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Key Constituency:
Khadoor Sahib
campaign
trail: prem singh chandumajra |
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On the fringe, small parties may upset poll equations in Punjab
Money trail: EC has seized Rs 240 cr, AP tops the list
key Constituency:
Gandhinagar
campaign trails: jaipal reddy
Kejriwal files papers; targets Modi, Rahul
Cong bigwigs to descend on Modi land
In Rajasthan, BJP wants to accomplish ‘Mission-25’
BJP attacks govt on black money a day after SC rap
To thwart Lalu surge in Bihar, is BJP back to its old tactics?
Priyanka targets Modi over ‘snoopgate’
Practise what you preach, BJP tells her
Somnath Bharti assaulted
Benedict's charm worries bigwigs in Gauhati fray
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Key Constituency:
Khadoor Sahib Akali leader Ranjit Singh Brahampura takes on Harminder Singh Gill of Congress; SAD(A) chief also in fray Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service
Amritsar, April 23 The other main contenders in the fray are SAD (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann and Aam Aadmi Party's Baldeep Singh. Having a predominantly rural population, the SAD seems upbeat in the constituency as the Atta-Daal scheme and free power to farmers may go in its favour. The constituency has 229 urban and 1,560 rural polling stations. Drug addiction is a key issue here as three Assembly segments — Patti, Khemkaran and Tarn Taran — share border with Pakistan. Drug addiction and anti-incumbency against the SAD-BJP government may work to the Congress' advantage. Before filing his nomination papers, Harminder Singh Gill of the Congress visited the Golden Temple and vowed not to use drugs and money to seek votes.
Congress workers here are upbeat as former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is contesting from the neighbouring Amritsar constituency. However, two MLAs from Kapurthala and Khadoor Sahib Assembly segments — Rana Gurjit Singh and Ramanjit Singh Sikki — are campaigning in Amritsar. This may work in SAD candidate Ranjit Singh Brahampura's favour. Sikki had defeated Brahampura from the Khadoor Sahib Assembly constituency in 2012. Brahampura's strained relations with SAD leaders in the constituency may also work against him. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal had asked the local SAD leaders to support Brahampura. Even as these leaders are organising meetings in support of the party candidate, residents say the SAD campaign is a low-key affair. The Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency came into being in 2008 after delimitation. Rattan Singh Ajnala of the SAD is the sitting MP from here. In his campaign, SAD candidate Brahampura refers to the Centre's “bias” against Punjab. He tries to corner the Congress on Operation Bluestar and 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Gill, on the other hand, reminds people of his detention in the Jodhpur jail and problem of drug addiction in the area. Gill lost to the Chief Minister's son-in-law and Cabinet Minister Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon by 59 votes in the 2012 Assembly elections.
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campaign
trail: prem singh chandumajra Pitted against Cong’s Ambika Soni, he banks on ‘Modi wave’ Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service
Balachaur (Nawanshahr), April 23 He has been pitted against veteran Congress leader Ambika Soni, who has the experience of war-room strategies and has been in the power circle of the Congress for decades. Sporting white kurta pyjama, Chandumajra settles in the co-driver's seat of his Fortuner and sets out on a positive note: "With Narendra Modi on our side, we will win with a huge margin." About his poor track record of losing three elections in a row, two Assembly polls in 2007 and 2012 and the parliamentary election in 2009, he says: "I am confident of breaking the record of losing. I have even defeated Capt Amarinder Singh in the past." After an hour's drive, he reaches Rakhra Daha village on the Balachaur-Hoshirapur road. Amid loud drumbeats and slogans such as "Akali Dal zindabad, Chandumajra zindabad", he gets a warm welcome with garlands. Addressing a gathering at the residence of Kuldeep Kaur, a party leader from the village, he takes a dig at the sitting Congress MP from the area, Ravneet Singh Bittu, who, he says, has no achievement to show as compared to the works done by the SAD. "Ik nu kadh dita, dusri kehndi hai ki us nu zabardasti pejh dita hai" (while one (Bittu) has been moved out, the other one (Ambika) says she has been forcibly sent), Chandumajra says. As soon as Nawanshahr SAD MLA Chaudhary Nand Lal joins Chandumajra in his campaign, they head towards Poli village in the Kandi area. Seeking votes on the basis of performance, Chandumajra tries to strike a chord by announcing that the village that casts maximum number of votes will get the maximum grants. At a meeting arranged at the house of Surjit Singh, the village panch, he promises to bring a wood industry to the village, lift toll barriers, complete work on Damesh Canal and provide a rail link between Rahon and Jalandhar. The next halt of his day's campaign is Mojewal Majra village, located 4 km away from the Balachaur-Hoshiarpur road. Calm and composed at all gatherings, he makes it a point to mention his proximity with BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. "Wherever the Centre's intervention is required, I will seek Modi ji's help. Be it the draconian sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act or wild animals straying into your fields, I will settle everything." Later, he visits Rattewal, Jlalapur, Bela Tajowal and Majra Jattan, before returning to Mohali villages in the evening.
