Ferozepur, April 29
Ranjit Singh and his friends of the model Guru Ki Dhab village on the Faridkot road sum up the mood of the people in the General Elections when they say the much touted 'Modi wave" is on national TV as far as Punjab is concerned.

People are unhappy with the SAD-BJP alliance for their failure to check drug trafficking and vendetta politics in the state. "People had been consuming poppy husk and opium in the Malwa belt, but heroin, smack and other psychotropic drugs have ruined families emotionally, financially and economically," says Ranjit Singh.

Easy availability of drugs

"My nephew has been in and out of rehabilitation centres, but relapses as drugs are easily available in this belt," he says.

Residents of Guru Ki Dhab say it is easy to procure drugs even under the nose of the police.

This despondency can be correlated to anti-incumbency against the ruling SAD-BJP alliance. Other than non-performance, drugs have become a major poll issue here. A cross section of people in Faridkot, Ferozepur and Khadoor Sahib say drug abuse will weigh heavily on their minds when they go to caste their vote on April 30.

As septuagenarian Sukha Singh of Chak Sherwala village said drug addiction had reached an alarming level. "In the old days, one would know about the village amli (addict), but not anymore," he shakes his head in despair.

Some residents of Deviwala village who were playing cards under a banyan tree by the village pond said: "This time something unexpected is going to happen." Santa Singh ventures that they are fed up of the old parties and would try someone new. To a query on whether it is AAP, he just smiles and shuffles the cards as his friends look on.

Dismal performance

Varinder Kumar, who runs a shop in Faridkot, said: "We had been traditional BJP supporters. But looking at the dismal performance of the party in the state, we are keeping our options open. There is a Modi wave in the state, but it is confined to the cities only."

Pramod Kumar, a trader, said they had been burdened with taxes and would not support the ruling alliance this time.

"The BJP in Punjab has been reduced to a bride who is publicly paraded at ceremonial occasions in the family," he quipped

Drugs seem to be the major issue in Khadoor Sahib also. Besides, people are against the ruling SAD for allegedly foisting false cases on those who refuse to toe the party line.

Rural belts neglected

Youngsters Charankamal Singh and Kamalpreet Singh of Khadoor Sahib say the state government is patronising drug trafficking, sand mafia and smugglers.

Lack of infrastructure in this rural constituency stands out as one goes in the interiors, especially villages on either side of the Beas. A journalist of a vernacular newspaper said people are afraid to air their political views freely. "When the elections were announced, some deserted the SAD to join the Congress. After a few days, they all were framed in false cases. The cases were withdrawn after they came into the SAD fold."

"In light of such vendetta and coercion, how can one live freely? Jathedars have become powerful here," he says.

Surinder Singh, a commission agent, says the area is not only backward socially and economically, but is now in the grip of drugs.

Potholed roads and crumbling infrastructure are evident as one passes through Ferozepur district. Residents, especially those along the border belt, are furious over the continued neglect of the area. Rampant sand mining patronised by political bigwigs is a major poll issue with the people as is illegal encroachments. Sukhpal Kaur, a teacher, said: "I have seen things go from bad to worse here. The sewerage system is a shambles and roads are virtual potholes." Ferozepur has become synonymous with backwardness, drug abuse and alcoholism, she adds.

Similarly, a drive to the border belt is an eye opener on the stark disparities between this 'politically orphaned' district and those closer to Chandigarh.

"Life is a constant struggle everyday and sometimes we even think what wrong we have done to deserve such an existence," says Charanjit Singh of Gatti Madder village.

The only thing he has to show in the name of development is a water tanker provided by the authorities.

Sukhdev Singh of Mamdot is disturbed by the huge cache of drugs seized in the recent months.

"We thought drugs were being smuggled from across the border, but now we came to know that these are being manufactured in the state. This is disturbing," he laments. 

Gandhinagar, April 29
Gujarat's Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat is among the seven constituencies of the country where voters will be able to verify their vote through a newly introduced ballot verification method VVPAT.

"Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be used in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat among the seven seats of the country," said Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat Anita Karwal.

VVPAT has to be attached with the EVM, which can generate a slip immediately after a voter casts his/her vote by pressing a button.

Like a bank ATM generates slip after the transaction, the voter will get an automated paper slip through which it can be verified whether the vote has been counted or not.

