Jalandhar, April 21
With the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) pitching in its state general secretary from its stronghold area and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rather betting a weak candidate, the Jalandhar parliamentary seat is set for a multi-cornered contest among the nominees of the SAD, the Congress and the BSP.

Having managed to win from the reserved Jalandhar parliamentary seat just twice in the past 15 elections in 1977 and 1996, the ruling SAD-BJP alliance this time is desperately trying to get rid of the jinx and has fielded its 47-year-old Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Youth Affairs and Sports) Pawan Kumar Tinu.

Cong shifts Kaypee

The Congress, which has retained the seat for the past three terms and for as many as 11 times since 1951, too has strategised by shifting its sitting MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee to Hoshiarpur owing to an anti-incumbency wave against him. Instead, it has chosen to rope in former minister Chaudhary Santokh Singh.

The BSP's Sukhwinder Kotli, who had fought against Pawan Kumar Tinu in the 2012 Assembly polls from Adampur, too is said to have a strong backing. While Tinu had won the seat securing 48,171 votes, Kotli managed 25,500 votes. Unlike the Congress candidate who got politics in legacy -- his father Master Gurbanta Singh was a Cabinet minister -- both the SAD and BSP candidates started their career as sarpanches from their respective Khurla Kingra and Kotli Than Singh villages.

AAP not on steady ground

The Aam Aadmi Party, which had initially pulled some crowd, has had a very weak campaign in Jalandhar so far, especially after it withdrew the candidature of Rajesh Padam to later announce the name of Jyoti Mann, a private school teacher and novice in politics. The party chief Arvind Kejriwal has toured other parts of the state to boost the morale of the party cadre but cancelled his Jalandhar visit at the eleventh hour.

Caste arithmetic

A perusal of the votes of the different communities brought to light that presently there are about 15.48 lakh voters in Jalandhar. Out of the total, as many as 3.5 lakh are Adharmis/Ravidassias and nearly 1.75 lakh are Valmikis/Mazhbis. The three main candidates, including those of the SAD, Congress and BSP, are Adharmis while the AAP candidate, who is the daughter of a safai karamchari, is a Valmiki.

Of the total 24 candidates in fray from here, there are 14 Adharmis and nine Valmikis. After the SAD announced the name of Tinu, the Valmiki leaders led by the 2009 candidate of the party and Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans had shown open defiance against him.

Family politics

The Congress candidate is also getting support from his elder brother and former minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and his son Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, Punjab Youth Congress chief.

The SAD leaders, however, have started raking the issue of the alleged corruption committed by the elder Chaudhary brother in the City Centre Scam at Ludhiana. It is also a well-known fact that the family had sought the ticket for Vikramjit instead of his 67-year-old father.

The Chaudharys boast of having a significant clout in Kartarpur and Phillaur. The Congress candidate has earlier been twice unlucky in the last two Assembly polls he contested from Phillaur and lost by a thin margin of 31 and 273 votes.

Tinu, however, is harping on the works he has recently done as Adampur MLA and the CPS. Tinu had secured 1.58 lakh votes when he contested from Phillaur in 2004 on the BSP ticket. He had come to the SAD's fold in 2007. The Congress, however, has been attacking the ruling government over bad roads in the city, which are now being repaired.

Bigwigs who fought

Former Prime Minister IK Gujral has twice won from this seat in 1989 and 1998 as Janata Dal candidate.

Swaran Singh, who has perhaps been the longest serving Union Cabinet Minister, fought from this seat. Ex-Speaker and Rajasthan Governor Darbara Singh and Mahavir Chakra awardee Maj Gen (retd) Rajinder Singh Sparrow, too, won from here.

Nine Assembly segments

All nine Assembly segments are currently with the SAD-BJP alliance. While Phillaur (SC), Nakodar, Shahkot, Kartarpur (SC), Jalandhar Cantonment and Adampur (SC) have SAD legislators, the remaining three, Jalandhar West (SC), Jalandhar Central and Jalandhar North, are with the BJP.

Ahmedabad, April 21
Electioneering in Gujarat is likely to remain a low-key affair. Reason: Absence of star campaigners. The state is going to polls on April 30.

Gujarat has not been given a priority in the intensive campaigning. Star campaigners prefer to concentrate in areas where they expect last-minute shift in loyalties.