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On the fringe, small parties may upset poll equations in Punjab
Amritsar, April 23 Although old parties such as the BSP, CPI, CPI (M) and SAD (Amritsar) are in the poll fray, all eyes are on the new kid on the block - the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The entry of AAP in Punjab's electoral arena after its success in the Delhi Assembly polls has spiced up the election battle in many constituencies in the state. These include Sangrur where AAP's Bhagwant Mann is pitted against SAD stalwart Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and sitting Congress MP Vijay Inder Singla; Patiala where AAP's Dr Dharamveer Gandhi has turned the poll battle into a triangular contest with Union Minister Preneet Kaur and SAD's Deepinder Singh Dhillon; Ludhiana where AAP's HS Phoolka has made the fight triangular and Gurdaspur where AAP's Sucha Singh Chhotepur is likely to dent the Congress. Similarly, in Amritsar, eye surgeon Dr Daljit Singh may cut into the votes of both the Congress and the SAD-BJP ruling alliance. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also has a role to play in Punjab politics. The party tilted the scales towards the SAD-BJP combine in the 2012 Assembly elections by bagging a sizeable number of votes, particularly in the Doaba region. Punjab has a significant Dalit population and it works to the advantage of the BSP. The BSP had secured 7.7 per cent votes in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections when it had for the first time resorted to its social engineering formula in Punjab. However, in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the party received a setback as its vote share declined to 4.3 per cent. Earlier in 1999, the party had contested on three seats and got 3.3 per cent votes. In the 2007 Assembly elections, the BSP garnered 4.13 per cent votes which went up marginally in the 2012 Assembly polls to 4.3 per cent, though the party failed to open its account in the 117-member Punjab Vidhan Sabha. The BSP is contesting all Lok Sabha seats in Punjab this time. The Manpreet Badal-led PPP, which is now contesting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance with the Congress, had polled 6.15 per cent votes in the 2012 Assembly elections, which it contested as a part of the four-party Sanjha Morcha. In the 2012 Assembly elections, the CPI's vote share fell from 3.31 per cent to 0.82 per cent, while that of the CPI (M) dropped from 2.25 per cent in 2007 to 0.16 per cent in 2012. The vote percentage of the CPI and CPI (M) fell by 2.49 and 2.09 per cent, respectively. Both the Left parties were earlier the constituents of the Sanjha Morcha, which split in the aftermath of the PPP deciding to forge an alliance with the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Besides, there are splinter SAD groups. While the SAD (Longowal) led by former Punjab CM Surjeet Singh Barnala is in alliance with the PPP, SAD (Amritsar) is contesting the Lok Sabha elections on its own. The CPI has fielded candidates from Faridkot, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Patiala and Sangrur, while its alliance partner, the CPM, has fielded candidates in Anandpur Sahib and Ludhiana. The CPI-M (Punjab), a breakaway faction of the CPM, is contesting Amritsar, Jalandhar and Khadoor Sahib seats with the support of the CPM (Liberation). Aam Aadmi Party’s effect
The AAP has spiced up the election battle in Sangrur where AAP's Bhagwant Mann is pitted against SAD's Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and sitting Congress MP Vijay Inder Singla; Patiala where AAP's Dr Dharamveer Gandhi has turned the poll battle into a triangular contest with Union Minister Preneet Kaur and SAD's Deepinder Singh Dhillon; Ludhiana where AAP's HS Phoolka has made the fight triangular and Gurdaspur where AAP's Sucha Singh Chhotepur is likely to dent the Congress.