The slip will tell the voter to which party or candidate the vote has been given. It will also include the name of the voter, the constituency and the polling booth.

The Election Commission is confident that the VVPAT device can be useful for an accountable and transparent electorate system.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer AH Manek feels the initiative can bring transparency in the poll-system.

"The voter will get a print out immediately after he or she casts the vote. This can be helpful for the Election Commission to bring transparency," Manek said.

The initiative has been followed by a Supreme Court judgment in which it directed the EC to set up VVPAT system. "The Supreme Court had directed Election Commission to introduce VVPAT system while delivering a judgement on a petition filed by Subramaniam Swamy," advocate Girish Das, who had filed a plea before the Gujarat High Court on the same issue, said. The EC then assured the apex court to implement VVPAT system gradually and the initiative is a result of that, he said. — PTI

Hyderabad, April 29
A case was today registered against Jana Sena president and Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan for his alleged derogatory comments against TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, the police said.

The case was registered in Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh. Based on a complaint, a local court in Nizamabad had yesterday directed the police to probe the matter. Accordingly, the Dichpally police registered a case against Pawan Kalyan, the police said.

The film star was booked under Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and under Section 506 (criminal intimidation), the police said. — PTI

Ludhiana/Fatehgarh Sahib/Faridkot, April 29
The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine is not the only one facing anti-incumbency in the 13 constituencies of the state, the Congress is also facing voters' ire for its role at the Centre.

A third alternative in the form of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is getting support in Punjab. Widespread drug addiction and illicit drug trade, ‘cartelisation’ of sand mining and imposition of new taxes are some of the issues that are keeping the SAD-BJP combine on its toes. The Congress, on the other hand, is on the back foot due to price rise and corruption.

Instead of throwing up national issues such as corruption, poverty alleviation or inter-state issues, local problems are dominating the elections this time.

If the urban voters are unhappy with the state government's decision of imposing property tax, rural voters hold the SAD-BJP combine responsible for drug trafficking in the state.

Deepinder Singh, a trader in Khanna, tells how youngsters in his native village Ghotind have fallen prey to drugs. He said: "Hun tan bhukhi vi leaderan de brand di mildi hai. Jehra vi supply control karda hai, usde naa te bhukki mildi hai. Suneya hai ki ehna leaderan nu ikhtiyaar ditte ne ke aapde illaqe vich saara bhukki da kamm aap sambhna hai. Isse karke hun bhukkhi aam milan lag payi. (Drug supplied in a particular area is now branded after a politician who controls drug trade in the area. One can easily get 'branded' poppy husk and opium. The drug trade is controlled by politicians)."

Illegal sand and gravel mining and ‘cartelisation’ of sand mining by politically influential people are major issues this poll season. Those undertaking any construction activity are not only forced to buy sand and gravel at an exorbitant price (a truck load of sand costs between Rs 22,000 and Rs 27,000), but even villagers, who extract sand and gravel from river beds adjoining their villages, are hounded by "powerful" mining contractors and are forced to pay hefty fines.

Gurcharan Singh of Rajeana village, who is sitting at Baghapurana village discussing the non-payment of old-age pension for the past couple of months with other elders, recalls how his son was caught by policemen after he extracted sand and how their tractor-trailer was released after paying a fine of Rs 5,000. "Par sannu halle tak eh nahi pata ki paisa police walleyan ne leya, sarkari khazane vich jama hoya, yan pher thekedar ne leya. (We still don't know whether the policemen accepted the money as a bribe, deposited in the treasury or the mining contractor pocketed it)," he said.

The Punjab government's decision to impose property tax has also not gone down well with voters. People feel the tax slabs are too high and it is biting into their stagnant incomes.

Jaswinder Singh, of Daad village in Ludhiana told The Tribune that candidates in the fray from the ruling party have realised that property tax has become a major poll issue. He said the politicians were telling voters not to deposit it, saying that they would withdraw it soon after the elections. "But we are scared that once the elections get over, we will have to pay the tax along with the fine," he rues.

If drugs, sand mining and imposition of property tax is what is drawing people's wrath for the ruling SAD-BJP combine in the state, voters are angry with the Congress-led Central government for high inflation.

Surinder Kumar Soni, a taxi driver from Sirhind, said: "The LPG cost has almost doubled. Prices of fresh vegetables have gone up as have the prices of pulses. It is because of Centre's poor policy planning."