With the BJP's second line of leadership in the state having suffered total erosion under the towering dominance of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the party is left with no option but to depend on the chief minister take it through in these elections. None of its other leaders in the state have the capacity to attract voters.

Even BJP sympathisers shun attending party meetings unless addressed by Modi. The situation is no different for the party's national leaders who had been made to play a second fiddle to Modi while addressing public rallies in the state even before he moved to the national political stage and was named its PM nominee last year.

If leaders such as party's national president Rajnath Singh or the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushama Swaraj attempted to address a meeting before Modi while sharing the dais, the audience would show intolerance, often booed and jeered to force them to end their speech abruptly. And in case where they chose to speak after Modi, the leaders would mostly be staring at half-empty stands as people start leaving the venue as soon as Modi completed his address. Knowing that none of the party's national leaders would be able to attract the non-committed voters in their solo meetings, the state BJP is not keen to seek their assistance for campaigning.

Veteran party leader Lal Krishna Advani has burnt his fingers due to his opposition to Modi's nomination as the PM candidate. This time, he will have to depend on Modi to see him through in the elections in Gandhinagar, the seat he won with ease six times since 1991. The party's Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitely has some influence on a section of the voters categorised as intellectuals, but being a first-timer in the Lok Sabha elections and tied down in Amritsar, he is unlikely to focus on Gujarat.

Dependant solely on Modi, the state BJP wanted to intrude into the Chief Minister's over-busy schedule making whirlwind tour of the country addressing 185 meetings in 45 days. The party initially wanted Modi to address at least 35 rallies in his home state, but having failed to secure a big slice, it has scaled down its demand to 20 and further down to 10 meetings.

Reports available here from different parts of the state indicate the popularity Modi is enjoying among the common masses. An angry auto-rickshaw driver in Patan town forced his three passengers to alight midway because they were criticising Modi. In another incident, some people 'thrown out' of a restaurant in Mehsana town for the same reason. Veracity of such reports could not be ascertained but showed how crazy the Modi fans could become at times. Banking on such blind support, the BJP has told its candidates to manage their campaign themselves and invoke "Gujarat pride" to sail through in Modi's name.

For an entirely different reason, the Congress is also not prepared to spare its star campaigners for electioneering in Gujarat. Reason: The party feels star campaigners will not be able to make difference in the outcome of the elections.

The Congress is as bankrupt as the BJP minus Modi. "The candidates will have to bank on the good works done by the UPA I and II governments and seek votes," a senior leader said.

Though none of the other parties matter much in the elections in the state where the two main parties have taken deep roots, the new entrant - Aam Aadmi Party - will be without its star campaigners. Its chief Arvind Kejriwal visited Gujarat in March, but not for electioneering. Their main task was to study Modi's Gujarat development model and expose its hollow claims before the people in other states, said sources in AAP. The party does not think that it can storm the Modi bastion in its first attempt.

The Congress improved its tally in most of the states in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, but in Gujarat, Modi managed to increase the BJP's tally from 14 to 15 seats. 

Absence of towering leaders

The BJP has told its candidates to manage their campaign themselves and invoke 'Gujarat pride' to sail through in Modi’s name. The Congress is also not prepared to spare its star campaigners for electioneering in Gujarat and is as bankrupt as the BJP minus Modi.

Lucknow, April 21
The son of Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan refused to be the proposer for BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who is contesting from Varanasi, forcing him to settle for vocalist Padma Bhushan Channu Lal Mishra.

Modi is set to file his nomination papers from Varanasi on April 24.

The late shehnai maestro's son Zamir Husain refused Modi's offer on the grounds that his family was of artistes and did not want to take sides in a political battle.

Snubbed for involving the family of an artiste who symbolised the city's famous Ganga-Jamuna culture, city BJP mayor Ram Gopal Mohale then approached singer Channu Lal Mishra.

"Mayor sahib told me that he had received a call from Modi ji to approach me to be his proposer and I have agreed. Let me clarify that I do not belong to any political party," Mishra said.

Besides Mishra, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, son of the founder of Banaras Hindu University, will be Modi's proposer.

Varanasi will go to polls on May 12 with Modi, Congress candidate Ajay Rai and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal in the fray.