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Money trail: EC has seized Rs 240 cr, AP tops the list
New Delhi, April 23
Less than half of the Lok Sabha election is over and four more phases are due till May 12. Of the money seized, Andhra Pradesh tops the list with Rs 102 crore. A mind-boggling 1.32 crore litres of liquor, mostly moonshine, was seized, pointing to the intention of political parties to lure voters with liquor. In a worrying find, 104 kg heroin was also seized by officials of the poll panel. The data did not indicate the states where the drugs or liquor was seized from. After Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu was another state from where a large amount of cash was seized at Rs 39 crore, followed by Karnataka with Rs 20.53 crore, according to official data released on Wednesday. Around Rs 215 crore was seized altogether since the 2010 Assembly elections in Bihar, which was followed by elections and by-elections in 23 states, including West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat , Karnataka and Delhi, according to the Election Commission. In its effort to curb the use of black money and illegal funds in the elections, the poll panel has deployed hundreds of officials in all the Lok Sabha constituencies and Assembly seats where polling is being held. The monitoring mechanism includes flying squads, quick response teams and surveillance teams headed by executive magistrates to track down illegal cash transactions or distribution of liquor or any other items used to bribe and influence voters. — IANS
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Post sulk, Advani plays humble worker
Has been spotted ‘copying’ Modi’s rhetoric, glosses over differences within party Manas Dasgupta
Gandhinagar, April 23
"Will accept any role the party assigns me after the elections," Advani had said. His assertion has not only diminished his value before the voters in his constituency but is also being viewed as his last-ditch efforts to remain afloat in the party hierarchy from where he has been unceremoniously removed by his one-time protégé and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Apparently, Advani has reconciled to his "lost glory" and has been seen "copying" Modi in his campaign trail, mouthing almost the same words as Modi’s: "This is one election where the people have decided the outcome much before the polling." Never in the past was the 86-year-old patriarch found fumbling for words as he was this time. Post Modi-Advani ‘rift’
Key contenders After Modi-Advani "fissures" came out in public, the state BJP was reportedly unwilling to offer Gandhinagar back to Advani and wanted the veteran leader to either take a Rajya Sabha seat or retire from politics, further cementing Modi's future. Modi was also reportedly thinking of contesting from Gandhinagar, but later selected Vadodara, in addition to Varanasi. The Advani camp, however, believes that getting him elected from Gandhinagar would be Modi's responsibility because not only that every seat from the state would matter to take the BJP to the target of 272 seats or more, his defeat would also instil a sense of apprehension in all senior leaders of the party about their political future under Modi's leadership. With Modi's rise, almost all senior leaders of the BJP in Gujarat have been lost in the oblivion. Former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, whom Modi replaced in 2001, kept asking the party's central leadership: "What was my fault?" but received no answer. Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted Modi to quit in the aftermath of the 2002 riots. Advani stood by Modi both the times, otherwise the history of Gujarat and of the BJP would have been different. Despite winning the seat five times, Advani has still not been able to wipe out the tag of an "outsider". A shopkeeper says: "Advaniji had been winning from here since 1991, but what change do you really see here?" Advani is pitted against Congress' Kirit Patel, a minister in the brief Shankarsinh Vaghela ministry in 1996. BJP stronghold since 1991
Ever since Vaghela, who then was in the BJP, won the Gandhinagar seat in 1989 and vacated it for Advani in 1991, the BJP has never looked back and for the Congress it became a political laboratory to try out different combinations, but none worked. The experiments by the Congress against Advani, except in 1996 when Vajpayee contested the seat as Advani stayed away following allegation of his involvement in the Hawala scam, included former Chief Election Commissioner TN Sheshan, late actor Rajesh Khanna, former state director general of police PK Datta, Gabhaji Thakore (prominent leader of the Thakore community), but Advani remained unscathed. This time, the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Rituraj Mehta against Advani. Nothing could deter him