It is in this scenario that the SAD-BJP-led state government as well as the Congress-led Central government is facing anti-incumbency. A third alternative in the form of Aam Aadmi Party is also getting good support in Punjab and in at least eight of the 13 constituencies, including Patiala, Sangrur, Faridkot, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Amritsar and Gurdaspur, candidates floated by the party have turned direct fights between the Congress and Akali-BJP into interesting triangular contests.

Dehradun, April 29
He may be touching 80, but his spirit is that of a youngster when it comes to campaigning. Major General BC Khanduri (retd), former CM of Uttarakhand and former Union Minister, has won the Pauri Garhwal parliamentary constituency four times in 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2004.

Khanduri is seen campaigning in Pauri, his ancestral town. Starting his day at 7 am, Khanduri is on his way to disaster-torn Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts of the Garhwal region.

Holding his first meeting at Badhani village in Karanprayag, he slams the Congress governments at the Centre and the state for not doing much for the flood victims.

Addressing a meeting he argues, "A year has gone since, but the Centre and the state governments have failed to help flood victims."

“The sole achievement of the Uttarakhand government has been changing the CM in the aftermath of the disaster, he said.

Treading circuitous roads, Khanduri reaches Ritholi where he addresses a gathering. Here again he accuses the UPA government of not formulating an industrial policy for the hill states.

"As the CM of Uttarakhand, I had advocated for a separate industrial policy for the hilly areas. But the subsequent Congress government took little initiative," Khanduri said.

The former CM addresses gatherings at Chowdhali, Jakha and Diyarkot villagers. Shaking hands with villagers, he seeks their support and urges them to vote for him. Around 10.30 am, Khanduri reaches Nauti village, famous for 'Nanda Devi Raj Jaat Yatra', a well-known cultural event of Uttarakhand.

At Nauti, he says, "The state government is not doing much to promote religious tourism, which can provide employment to hundreds and boost the state's economy. Also, the Char Dham infrastructure damaged in last year's floods is yet to be restored. Pilgrims from other states are giving a second thought for coming to Uttarakhand," Khanduri avers. From Nauti, he takes to Badeth, Nagli and Adibari areas before reaching Gauchar at 1.45 pm. At Gauchar, after addressing a public meeting, Khanduri eats lunch: 'chappatis', curd and some vegetables.

The biggest advantage for Khanduri is that he took a lead in campaigning. He had already visited all key areas of his constituency a time when the Congress was deciding on its candidate.

From Gauchar, Khanduri leaves for Nagrasu where he addresses another meeting of ex-servicemen. He says, "The UPA government's recent decision of “one-rank one-pension” was a farce and meant to befool the ex-servicemen." Pauri Garhwal constituency has a large population of ex-servicemen and most of them have stood by the retired Major General all these years.

The day ends at Rudraprayag where he reaches at 6.30 pm for a night stay. But before that, he addresses a number of small meetings. Focusing his entire speech on rain disaster, the ex-CM aims to rake up a strong public sentiment against the state government "for poor relief and rehabilitation of rain disaster victims". Rudraprayag was most affected in rains. The Kedarnath shrine is also located in this very district. 

New Delhi, April 29
On the eve of polling to 89 parliamentary constituencies in the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections, divisions surfaced in the Congress today over talks to support the Third Front for government formation to stop the march of the BJP PM nominee Narendra Modi.

Close on the heels of Union ministers Jairam Ramesh and Salman Khurshid and Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan suggesting that the Congress could support a Third Front formation at the Centre to prevent communal forces from coming to power, senior party leaders -- general secretary Digvijay Singh and Special Invitee to the Congress Working Committee Anil Shastri, (son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri) today questioned these conjectures calling them “damaging”.

Digvijay in his trademark style rejected suggestions of the Congress supporting a Third Front formation saying, “The tail can’t wag the body; the body can wag the tail.” Speaking to The Tribune, Shastri, special invitee to the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, said, “It makes no sense to talk about the Third Front during elections. There is no Third Front.”

External Affairs Minister Khurshid, Rural Development Minister Ramesh and Chavan have over the past week made statements that the Congress would be open to supporting a Third Front formation. A similar sentiment is now being attributed to Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. But Shastri and several top Congress leaders are uncomfortable with the idea. Shastri, former MP from Varanasi, posted three separate tweets today to make his discomfort with the Third Front idea official.