The Varanasi mayor said he shared a warm relationship with the shehnai maestro's family but denied that he had approached the family members for standing as Modi's supporter.

However, he added that the Ustad's family often visited his house as they shared a cordial relationship. (With PTI inputs)

Manner in which Cong, SP & BSP are mocking my poor background shows their mindset. Yes, I am proud I sold tea...I never sold the nation.
— Narendra Modi

So Rahul Gandhi changed his political narrative saying 'Chowkidar bhi kabhi kabhi chori kar leta hai'. This much concession for The Family. 
— ShivrajSingh Chouhan

Togadia is helping #UPA narrative of fear & paranoia amongst some instead of being forced into debate on 10yrs of malgovernance 
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Hardoi (UP), April 21
Narendra Modi today vowed to cleanse the political system and Parliament from criminal elements if he comes to power and said his first job would be to set up a panel to probe pending criminal cases against the new MPs.

The BJP prime ministerial candidate said he would ensure that all offenders are sent to jail after asking the Supreme Court to hear the cases against them expeditiously.

Modi's promise to crack down on MPs with criminal antecedents across party lines in a bid to decriminalise politics and Parliament came at a poll rally here.

"I have decided that when a new government is formed after May 16, I will set up a committee to find out what cases are pending against whom. (Lok Sabha) candidates submit in their form during filing nominations the details of cases against them. I will not discriminate in it. I will not spare even the BJP and NDA candidates.

"I will ask the Supreme Court to hear the cases fast. Those, who have committed crime will go to jail and their seats will go to candidates with clean image. No accused will dare to fight polls. Who says that this cleansing cannot happen? I have come to cleanse politics. It is necessary to free Indian democracy from criminalisation," he said.

Modi also stepped up his attack on the SP, BSP and Congress, saying the "power game by the clan of three parties" is responsible for the poor plight of Uttar Pradesh and the nation even as he ridiculed Rahul Gandhi for visiting homes of the poor like tourists who visit Taj Mahal.

Playing up his tea-vendor image, the Gujarat Chief Minister also sought to contrast it with those "born with a silver spoon in their mouth" and made an oblique reference to his OBC origin as he reached out to voters in the Hindi heartland.

"While the country has been destroyed by the governments of mother and son, Uttar Pradesh has been destroyed by a father-son government. On one hand, there is a father-son duo while on the other hand is ‘behenji’ (Mayawati)...they waste their whole tenure of five years in teaching a lesson to each other,” he said. — PTI

New Delhi, April 21
In ‘Brij-bhoomi’ Mathura, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today launched a strong attack on the Gandhi family, accusing them of indulging in ‘poverty tourism’ and making fun of the poor.

“They don’t know how a poor person look like. They have to visit the houses of the poor to see poverty. They click photos with poor children and eat their food. They insult the poor,” said Modi in a jam-packed ground in Mathura city. “I was born in a poor family and I know what it means,” he said as the crowd applauded.

The packed crowd on the ground cheered as Modi landed two hours late in his private helicopter along with Hema Malini, BJP candidate from Mathura.

Hema Malini showered praises on Modi. “I want to follow the footsteps of Modi and develop Mathura on the lines of Gujarat,” said the actress clad in a bright pink saree.

Polling will take place in Mathura on April 24.

New Delhi, April 21
The Congress today produced evidence from call records to allege that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was directly involved in monitoring developments that led to the elimination of Tulasi Prajapati on December 28, 2006.

Prajapati was an eye witness in the fake encounters of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi. It is in this case that Modi’s key aide and BJP’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge Amit Shah is an accused, though out on bail.

Bringing to light, for the first time, evidence that Officer on Special Duty in Modi’s office Parag Shah was in regular touch on the phone with Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Pandian accused in the Prajapati killing, Law Minister Kapil Sibal today asked the CBI to question Modi in the case and arrest Parag Shah.

The details of call records exchanged between Parag Shah and Pandian before and after the encounter of Prajapati are part of the CBI chargesheet in the case, with the Congress pointing fingers at the CBI today for not acting in the matter.