A lot was expected in the last elections as Modi-Advani differences had started coming to the fore and noted film actress and strong Modi critic Mallika Sarabhai joined the fray as an Independent, hoping to take away a sizeable chunk of the minority votes. But nothing happened. Sarabhai's challenge ended with just over 9,000 votes, while the little-known Congress candidate Suresh Patel, then an MLA from Kalol, ran close to Advani, reducing his victory margin to 1.21 lakh votes, the lowest since 1991, down from over 2.17-lakh margin he had won the seat in 2004. The BJP, however, attributed Advani's reduction in the victory margin to the delimitation of the constituency in which two Assembly segments (Ellisbridge and Sarkhej, the BJP bastions) were taken out of Gandhinagar to form part of Ahmedabad (West). Cong banks on minorities
The Congress is banking on the "Patel votes" who constitute about 13 per cent of the electorate in Gandhinagar, and some 11 per cent "Thakore voters" who traditionally supported the Congress. It has a sizeable population of government employees, who are known to have developed antipathy for Modi, besides 13 per cent of the Scheduled Caste voters and eight per cent minority voters. In one of the Assembly segments, Vejalpur, the minorities constitute nearly 40 per cent. However, in the 2012 Assembly elections, the BJP had won the Vejalpur seat with a margin of over 40,000 votes besides retaining Gandhinagar North, Ghatlodia, Sabarmati and Naranpura seats, while the remaining two segments, Kalol and Sanand, went to the Congress, though with a slender margin of 343 and 4,148 votes, respectively. Cautious, he plays safe
The veteran leader has deputed his son and daughter to stay in his constituency and launch door-to-door campaign on his behalf and answer the oft-repeated question: "How he could be accessed, if required, once the elections are over?" Disgruntled BJP leader Harin Pathak, who was denied re-nomination from Ahmedabad (East) by Modi, has joined Advani's campaign. LK Advani, BJP
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He is a ‘reluctant fighter’ in the electoral ring
Suresh Dharur Tribune News Service
Mahaboobnagar, April 23 S Jaipal Reddy, the sole Telangana representative in the Union Cabinet and a veteran politician of the "Nehruvian and Lohiaite vintage", does not like to compare himself with his political rivals. He does not feel comfortable in joining them in the vituperative slanging match that is typical of electioneering. "I am not being modest here. I am above all these elemental issues. I am a nationalist in politics and internationalist in ideology," Jaipal tells this correspondent as he prepares to get ready for a gruelling campaign in his native district of Mahaboobnagar. A five-time MP, who has been in and out of the Congress in his four-decade-long political career, Jaipal lends philosophical touch to politics and prefers to pursue his agenda silently rather than getting into a war of words with his political opponents. "I belong to upper caste, land-owning and money-lending family, but became a socialist and Mandalite by conviction," says Jaipal, who prefers to engage journalists in an academic debate on political philosophy rather than giving crisp bytes on newsy topics like opinion polls, political fights and the number game. Congress workers gather at the residence of a local leader in Mahaboobnagar where Jaipal is put up. Dressed in a spotless white shirt and trouser, he holds a breakfast meeting with his close confidants and campaign managers to finalise the route map of the day. "My victory is never in doubt. I will win easily. Now, my responsibility is to strengthen the position of my party's Assembly candidates in the district," he says in a confident tone. It is a homecoming for this seasoned politician. He has been shifted to the Mahaboobnagar Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Chevella in 2009 and Miryalguda in 2004, both in the Telangana region. "I am in great demand. Every local Congress leader wants me to address public meetings in his area," Jaipal said. However, he is aware of the limitations because of his physical disability and advancing age. Though not a mass leader who can draw crowds, Jaipal enjoys respect and clout within the party and it is said that Sonia Gandhi looks up to him for guidance on political strategies. "It is a known fact that I played a subtle yet decisive role in the formation of Telangana state," he said. However, his propensity for aloofness and lack of grassroots contacts had created an impression in the party circles that he had maintained deliberate ambiguity on the Telangana issue till Sonia Gandhi took the final call. His detractors in the party argue that he never took up the issue with the high command seriously for fear of being branded as parochial. "I may not have spoken out loudly, but my role was decisive," he said. For this 72-year-old veteran of many a political battle, who was conferred with the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1998, politics has always been a dynamic pursuit. He had once represented a strong voice of anti-Congressism. He was a spokesman of the United Front and also a minister in the IK Gujral government during 1997-98. He was credited with formulating the Prasar Bharathi Bill for providing autonomy to Doordarshan and All India Radio. In the early stage of his political career in Janata Party, of which he was the general secretary from 1985 to 1988, he had unsuccessfully contested against Indira Gandhi in the Medak Lok Sabha constituency in 1980. He returned to the Congress in 1999 and has been a member of the Manmohan Singh Cabinet since 2004. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1990 to 1996 and again from 1997 to 1998. In his present electoral battle, Jaipal is locked in a triangular contest involving N Janardhan Reddy of BJP and AP Jitender Reddy of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Mahaboobnagar, which has a total electorate of 14.18 lakh, is a perennially drought-prone and backward constituency in Telangana which is represented by TRS founder-president K Chandrasekhar Rao. Rao has since shifted to Medak. Lack of irrigation facilities, power crisis and the problem of labour migration are the key issues in the constituency where the "Telangana sentiment" is not widespread, unlike the north Telangana region. The Congress is banking on the goodwill generated by its decision to carve out separate Telangana state while the TRS is positioning itself as the sole champion of the Telangana cause and claiming credit for achieving the statehood goal. As part of an alliance, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has left the seat for the BJP. "It is because of the BJP's consistent stand and its cooperation in Parliament that Telangana has become a reality now. Since I was with the TDP for 27 years, I have excellent rapport with its cadre and my victory is certain," claims Janardhan Reddy, who had quit the TDP two years ago to fight for the Telangana cause and subsequently joined the saffron party.
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Kejriwal files papers; targets Modi, Rahul
Varanasi, April 23
The anti-graft crusader submitted his documents to the Returning Officer after a two-and-a-half-hour roadshow that was attended by the top brass of the AAP, hundreds of party volunteers and a large number of people. Kejriwal, who led his fledgling party to a spectacular performance in the Delhi Assembly poll last year, filed four sets of nomination papers. Before entering the fray from the holy city, he held a roadshow describing the poll as a fight to "save democracy". He appealed to the people to bring a change in the political system. "This is not my fight. This fight is for those who want to eradicate corruption. The fight is for those who want to see the Ganges clean. This is a fight to have good roads in Varanasi and eliminate poverty," he said. Kejriwal accused BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, his formidable opponent in the battle for Varanasi seat, and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi of spending huge sums of money on electioneering, saying the ongoing exercise is all about "eliminating corruption and ensuring inclusive growth". "I was told Modi is spending Rs 5,000 crore in the election. Gandhi is also spending a lot of money. You watch TV, read newspapers, see billboards, they are there and everywhere. "So much money has been spent on advertisements. This is black money. The people who are giving the money will make at least Rs 5 lakh crore if he (Modi) captures power and it will be people's money," he said. — PTI Declares Rs 2-cr assets
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Cong bigwigs to descend on Modi land
New Delhi, April 23 Following her will be Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi who will hold rallies in the Amreli Lok Sabha segment, Botad in the Bhavnagar LS segment and Deogarh Baria in the Dahaud parliamentary constituency on April 26. On April 27, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will canvass in Ahmadabad with focus on Modi's claims on the Gujarat development model. All 26 Lok Sabha constituencies of Gujarat will go to the polls on April 30. The Congress currently holds 11 of these. Importantly, none of the Congress heavyweights will dare Modi in the Vadodra parliamentary segment from where he is challenging party's general secretary Madhusudan Mistry, considered close to Rahul. Although there were unconfirmed reports earlier that Rahul might hold a road show in Vadodra, there is no such plan now. Spokesperson of the Gujarat Congress Himanshu Vyas told The Tribune, "There was no plan of Rahul Gandhi campaigning in Vadodra. The dates for election rallies of the Congress president and the vice-president are fixed for April 24 and April 26, respectively." On April 25, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma will arrive in Vadodra for canvassing. Vadodra is one of the two constituencies from where Modi is contesting, the other being Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Sources said the decision of top Congress leaders not to campaign in Modi's parliamentary area could well be a reciprocation of the long-held unstated understanding between top politicians to skip campaigning in their respective segments. Modi, too, for instance, has not announced any plans to canvass in segments where Gandhis are in the fray - Amethi (Rahul's segment) or Raebareli (Sonia's constituency). That apart, the Congress is banking heavily on Bollywood and cricketing power to woo voters in Gujarat. The party's list of star campaigners has a fair sprinkling of stars from both the fields - starting from actors Nagma, Mahima Choudhary, Ramaiya and Sunil Shetty to former cricketers Mohd Azharuddin and Mohd Kaif. Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, who hails from Bharuch in Gujarat, is among the party's star campaigners in the state. Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar's name is also in the list. Modi back in Gujarat