The three tweets read - “Talk of Third Front by Congress leaders during election campaign is marring the prospects of the party. The Congress will lead the next govt”; “Jairam, Salman and Prithviraj Chavan are talking of being part of Third Front. This is meaningless as there’s no front. It is Congress versus BJP”; “Salman Khurshid says Congress will support the Third Front. I do not agree. We will form the government with the support of like-minded parties.”

Srinagar, April 29
Campaigning is in full swing in north Kashmir's Baramulla constituency despite a low voter turnout (28 per cent) and gunning down of a poll official in the Anantnag constituency on April 24.

The Baramulla constituency, which goes to polls on May 7, comprises three districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipore that touch the Line of Control (LoC).

Besides cross-LoC trade, the Karwan-e-Aman or 'Peace Bus' to Muzaffarabad in the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir also passes through the district.

Out of 1,612 polling stations in the constituency, 1018 have been declared hypersensitive and 498 sensitive.

Just like the other two constituencies in the Valley, Baramulla is expected to witness a tough contest between the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates.

Low voter turnout is expected in the urban areas of Baramulla and Sopore towns following the execution of Afzal Guru.

The Parliament attack convict, who was executed in February 2013, hailed from this north Kashmir district. The rival parties have already made his execution a poll issue.

Low turnout is also expected in Hajin and Sumbal areas that witnessed civilian killings during protests in the recent past. Politicians on campaign trail passing through these areas have often been pelted with stones.

Sitting MP of the National Conference Sharifuddin Shariq is upbeat as the party has never lost the seat since 1998. Besides flaying the PDP during election campaigns, the NC is also attacking the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

The NC has again fielded senior party leader Sharifuddin Shariq (79) from the constituency. He has been in politics for the past 40 years.

However, PDP candidate and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Baigh (70) is banking on anti-incumbency against the ruling NC government in the state. Asserting that there was a 'strong wave' in favor of the PDP, he said Jammu and Kashmir was heading for better times and the days of the National Conference's deceitful politics were over.

During campaigning, the PDP has also been flaying the NC's 'dual policy' and its failure to resolve the Kashmir issue.

The NC has always been accused of vociferously raking the restoration of autonomy in the Valley and then not doing much in New Delhi.

The PDP is trying to cash in on Baigh's popularity in the NC stronghold.

Baigh made his electoral debut in the Lok Sabha elections in 1979 and remained the Deputy Chief Minister of the state in 2007-08.

Other parties have also fielded candidates but they are unlikely to pose a challenge to the main contenders.

Even as MLA Langate Engineer Rashid and Salamuddin Bajad of the Sajad Lone-led Peoples Conference can eat into the votes of the main contenders, the battle is between Shariq and Baigh.

Lucknow, April 29
BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain on Tuesday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) led Uttar Pradesh government of intimidating the bureaucracy and threatening the officials to ensure the victory of its candidates in the Lok Sabha election.

An official in the chief minister's office has been ringing up district officials and telling them that the state government will last for three more years and they should fall in line, Hussain told reporters at the state party headquarters here.

The officials are being asked to follow the party line and “manage” polls in favour of SP candidates, said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson.

“There are officials who are threatening lower rank and district officials with harassment post-polls,” he said.

Hussain said he has urged the Election Commission to take note of such complaints. When asked for the name of such officials, he said the BJP would apprise the poll panel of their names.

He said the SP had realised that it would perform badly in the polls, hence it was now adopting such underhanded tactics.

Hussain also urged the Muslim community to shed apprehensions and misgivings about the BJP and give the party a chance.

The BJP leader said the minorities must realise that they have been exploited as vote banks for long by the so-called secular parties such as the SP, Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party and must now give a chance to the BJP. — IANS

Unnao, April 29
The Dhawan Road residence-cum-office of sitting Congress MP Annu Tandon is full of activity since early morning. She has to leave to meet villagers in the Bhagwantnagar Assembly constituency at 9.30 am. But, a stream of workers with queries, publicity material and final-minute details of meetings lined up for the day delays her departure and she hits the road only after 10 am.

"Every day I plan to start at 9.30 am, but despite all planning something unexpected always crops up which delays my schedule," says Tandon, all ready for the day in her characteristic white kurta-trousers and a colourful scarf wrapped around casually.