“The conspiracy is very clear. Call records show that Parag Shah and Pandian were in regular touch. Naturally, Parag Shah was reporting to the CM. The CM’s office was fully in the know of what was happening in the encounter case of Prajapati who needed to be eliminated to save a lot of people. Modi is a potential accused in the case and it needs to be asked why Parag Shah was never arrested and Modi never questioned by the CBI,” said Sibal today. 

Jhansi, April 21
Notwithstanding the BJP's assertion that there would be no witch-hunt if it comes to power, Uma Bharti has said that Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra would be in jail if the NDA comes to power.

Bharti also alleged that Vadra had made money by breaking all the norms. "Just because he is Sonia’s son-in-law, all the Congress-ruled state governments are afraid of him. Union ministers were also under pressure from him. He has made money by breaking all the norms," she charged here last night.

"Although my party gets annoyed with me... when the power will be in my hand, I will send 'jamaibabu' (son-in-law) to jail," Bharti said.

This is the second time this month that Bharti has made a similar statement.

Bharti had alleged last week that Vadra has been involved in "several falsehoods" and if the BJP comes to power at the Centre, he "would go to jail".

Modi has said recently that there would be no witch-hunt if the BJP comes to power. "The BJP-led government will not be vindictive towards anyone. I have paid the price for the past 12 years due to others' vindictiveness," Modi had said. — PTI

Vidisha (MP), April 21
The Vidisha Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, also the battle ground of Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, comes almost for free to the BJP.

Manohar Singh Raghuvanshi, a political science professor, said: "The segment has 75 per cent Hindu population. This is the safest seat for the BJP."

Sushma seems to be banking the traditional vote bank as her list of achievements does not much impress much. She is on a whirlwind tour to Vidisha and is promising all-round development. The segment has 16.11 lakh voters.

Shivraj Chauhan is the only reason why people want to vote for the BJP in this region. "He has done a lot of work. Nobody used to know about Vidisha. We are now being noticed. The roads have improved," said Kem Chand Chauhan, a local businessman.

An outsider tag still looms over Sushma who was born in Haryana. She is facing challenge from Congress' Laxman Singh, brother of Congress general secretary and former MP CM Digvijay Singh. Laxman Singh belongs to Raghavgharh near Gawlior and hopes to give a tough fight to the senior BJP leader.

Admitting to gain from the Chief Minister's popularity, Sushma said: "Three things are sure to favour the BJP -the unopposed selection of Narendra Modi as the party's PM candidate, welfare works done by Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the anti-people policies of the Congress."

Sushma as an individual is not a known face in Vidhisha. However, six out of eight Assembly segments in Vidisha are with the BJP leaving only two for the Congress.

For 35-year old Khushak Khattri, it's time to vote for a change. "The party had announced Medical and Nursing College during the 2009 elections, but nothing has come up so far," he said.

Migration of youths is common in villages due to unemployment. "An industry for locomotive alternative component was also promised, but the project has not been implemented yet," Khushal said.

Vidisha (MP), April 21
A 15-km narrow road to south-west of the Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh takes one to a Muslim village of Ber Khedi, a Mewati community, where BJP calendars adorn the walls of all houses.

Vidisha is the Lok Sabha constituency of the Leader of Opposition, Sushma Swaraj. More than 1,500 traditional voters of the Congress in Muslim villages of Ber Khedi, Dhanura and a few others have resolved to vote for the BJP this time. "We have supported the Congress throughout our lives, but we won't anymore," said 50-year-old Afsari Bi, the village sarpanch.

"We met Sushmaji a few days ago and told her that we want to work for her party," said 29-year old Sharim Khan, a farmer from Dhanaura.

They have reasons to cheer for the BJP as it has provided them a few hours of regular electricity supply, which is enough for them to irrigate their fields and store some for daily needs. A panchayat will be held soon by the senior guardians of the villages to ensure victory for the BJP.

However, they take an uncomfortable pause when asked about the party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. "He is a bad human. We don't like him," Khan said.

Villagers here survive on agriculture, but rain in March destroyed their crops and now they are in heavy debt.

They share a surprising fascination for BJP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. "His wife visited our village after heavy rainfall destroyed our crops. She listened to our problems and also announced compensation for all of us," Khan said.

The nearest school is 5 km away and the distance is covered on bicycles, gifted to them by the BJP-ruled state government.