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Uddhav basks in Modi’s glory
Mumbai, April 23 Party mouthpiece Saamna has been running diatribes against Uddhav's estranged cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who has fielded candidates against the Shiv Sena apart from tying up with the Peasants and Workers Party in two seats. "Narendra Modi warns you against falling in the trap of rajneeti," Saamna said while reporting the Gujarat CM's speech on Sunday. Not rebuffing Raj Thackeray directly, Modi said the BJP and Shiv Sena were together and voters should not fall for rajneeti. Senior BJP leaders, including Nitin Gadkari, met Raj Thackeray before the elections, sparking off a talk of including the MNS in the five-party alliance. However, Uddhav kicked up a row and threatened to walk away from the NDA if his cousin was invited. The MNS and the Shiv Sena face each other in five of the eight seats in Mumbai and Thane, which go to the polls on April 24. Raj Thackeray has been aggressively playing the Marathi card and supporting Narendra Modi much to Uddhav's chagrin.
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In Rajasthan, BJP wants to accomplish ‘Mission-25’
Jaipur, April 23 As the state administration has taken extra precautions in the hyper-sensitive five Lok Sabha constituencies going to the polls in the eastern region of the state, the BJP is out to prove that the recent state Assembly election results were no fluke. With the strong "anti-Congress" and "pro-Modi" sentiment sweeping the country, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned while pushing forward Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's "Mission-25". While psephologists say such a "mission" was impossible to achieve, the state unit of the BJP is confident of achieving the target set by senior party leaders, which would eventually help the party come to power at the Centre. Nearly 80 lakh people will vote for 81 contestants in the fray for five Lok Sabha seats — Dausa, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Tonk-Sawai Madhopur. Major contenders for the seats include Union Minister of State for Finance Namo Narayan Meena, who is contesting against his brother and BJP's candidate from Dausa Harish Chandra Meena; Union Minister of State for Sports Jitendra Singh, who is pitted against BJP's Mahant Chandnath from Alwar; and former Indian cricket skipper Mohd Azharuddin contesting against BJP's Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria. Security has been beefed up in the five Lok Sabha constituencies. At least 124 companies from Central forces and nearly 50,000 men from the state police will stand guard during the polling. A total of 9,112 polling stations, of which 2,667 have been declared critical, have been set up in the five constituencies.
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BJP attacks govt on black money a day after SC rap
New Delhi, April 23 The party also alleged that whenever the Congress comes to power, corruption, scandals, inflation and inaction on government's part were indicative of the way of its functioning. Black money thrived during their time and that was the reason why the Supreme Court has come down heavily on it. "The Congress-led UPA government has no will to work on black money. It is only misguiding the nation," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said. Linking corruption, scandals, failure to check black money as indicative of the way the UPA government functions, she said the Supreme Court criticising the government on the black money issue proves the point. The Centre had on Tuesday faced the ire of the Supreme Court for failing to implement its three-year-old directions, including setting up of a SIT to probe all cases of black money and disclosing information received from Germany about individuals stashing money in Liechtenstein Bank. Accusing the government of defying the Supreme Court on black money, Sitharaman said: "Can there be a greater chiding of a government by the Supreme Court?" She said: "The government has been 'misleading' the country on action against those stashing black money abroad and has failed to come out with the names received from Liechtenstein." The BJP leader also accused the UPA government of delaying the ratification of the 2005 United Nations Convention against Corruption, which could have helped the government obtain sensitive banking information about those who stashed their money abroad in violation of the law. — PTI
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To thwart Lalu surge in Bihar, is BJP back to its old tactics?