Congress district president Veer Pratap Singh and his son president UP Youth Congress Ankit Parihar have coordinated the day's meeting at the Bhagwantnagar Assembly constituency area for the day.

Unnao happens to be the biggest Lok Sabha constituency in the entire country in terms of population. It has 22 lakh voters, while an average parliamentary constituency has 15 lakh voters. Unnao has 54 gram sabhas, 4,668 villages and hamlets, 15 town areas and three municipal corporations making campaigning tough.

While the first meeting is at Osiya village at the Bighapur block in the Bhagwantnagar Assembly constituency, Tandon stops at every major crossing and bazaar to meet people. The first halt is at Shivganj Crossing. Many women welcome her by showering rose petals on her. She greets them with folded hands and briskly walks from shop-to-shop with supporters following her.

"Jaat pe na paat pe Annu ji ki baat pe muhar lagegi haath pe," her supporters shout, while following her till the end of the bazaar.

They distribute pamphlets listing her achievements during the past five years.

"Earlier, I never realised the significance of these impromptu interactions. Several people from far-off villages are present at the bazaar whom I meet during such interactions. They take the word back home. Therefore, even if I fail to reach every single village, my word does. It is a sort of a ripple effect," she says.

She stops at half-a-dozen crossings to meet people, who are often amused to see her suddenly at their shop.

Mohan Lal, who sells khoya at Ghatampur Kalan Chauraha, admits that for him Tandon is a familiar face, adding that he cannot recall the names of 'kamal', 'haathi' or 'cycle' candidates.

Addressing a gathering of around 150 people in Osiya village, mostly women, Tandon considers herself lucky to have managed to visit the village four times in the past five years.

She wants to be considered a daughter, sister and an aunt instead of a candidate of Unnao. Like a daughter, she says, she will always be available to its people at her home in Unnao every Saturday. She calls Unnao her maika.

Warning of outsiders who would not be accessible and aware of local problems to adequately raise them in New Delhi, Tandon also speaks of what she did to restore the pride of Unnao irrespective of caste and creed.

She tells villagers how she managed to get the country acknowledge Unnao's contribution by getting postal stamps of historic personalities of the district released. Some of them included litterateur Pratap Narain Mishra, martyr Gulab Singh and freedom fighter Hasrat Mohani among others.

Similar meetings are held at the Vegetable Bazaar in Bighapur and then at Mohtamganj village in Purwa block.

It is evening and she returns to her Unnao office, where meetings in the city area continue before she returns to her office to continue interacting with visitors and workers past midnight.

In between, she digs into some fruits and drinks black tea that she carries in a flask. She admits of not getting more than 3 to 4 hours of sleep these days.

Those giving her a tough fight include BJP's Sakshi Maharaj, BSP's sitting Rajya Sabha MP Brajesh Pathak and SP's Arun Shankar Shukla 'Anna'.

Amethi, April 29
Mahatma Gandhi's great grandson Srikrishna Kulkarni today came out in support of AAP candidate Kumar Vishwas saying he was a "self-made" man taking on the "corruption-based dynastic rule" in Amethi.

Kulkarni, a Bangalore-based robotics engineer, is in Amethi campaigning for Vishwas. Kulkarni's mother is daughter of Mahatma Gandhi's son Ramdas Gandhi. Speaking over the phone, Kulkarni said he has come to Amethi to support the courageous campaign by Vishwas against the dynastic rule in Amethi.

"I was not invited by anyone. I came on my own to support Vishwas who has been courageous to contest from one of the most difficult constituencies in the country," he said, adding that he was a self-made man who had taken up the task of rooting out dynastic politics in Amethi.

Accusing the Gandhi family of misusing the surname of the father of the nation, Kulkarni termed the Congress as "napunsak" (impotent) and said the party had become synonymous with evils such as corruption.

Coming down heavily on dynastic politics in the country, Kulkarni said it has severely hurt the soul of India's Constitution and will lead the country towards destruction.

"Evils of the dynastic rule has ruined the soul of the Constitution. It must be banned," he said.

Between a choice of BJP's Narendra Modi and Congress' Rahul Gandhi, Kulkarni chose the former saying he was a a self-made man.

Raj Mohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election against Rajiv Gandhi in Amethi as a Janta Dal nominee in 1989.

