiar situation”. Riding on the Narendra Modi wave, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Harish Chandra Meena who took voluntary retirement recently to contest the Lok Sabha election. And against him is Union Minister Namo Narain Meena who is the Congress candidate. Trying to grab attention in the battle among the two brothers is another Meena, Kirori Lal from the National People’s Party (NPP), a party launched by him after breaking away from the BJP. After launching the party with a lot of promise, Kirori Lal was not able to do much and was swept away in the last round of Assembly elections with he himself losing by a big margin to BJP’s Diya Kumari, who is also from Sawai Madhopur’s royal family. However, what makes this contest further peculiar is that no brother speaks anything against the other during public rallies and election campaigning. Harish Chandra is a former DGP in the state while Namo Narain Meena, an ex IPS official and two times Member of Parliament, is Union Minister of State for Finance in the current United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Local resident Raj Kumar Meena points out that while Namo Narain is harping on the UPA’s development work, his brother is wooing voters in the name of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Election watchers say that the election battle will be very interesting in Dausa. As three prominent Meena candidates are in the fray, the votes of the dominating community is expected to get divided, a situation which may benefit some Independent candidates in Dausa. Apart from three Meena contestants, three Dhankas - Sanjit Dhanka (Aam Aadami Party), Anju Dhanka (Independent) and Surajbhan Dhanka (SP) - are being considered strong candidates. Haryana businessman Shivpal Gurjar who claims to have support of Gujjar voters in the constituency is contesting as an Independent. In an effort to make his campaign stand out, he brought Ravina Tandon to the dusty town of Dausa to campaign for him and more celebrities are on their way, claimed his supporters. It has created a curiosity among rural voters. Sanjit Dhanka is a former professor of Delhi University.
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Sonia 'shedding crocodile tears' for TN fishermen: Jaya
"Sonia Gandhi is shedding crocodile tears for fishermen during elections after doing everything against Tamil fishermen and in favour of the Sri Lankan government," Jayalalithaa said at an election rally here. Stating that the Congress chief had accused her regime of not showing concern over the fishermen issue and that Centre was behind the bilateral talks between Sri Lanka and India on the matter, she said there was not an iota of truth in it. Sonia had at her recent rally in Kanyakumari slammed the Jayalalithaa government, virtually charging it with adopting a lethargic approach to the initiative taken by the UPA government on fishermen level talks to end the frequent attacks on the state's fishermen. Slamming Sonia for her claim that the Congress regime had arranged the talks on the issue of fishermen between India and Lanka, she called it a "fraud" and claimed that it was her government which had accomplished release of all TN fishermen before the commencement of talks. "Fishermen will not buy the argument that the AIADMK government had not shown concern over the issue," she said. Asking if any step was taken to stop training to Lankan military personnel who harass Tamil fishermen, she listed several fishermen-related issues, including subsidy for boats, to target the Congress-led UPA. "Sonia Gandhi is now showering concern on fishermen during polls for votes...has she ever spoken a word about this (fishermen issue) anywhere including Parliament before?, she asked. Referring to the Centre's stand in the Supreme Court on the Katchatheevu case instituted by her that the islet was not part of India, she asked if this was the concern Congress had for the fishermen. "Is this not against the fishermen?" Demanding to know if the Congress regime had taken measures to find a permanent solution to the problems of the state's fishermen, she wanted Sonia to explain as to why the Centre had not sent details on the outcome of bilateral fishermen-level talks held in 2011 despite the state's request. To the DMK's accusation that her government was blocking all projects brought during Karunanidhi's regime, Jayalalithaa said only "DMK's selfish projects" detrimental to the people were scuttled and not the welfare schemes. — PTI
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Now, Punjab is their stage, voters their audience
Jalandhar, April 20 The AAP has fielded four such candidates from Sangrur (actor-satirist Bhagwant Mann), Khadoor Sahib (classical musician and scholar Bhai Baldeep Singh), Bathinda (actor-singer Jassi Jasraj) and Faridkot (poet-academician Prof Sadhu Singh), while singer KS Makhan (the only non-AAP candidate in the fray) has been fielded by the BSP from the Anadpur Sahib constituency.