Laxman Singh, brother of Congress general secretary and former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, has been pitted against Sushma Swaraj in the constituency. The last time the Congress represented this constituency in Parliament was in 1989.

"We are farmers and have no other source of income. Our votes were wasted on the Congress as we never saw development in our villages during its rule," Afsari said. "We saw him (Digvijay Singh) for the first time recently when he came to campaign for his brother," she added.

Chandigarh, April 21
In the electioneering for the April 30 Lok Sabha poll in Punjab, the role of the fair sex has not remained limited to the houses of the male candidates they are related to. In addition to performing household chores, which often includes taking care of the candidate's diet for rigorous campaigning, the female family members have been contributing their bit for canvassing.

Their involvement in this election is much more than the previous ones, an aspect that has lent myriad colours to the poll fever with fiery lawyer daughters, dedicated wives, doting aunts and enthusiastic cousins arguing the cases of their representatives with the electorate.

Women in the fray

An unusually high number of women are visible in rallies and campaign trails despite the fact that the prominent parties, including the Congress, SAD, BJP and the BSP, have collectively fielded just six women candidates — though there are 50 in all, including Independents — for the 13 parliamentary seats in Punjab.

The development assumes significance in view of the fact that the state has a skewed gender ratio of 895 females against 1,000 males.

Courtroom to canvassing

Sonali Jaitley, BJP candidate for Amritsar Arun Jaitley's daughter, is unfailing in showing her expertise as an established corporate lawyer when she discusses the day's campaign plan with her team members.

"I am making organised efforts at reviving old bonds and forging new ones. I am just lending a personalised touch to underlining the undisputed personal and professional integrity of my father. Our family shifted to Delhi from Amritsar after the Partition, but we have a strong affiliation with the city," she says. Her mother Sangeeta Jaitley leads the pack in making links with voters because a lot of her family relations are based in Amritsar.

The team also has Arun Jaitley's older sister, Madhu Bhargava, and her lawyer-daughter Punita Bhargava.

Another young lawyer, Prabhsahay Kaur Phoolka strikes a chord with voters while arguing the case of her father HS Phoolka, the AAP candidate from Ludhiana.

Seeking change

"We need change. We need representatives who dare to stand up against the government when things are not right. I am sure a sizable number of votes will be polled in our favour," she avers. Prabhsahay also has her mother Dr Maninder Kaur and her California-based aunt Paramjit Kaur in her team.

Patiala MP Preneet Kaur and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh's daughter Jai Inder Kaur moves out to small gatherings of women in a lane near the Fountain Chowk in Patiala. "I don't address any rallies but meet people and know their disillusionments and expectations, which I later communicate to my parents," says Jai Inder.

Anupama, wife of Congress candidate from Ludhiana Ravneet Bittu, is working with a team of her relatives and Mamta Ashu, wife of a local MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu, in particular. She speaks of her family's legacy and sacrifices wherever she goes.

In Sangrur, SAD candidate Sukhdev Dhindsa's wife Harjeet Kaur Dhindsa, daughters Mandeep Kaur and Ramandeep Kaur Brar and daughter-in-law Gagandeep Kaur Dhindsa are leading a strong campaign. Congress candidate Vijay Inder Singla's team includes wife Deepa Singla, mother Usha Singla and sisters Kamal Aggarwal and Radhika Gupta.

Bhagwant Mann’s team includes wife Inderpreet Kaur, mother Harpal Kaur, sisters Rajinder Kaur and Manpreet Kaur. In Gurdaspur, Vinod Khanna's wife is canvassing for him.

Ludhiana, April 21
It's 8 am and HS Phoolka, Aam Aadmi Party candidate from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency, is sitting in the front seat of his Scorpio that is racing at 90 km/hr to reach Mundiani village in Mullanpur Dakha area.

What for? To address an election rally scheduled for the day. He greets villagers with folded hands amid slogans: "Aam Aadmi Party zindabad" and "HS Phoolka zindabad".

He is a busy man these days. With no time for exercise, he has a glass of milk and some fruit and bread before leaving house at 6 am, only to return at 1:30 am once the campaigning work and meetings are over.

Col JS Gill, a party member, says: "Let AAP come to power and these politicians sporting white kurtas will get to know how they should behave with the common man."