He is contesting this year's general polls as a AAP candidate from East Delhi constituency. — PTI

Varanasi, April 29
Raking up the snoopgate scandal and Robert Vadra controversy, Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday accused both the Congress and the BJP of having a tacit pre-poll understanding and not taking any action against each other on the two issues.

He also asked why Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had not campaigned in each other's constituencies.

Targeting the Gujarat Chief Minister, Kejriwal said, "Narendra Modi should clarify his stand on Vadra issue. If BJP is serious on this issue, why the BJP-led Rajasthan government doesn't register an FIR against him. The BJP and the Congress have joined hands. They just pass comments against each other, but their party-led governments don't take action against their 'men," he told reporters here.

"If I could register an FIR against Sheila Dikshit and Mukesh Ambani, why the BJP-led government cannot register an FIR against Vadra in the last four months in Rajasthan," he asked.

Going on to target Congress, Kejriwal said, "If Congress-led UPA government is really serious on Adani issue, so why doesn't it ask CBI to probe his role. They (BJP and Congress) don't do nothing, but only pass comments against each other."

The AAP leader accused both the parties of having an understanding. "It has been four months since probe in the snoopgate scandal was handed over to CBI. If CBI wanted, Modi would have been arrested. BJP and Congress have their deals," he charged.

Referring to Modi's remarks on the issue of taking action against Vadra, he charged: "There is an internal setting between the Congress and the BJP."

Condemning the attack on his party volunteers here, Kejriwal alleged that the BJP "goons" were trying to create an environment of fear among the people of Varanasi and also among AAP supporters. — PTI

New Delhi, April 29
Senior Congress leader and Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said it would be much better if the same person happens to be the party president and the Prime Minister.

“Ordinarily ... the party leader and the Prime Minister should be the same person... This will depend on the times we live in. Today, I believe it is much better to have party president and the PM the same person,” he told a TV channel.

Chidambaram was responding to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s former media advisor Sanjaya Baru who had said the real power in UPA 1 government was exercised by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The minister, however, rubbished Baru’s claims that important files were vetted by Gandhi.

Baru has, in his book “The Accidental Prime Minister”, said the PM’s Principal Secretary Pulok Chatterjee sought Gandhi’s instructions on important files to be cleared by the PM.

Chidambaram said in the initial years of independence, the party president and the Prime Minister were different persons but that was the time when PM was a tall personality and overshadowed the party president.

Replying to questions on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s projection as a strong leader, Chidambaram said the country did not need a strong leader like Hitler or Mussolini. — PTI

Will now Mamata apologize to Namo? TMC Audited accounts reveals for 2012, Rs 3.93 crores receipts from sale of paintings !! 
—Subramanian Swamy

How come Congress, whatever its model has been, is not responsible for poor social indicators of the country? 
—ShivrajSingh Chouhan

From Nautanki to Arm Chaired Politician, seems Mrs Vadra has a problem defining me. Whatever I am have never lived off my family name.
— Smriti Z Irani

snapshots

Three hurt in bomb blast in poll-bound Bihar
Madhubani: Three persons were critically injured when a bomb exploded at Katma village in Bihar's Madhubani district on Tuesday. A woman, Shanti Devi, was injured when she picked up the crude bomb by mistake which exploded in her hand. Her husband and a neighbour's boy standing nearby were also wounded. All three were admitted to the hospital. Seven constituencies—Madhubani, Jhanjharpur, Madhepura, Darbhanga, Samastipur (SC, Reserved), Begusarai and Khagaria—all in the Kosi river belt area are going to poll on Wednesday in the fourth of the six-phase Lok Sabha elections in Bihar to decide the fate of 94 candidates. — PTI

Probe voting ‘manipulation’ in Arunachal: BJP
Itanagar: The BJP has demanded the Election Commission to probe the alleged “manipulation” in voting through postal ballots during the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls held simultaneously in Arunachal Pradesh on April 9. The “gross manipulation” had denied a large number of state government employees engaged in poll duty of their constitutional right, BJP spokesman Techi Necha said in a statement. —PTI

Digvijay rejects idea of Cong supporting Third Front
Hyderabad: "The tail cannot wag the body, the body can wag the tail," Congress leader Digvijay Singh said on Tuesday rejecting the idea of extending outside support to a Third Front to form government to stop Narendra Modi. Talking to reporters, Singh insisted that the dominant political party should lead the government for greater stability and effective functioning of any coalition arrangement. — PTI