Except Bhagwant Mann, it is the maiden attempt of all artistes to get into the country's political system. While most of the traditional political class prefers to call the AAP a fringe group fielding fledglings, its members claim they have a substantial following in their constituencies, enough to dent the opponents' campaigns and register a victory. Quoting Bhagat Namdev and Sant Kabir, Bhai Baldeep Singh often emphasises that he disagrees with the present day connotations of the word politics. "I agree with politics of the saints - who denied self to serve others - not with these people who believe in coercing and customising the voter to meet their own end." The 44-year-old Sikh scholar and musician, probably the first classical musician who has opted for politics in the country, says: "I thought I knew my state. But in the past few days what I have understood of Punjab has surpassed my knowledge of the past 27 years. Punjab is in a state of decay and I will never forgive people who did this in the name of serving the 'panth'. I get calls from villagers who tell me not to visit them because if I do, they fear being chucked out of their houses and say their shops will be shut. The erstwhile fascinating land that Punjab used to be is in ruins and I need to take the AAP route to further my cultural duties to my land." Sangrur candidate Bhagwant Mann's irony-laced speeches have often made his electorates laugh and cry. To his detractors labelling him just a comic, he often retorts: "Loki hassde vi odon change lagde hai jadon chullhe ch agg baldi hove (People look good while laughing only when the hearth is burning)." About his opponents, he says: "I laugh at their (SAD's) political tamasha. Look at his promises and you'll realise that Sukhbir Singh Badal is the greatest comic." On shifting parties, he says: "I didn't leave the People's Party of Punjab. It left me the day it chose the Congress over the people. Nearly 30,000 people fought with their families when they voted for me over the Congress. I couldn't have abandoned them." Jassi Jasraj (39), AAP's Bathinda candidate, was last seen walking around with a pahva (a cot leg) for his promotional film "Bicker Bai Sentimental". On his choice, he says: "When I released my anti-vulgarity song 'National Villager', everyone told me that it was an outrageous step. But to root out evil, steps have to be taken." The robust singer says his resources might be nothing in front of his experienced and strongly backed rivals, but the AAP's revolution is certainly catching up in all towns. "Why else would villagers who show black flags to Harsimrat Badal welcome me with open arms?" he asks. An admirer of Bhagat Singh (like many of his party colleagues), he is often seen dressed like the martyr and says the eradication of cancer and drugs from his constituency is his top agenda. Prof Sadhu Singh (73), who has to his credit poetical compilations such as Pyasi Mahek and Saleeb Te Sargam, has been honoured by the Kendri Punjabi Lekhak Sabha. His fiery speeches are a hit among villagers and his past involvement in workers' and lecturers' unions gives him a unique position where he can relate to people's problems. AAP's Faridkot candidate Prof Singh says: "Politics has been degenerating into a dictatorial set up since 1947. My prime concern is to get on track the stalled projects in my constituency and give literature and culture its due place in society." Singer KS Makhan (40) says he chose the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) because it is not befooling people unlike the ruling parties of the state and the Centre. "They believe in snubbing talented politicians as they did with Navjot Singh Sidhu. I prefer my independence," he says. He says his popularity as a Punjabi youth icon gives him an edge over his opponents - Congress' Ambika Soni, SAD's Prem Singh Chandumajra and Aam Aadmi Party's Himmat Singh Shergill.
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It all boils down to price rise, living standards
It's less than two weeks into the month and she is already struggling with her finances. But this is not something new or unusual, as she has to face a similar struggle every month. Hers is not the only case as crores of country people in low and middle classes have been undergoing a similar struggle due to inflation. During electioneering, she had hoped some freebies from poll candidates. But strict vigil by the Election Commission ensured that her hopes were dashed. "Elections are no longer the same fun for poor people like us. Earlier freebees in the form of cash, ration or liquor were on every leader's card but as such cannot be seen now," she avers. Inflation has been staring housewives in their faces like never before, say most of the women when approached for a comment. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has indicated a slight decline in inflation, but if wholesale dealers are to be believed, prices of most food items have only increased over the last three-four months since the elections were announced. Jagdish Kumar, a wholesale dealer in Ludhiana who is into grocery business for the past three decades, says the poll announcement has hardly brought any respite for the common man. The sharp rise in prices has helped voters make up their mind on whom to vote. "I have always voted as per my husband's wishes but this time I will vote for a change. Since we cannot make both ends meet, the best alternative before us is to try out other political party, which may tackle inflation better," says Radhika Kumar, a homemaker. Surinder Kaur too supports the theory of "vote for change". "All governments have failed to control inflation. It is we who suffer. If the prices of one commodity come down, there is a hike in other items and we hardly get any relief," she says. Most women rubbished a data released by the Ministry of Commerce, which claims inflation came down to 8.19 per cent in March 2014. "These figures mean nothing to the voters as survival is getting difficult by the day," says Shalini Khanna, a homemaker. Belonging to upper middle class, she says, "Making financial sense of budgets is becoming an impossible task. I was getting milk for Rs 48 per litre till March 31, and today the rate has shot up to Rs 52. I don't understand how will we manage?" The lower class is the most disappointed lot. Suman, a domestic help, says, "My husband is a daily wager and goes on work now or then. The entire family is dependent on me. I used to make dal and rice as these were economical. But now with the price hike, I cannot afford even that daily." The story is repeated house after house and family after family, making the rising inflation the number one issue in the ongoing elections, at least for the lower and middle strata of the society.