Taking over the dais from Col Gill, Phoolka addresses people: "Waheguru ji ka khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh." Addressing the gathering in Punjabi, he says only 10 days are left to clean the mess created by the corrupt system of the past 66 years. "The Kejriwal government came to power only for 49 days and showed that corruption can be removed. Unlike these politicians who are ruling like kings and move around in beacon-wielding cavalcades and helicopters, AAP workers in Delhi worked among common men in offices till evening. This is how revolutions take place and it should also happen in Punjab," he says.

Blaming political leaders for the "failure" of the administration, he says: "Which rule book says that to get some administrative work done, you have to visit a political leader?" he asks. "These leaders have paralysed the administration. Even to get work done as little as getting an FIR lodged or certificates made, people are forced to look up to them because no file moves from the table without their nod," he says.

Phoolka says when the AAP comes to power, everything will fall in place. "People won't have to stand in queues to get certificates made. If some work is not done within the stipulated time, action will be taken against the officer concerned," he says.

In the Kejriwal government, he says, there will be no MPLAD and MLA funds as the designated amount will be directly sent to the constituencies and villages without the MP being involved and people of the areas and panchayats will decide what they want to use the funds for.

Taking potshots at his opponents, he says: "Eh Badalaan nu ta sabar hi nahi. Eh ta reta te bajri vi kha gae (These Badals know no patience. They have even usurped sand)."

Talking about independent candidate Simarjit Singh Bains, he says: "Eh pehla azad si, phir ghulam ho gye, te hun phir azad ho gye ne. Ehna di ta ohi gal hai ke je ticket mil gyi ta Badal Bapu, je na mili ta Badal Daku." About Congress candidate Ravneet Bittu, he says if he had really brought a change and done sincere work at Anandpur Sahib, why he didn't contest elections from there.

These are not councillor or MLA elections, but the Lok Sabha elections, he says, adding: "Decide whom you want to see as the PM. That Modi who is responsible for killing Muslims and is now making life difficult for Sikhs in Gujarat, or that 'ghuggu' (dumb) Rahul Gandhi, or the honest and truthful Arvind Kejriwal," Phoolka says.

He says the Student Organisation of India (Akali wing) is actually the GOI (Gunda Organisation of India).

He concludes his speech with "Inquilab Zindabad".

Mumbai, April 21
South Mumbai is home to some of the richest and the poorest people of the country. Diamond merchants, rich bankers, industrialists and Page 3 listers will rub shoulders with chawl-dwelling working class at ramshackle municipal-run schools on the polling day.

It is also where most of the voters stay away on the polling day. The 2009 Lok Sabha elections saw a turnout of just 41.4 per cent. Most of the rich people stay away from the polling booths.

No wonder Milind Deora, Minister of State for Shipping and Telecom, is a tad worried about the turnout. "We are connecting with voters via email and social networking sites so that they vote for the Congress on April 24," says Deora during a break in campaigning.

Political legacy

Son of veteran Congress leader Murli Deora, Milind is banking on a rainbow coalition in order to get a third term in the Lok Sabha. "We have got good response from the business community, including diamond merchants and Gujarati businessmen," says an aide to Milind. The Deoras, who hail from the mercantile Marwadi community, have traditionally been the link between the city's businessmen and the Congress party.

Murli Deora is a former Mumbai Congress unit chief and a veteran fund collector. Both Murli and Milind enjoy a reputation for public service that extends beyond the business community that orbits around them.

At rallies and roadshows, Milind is promising to push restructuring of old buildings so that residents are housed in new, safer and bigger flats. At other places, he is talking of problems caused by radiation from the mobile phone towers. Milind is banking on goodwill from residents of plush buildings who got the MP to dismantle mobile phone towers in several places after receiving complaints of radiation.

Main contestants

Still it is a tough battle for the MP who won the 2004 elections by a slender margin of just 10,000 votes. Milind had contested against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's Bala Nandgaonkar and Shiv Sena's Mohan Rawle.

Nandgaonkar is in the race this time as well and is getting a good response from the working class neighbourhoods of Sewri, Worli and Byculla. A sitting MLA from Sewri, Nandgaonkar, a close associate of Raj Thackeray, has a reputation of getting work done for his constituents. Residents welcome him into their homes and perform aartis during his padyatras through the constituency's working class neighbourhoods.