New Delhi, April 23 Consider this: senior Bihar leader Girraj Singh was duly "rapped" for an inflammatory speech he made at a poll meet in Jharkhand, but no further action was taken against him by the party. Analysts, in fact, believe that Singh's statements were a deliberate effort to send a message across Jharkhand and Bihar, where the BJP and allies are not in as comfortable position as they would have liked to be. Ground reports suggest that RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is in a resurgent mode, adding to the advantage of the Congress and giving the BJP jitters. "Singh is BJP's star campaigner. EC's direction, asking Bihar to ban his rallies and public meetings may work in BJP's favour," they add. Though Modi yesterday asked those "claiming to be BJP's well wishers" to refrain from "petty statements", there seems to be a method in one-after-the-other communal issues to have recently hit the BJP. First it was party's Muslim face Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi who suggested building Ram temple in Ayodhya. Then pamphlets circulated by the RSS urged people to vote in the interest of the majority while criticising "increasing appeasement of minority communities". It was followed by Giriraj Singh with his famous comment asking all those who do not vote for Modi to be go to Pakistan. Topping it all was the discourse by VHP leader Pravin Togadia, giving the political discourse in General Election a definite communal turn. Although BJP leaders insist the Gujarat CM does not share an easy relationship with Togadia, conjectures are being drawn on why the latter chose to make the controversial remarks at a time elections were entering a critical phase in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which together send 120 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
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Priyanka targets Modi over ‘snoopgate’
Raebareli (UP), April 23
Campaigning for her mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi in this constituency of Uttar Pradesh, she also exhorted the electorate to reject divisive politics and those persons who believed in concentrating all powers into their hands. Contending that the standards of election campaigning had deteriorated, she deplored personal attacks and said "this is not politics". She told a gathering of women to make political leaders answerable and ask, "If you are talking about empowering us (women), tell us how will you do that. If you are talking about empowering us (women), then do not listen to our phone conversations behind closed doors." Although she did not name Modi, the reference was clearly to the Gujarat Chief Minister who has been surrounded by a controversy over snooping of a young woman in the state allegedly at his behest. In a suggestive remark, Priyanka told the gathering, "You must be knowing (about the controversy). Isn't it?" She then went on to add, "If there are such political leaders who indulge in wrong acts against women, they should be thrown out of parties." The Congress' star campaigner, who has been camping here, said the leaders should be asked what they are doing for empowering women. "When there is a talk about women's empowerment, you must have seen, a lot of leaders come and speak on the issue. It is always about the role of a woman as mother, sister, daughter or wife. This is fine. I am also a mother, a sister, a daughter and a wife. But that is not our 'astitva' (existence). We are 'nari' (women) and that is our existence," she said. — PTI
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Practise what you preach, BJP tells her
New Delhi, April 23 Hitting out against Priyanka for her latest salvo against BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by raking up the “snoopgate” incidence, spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman accused her of breaking her own rules. “Practise what you preach. You have broken your own rules by talking about personal matters,” Sitharaman said. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley also took a dig at the Priyanka, referring to her statements expressing pain and anguish over husband Robert Vadra’s name being dragged into politics. He said while he completely agreed with “Ms Vadra that personal attacks pain people and should be avoided, but the good advice, like charity, always begins at home”. “If they had realised it, her brother (Rahul) would not have made Modi’s so-called child marriage a public issue, the Congress would not have made security to a woman in Ahemdabad into a ‘snoopgate’ issue,” he said.