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EC reaches out to lone voter in Gir forest
Ahmedabad, April 20 Darshandas, in his early 60s, is the lone occupant of a hamlet called Banej in Gir forest. He has been casting his vote for the past elections, including the 2004 and 2009 parliamentary elections and the 2007 and 2012 state elections. This time too, the Election Commission is making all arrangements to ensure that Darshandas, a temple priest, gets to cast his vote. Darshandas lives in Banej Tirthdham, a pilgrimage spot inside the Gir sanctuary and looks after an ancient Shiva temple there. With the Election Commission mandating that no voter should "ordinarily travel more than 2km to reach the booth", come election time and a polling team travels around 35km to reach the hamlet of Banej inside the Gir forest, located in Junagadh district. "We are only following the EC guidelines, which has said that no voter should have to travel more than 2km to vote," Junagadh collector Alok Kumar Pandey told IANS on phone. "Around four-five polling officials will travel to Banej on the night of April 29, carrying with them the polling material, including the Electronic Voting Machine. They will be accompanied by forest guards. On April 30, they will set up the polling booth for the single voter," Pandey said. Banej falls under the Una Assembly segment of the Junagadh parliamentary constituency. According to Pandey, the poll team will travel in an SUV from Una to Banej. Has the polling team ever encountered lions while travelling to Banej? "A couple of forest guards always accompany the polling team. To date, there has been no incident of any wild animals attacking the polling team," Lalit Padalia, joint chief electoral officer of Gujarat, told IANS on phone. Though in the normal course polling hours extend through the day, the election team at Banej would be able to wind up and return the minute Darshandas has pressed the EVM button and his finger is marked with the indelible ink, said Pandey. The EC will set up 2,203 polling stations across Junagadh on April 30, he added. Gujarat, the home state of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, will have single phase polling for the 26 Lok Sabha seats on April 30. Prominent among the 334 candidates in fray are Modi, the Gujarat chief minister, senior BJP leader LK Advani and senior Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry. — IANS
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Mayawati, too, woos Muslims
Barabanki/Sitapur, April 20 Addressing election rallies in Barabanki and Sitapur, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, her party has fielded Muslims candidates in 19, which no other party has done. “If the Muslim community really want to keep communal forces out of the power, they must vote unitedly in favour of BSP candidates,” Mayawati said while addressing an election rally. Mayawati criticised Narendra Modi and warned that if he becomes the Prime Minister, communal tensions will flare up across the country, which would be dangerous.
— PTI
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AIADMK, BJP workers clash
Nagercoil (TN), April 20 Three persons suffered minor injuries in the melee. AIADMK worker surrounded the man and later handed him over to the the Nesamony Police Station. They also surrounded the station and demanded that police arrest him.
— PTI
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Some people talked of intellectual arrogance of a trio in UPA, I disagree, in fact they humbly allowed being dictated by a 10th pass. — ShivrajSingh Chouhan Shahzada should tell us about R(haul), S(onia), V(adra), P(riyanka) model. This RSVP model has looted India — Narendra Modi On Rahulji's remark Gujarat Model as Toffee Model, Modi confused Toffee with Trophy and ended up agreeing ! — Digvijaya Singh So who is lying SAS Geelani or the NaMo campaign? Easy way to find out - let SASG identify the emissaries who met him on behalf of NaMo — Omar Abdullah
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Repoll ordered in six booths in 4 LS seats Shah’s charge against me
a conspiracy: Ajay Rai BJP wonders why EC not
acting on its complaint Sonia shedding ‘crocodile tears’ for TN fishermen: Jaya
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