"The MNS didn't cut into the Shiv Sena's votes here. It was the other way round. This time, people know that they will be wasting their votes on the Shiv Sena candidate and will vote for me," says Nandgaonkar. Adding to the confusion, MNS workers are telling people that a vote for Nandgaonkar amounts to a vote for Narendra Modi since party chief Raj Thackeray has already extended support to the Gujarat CM's bid for the top job in the country.

MNS the ‘real opponent’

Deora himself admits that Nandgaonkar is the man to beat rather than the Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant. "My real opponent here is the MNS rather than the Shiv Sena," Deora told reporters shortly after filing his nomination papers.

The Shiv Sena has fielded Arvind Sawant, a veteran trade union leader who heads the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd's employees' union. Like Deora, Sawant is also talking about restructuring of the old buildings inhabited by the Marathi-speaking working class. Like party leader Uddhav Thackeray, Sawant is highlighting the allegations of corruption against the UPA government at the Centre and highlighting the importance of voting for Narendra Modi.

New Delhi, April 21
Those opposing abrogation of Article 370 should spell out how it has benefited Jammu and Kashmir, BJP president Rajnath Singh has said while favouring a debate on the constitutional provision that grants special status to the state.

"Our stand is that because of this (Article 370), Jammu and Kashmir has not benefited at all. Had it benefited, had it helped in reduction of poverty, then we would welcome it. But this has not happened," Singh said.

Favouring a debate on the issue, he said those opposing abrogation of the Article "should spell out how it has benefited the state. We believe it has not benefited the state."

In its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha poll, the party has said, "The BJP reiterates its stand on Article 370 and will discuss this with all stakeholders and remains committed to the abrogation of this Article."

On relations with Pakistan if the NDA comes to power, the BJP chief said there would be a quest for friendly ties with expectation of reciprocity. "Pakistan is our neighbour. We want to have good relations with it and all other neighbours. But Pakistan also should have the same approach," Singh said. — PTI

Mumbai, April 21
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said he was not averse to the idea of cobbling together a government with the Third Front should the Centre's ruling alliance fall short of a majority.

"There is no Third Front as on today. These type of situations develop after the elections and then some viable alternative does emerge," Pawar said.

Asked if he saw such an alternative emerging this time also, he said, "Not yet. Let me tell you frankly, as of today, I have not gone to other states. I will be able to go after April 24 (when polling for last phase in Maharashtra ends)." "That is why, I have not properly assessed (the situation)...I could not get the opportunity to interact with leaders of other parties because of my own responsibility," Pawar said in an interview. He, however, said a decision on a Third Front would be taken after due consultation with the Congress. — PTI

Ghaziabad, April 21
Prahlad Modi, the younger brother of BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, today came out in support of his brother on the wife issue.

He said when Lord Buddha left his wife, nobody at that time asked him about why he took such a step.

Prahlad had come to Pratap Vihar area of Ghaziabad to meet one of his friends and after meeting him, he left for Gujarat.

Rejecting allegations of the Opposition parties that Modi had become more important than the BJP, Prahlad said he was not above the party.

"Children are children and parents are parents. The BJP is the parent and Narendra bhai is like its child. For us, the party is first and then Narendra bhai. Whatever he is today, it is because of the BJP," he said. He said the "Modi wave" was sweeping the country. — PTI

SNAPSHOTS

I’m better than Modi: Jaya
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa on Monday wrapped up her 51-day campaign across 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. She signed off in style by claiming: "The lady in Tamil Nadu is better than Modi in Gujarat in governance."— PTI

Advani: BJP-led alliance in TN principal combatant
Vellore: BJP leader LK Advani on Monday said the six-party alliance formed by his party in Tamil Nadu had changed the "battlescape", with people seeing it as the "principal combatant" in the electoral contest. Addressing his first and only election rally in the state, Advani said, "I am glad to find that the situation has basically changed." — PTI

No post-poll alliance with Mamata’s TMC: BJP
Kolkata: "There is no possibility of any post-poll alliance between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress," said BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh. Describing the TMC as an anarchist party, Singh said the ruling party appeased Muslims and pampered infiltrators from Bangladesh with an eye on the vote bank. — PTI