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Somnath Bharti assaulted
Varanasi, April 23 "Somnath Bharti went to Assi Ghat for an election-related programme arranged by a channel where BJP supporters took objection to the statements made by him. Although AAP volunteers tried to pacify BJP workers, they assaulted
Bharti, who suffered minor injuries. They also used abusive language. Two AAP volunteers were also hurt in the melee," claimed AAP's Varanasi coordinator Ramanand
Rai. After getting first aid, Bharti, former Law Minister of Delhi, went to the Bhelupur police station to lodge a
complaint. Bharti is in Varanasi to campaign for his party from where Kejriwal is taking on BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra
Modi. — PTI
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Benedict's charm worries bigwigs in Gauhati fray
Guwahati, April 23 Sixty-eight-year-old Benedict Alok Areng, who served the Kumaon Regiment of the Army as a jawan, has added a different hue to the electioneering in the constituency. He is unlikely to emerge the ultimate winner in the poll, but he has already won many a heart in the process. The voting for the seat will be held tomorrow. He is sure to win majority of Gar tribal votes (total 1.73 lakh) in the constituency because of his efforts for the uplift of his community, especially in his backward village and the neighbouring locality. He has been toiling for his brethren despite being afflicted with a deadly disease. His gaining popularity among Garo tribe voters in the constituency will definitely not augur well for the Congress that has all along been getting majority of votes of this backward tribal community. When he voluntarily retired from the military service in 1978, Benedict deposited his entire retirement benefits in the Sainik Welfare Trust and came back home empty handed. He had a desire to work for the welfare of his community. He has always been at loggerheads with the administration in his efforts to take benefits of government welfare schemes to his area under Chaygaon revenue circle of Kamrup district bordering Meghalaya. Under his leadership, 84 villages in the area have been successful in imposing a ban on alcohol consumption. No militant now dares to enter these villages because of Benedict's efforts to unite villagers against militancy, a bane of life in this part of the country. During electioneering, Benedict has been advocating for saving Assam from further division, development of Assam-Meghalaya border areas, proliferation of vocational education to encourage entrepreneurship so that the educated youth don't have to waste time waiting for a government job that hardly comes by. Selfless service
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PTs:Notice that Digvijay is not daring me to file a FIR against Vadra. I am not because I am busy in electioneering. But if he dares I will. — Subramanian Swamy Marital is becoming martial. No one cares who marries whom, but when marital status starts subverting and milking the system, people react. — ShivrajSingh Chouhan "Accidental PM" presided over a "Detrimental Government" for a decade. People want change — Narendra Modi SP, BSP&INC's caste & religion based politics 'll be rejected by people. It will be hard even for it's big leaders like MSY to save his seat — Swami Ramdev Shazia Ilmi's appeal "Muslims should be communal for their own good" - new entrant on list of politicos of hate & fear! — Rajeev Chandrasekhar
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‘Pak intruders won’t cross border if Modi becomes PM’ Pawan Kalyan pledges
support to TDP-BJP in AP
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SAD stalwart Ranjit Singh Brahampura and Harminder Singh Gill of the Congress have locked horns in the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat.
It is 8 am and Prem Singh Chandumajra, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate from Anandpur Sahib, is ready to hit the road for the day.
Even as the two major political forces — the SAD-BJP ruling alliance and the Congress — continue to dominate the political sphere in Punjab, the fringe parties also have their vote bank and can upset the equations of the main parties.
New Delhi, April 23
Gandhinagar voters have reasons to feel aggrieved this time. From VVIP, the status of Gujarat's capital city constituency has been reduced to the level of "one of the many", though its face has remained unchanged.
He takes pride in being the intellectual face of the Andhra Pradesh Congress, but comes across as a reluctant fighter who has been pushed into the electoral ring.
SAD stalwart Ranjit Singh Brahampura and Harminder Singh Gill of the Congress have locked horns in the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat. The segment is spread over four districts — Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Kapurthala and Ferozepur — and has Assembly segments from all three regions — Majha, Malwa and Doaba.
In 2012, the Congress won three Assembly segments: Kapurthala, Sultanpur Lodhi and Khadoor Sahib, while the remaining six — Jandiala, Baba Bakala, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Patti and Zira —went to the SAD.
I will try to set up small-scale industries in the constituency so that the youth get employment. Construction of a bridge over the Beas is my priority. I will also make efforts for the rehabilitation of drug addicts.
I will wipe out drugs from the area. I will highlight the problem at the national level and ensure that illegal drug trade is checked. My priority will be to rehabilitate addicts, besides providing quality education and healthcare facilities to the people of the constituency.
A staggering Rs 240 crore unaccounted cash has been seized by the poll panel so far. The amount is much more than that was seized in the Assembly elections to 23 states since 2010. 
So far, Advani has been contesting the seat either as the BJP national president or as one of its tallest leaders having injected new life into the party with his "Ram Rath Yatra" from Somnath in Gujarat. Attention of the entire country was turned towards Gandhinagar in the last elections as Advani was the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. But in 2014, Advani has not even figured on the BJP's VIP list of candidates and his contesting from Gandhinagar remained a big question even a day before he filed his nominations on April 5.
This is one election where the people have decided the outcome much before the
polling.
He accused Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi of spending huge sums of money in the ongoing electoral battle which, he said, was all about eliminating corruption.
