Chandigarh, September 20
With the filing of nominations for the Vidhan Sabha polls starting Saturday, alliance partners HJC and Haryana Jan Chetna Party (HJCP) have intensified their efforts to bring together parties like the BSP and the Samast Bhartiya Party (SBP) to form a “maha alliance”.

After a series of meetings, the BSP and the SBP have agreed in principle to support each other. The BSP has already announced 33 names in two lists while the SBP has completed its first round of campaigning on 53 seats.

Leaders of these parties have expressed the desire to contest the polls jointly, but are finding it difficult to work out a way in terms of seat adjustment.

According to the original plan of the alliance between the HJC and the HJCP, Venod Sharma’s party is to contest about two dozen seats and Kuldeep Bishnoi’s party the rest. Despite some state BSP leaders denying the possibility of an alliance, senior functionaries have indicated that they are waiting for the go-ahead from party chief Mayawati.

SBP chief Sudesh Aggarwal said, “We had a meeting in New Delhi three days ago and other parties approve of our five-point agenda. That was a good start, but we have already announced candidates in 53 constituencies and cannot withdraw them,” he said.

“In principle, we agree on the agenda for governance, but it is difficult to withdraw our candidates who have already completed one round of campaigning. There is a possibility that we may extend support to the alliance on the remaining 37 seats based on further talks,” he added.

At the same time, HJCP chief Venod Sharma said, “We are keen to have a formidable combination of like-minded parties to have good results in the elections. Efforts are on to make the BSP a part of the alliance. A series of talks have taken place and the final outcome will be known by tomorrow.” He said seat sharing would be worked out amicably and that did not seem to be any issue given that no party was rigid on the number of seats it wanted to contest. They would go by the ability of a candidate to win, he added.

BSP leaders were not willing to commit or comment on the issue. They said party chief Mayawati was being apprised of the situation and the final outcome would be discussed after asking her. It was learnt that Haryana BSP president Arvind Sharma was not averse to the idea of contesting the polls in alliance with the HJC and the HJCP.

Sources said as per the formula being discussed, the HJC would contest 42 seats, the BSP 36 and the HJCP 12. The SBP was offered the seats of Tosham, Bhiwani, Loharu and Faridabad, but it expressed its inability to go back on the already announced 53 candidates.

The issue of who would be the chief minister was not being discussed at this moment and could be decided after results of the polls. A formal announcement with regard to this alliance was expected on Monday.

If the “maha alliance” is formed, all partners are expected to benefit. The biggest beneficiary will be be the HJC as it will not only strengthen the candidature of Kuldeep Bishnoi, but place his wife Renuka, mother Jasma Devi, brother Chander Mohan and relatives Dura Ram and Devi Lal in formidable positions as well.

The alliance will help BSP president Arvind Sharma, who can benefit from HJC support in Assandh, from where he is likely to contest. In the previous elections, Zile Ram of the HJC won from Assandh. The BSP has a considerable base in Ambala City and Venod Sharma will benefit from it.

Fatehabad, September 20
Anti-nuclear energy organisations opposed to the setting up of the proposed nuclear power project at Gorakhpur in Fatehabad, have upped their ante, with the announcement of the Assembly polls in the state.

Parmanu Virodhi Morcha, a conglomeration of organisations opposed to nuclear power plants, today appealed to people to vote for political parties that promise to abandon the Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyaojna (GHAVP) after coming to power, in view of the hazards involved with the project.

SP Udayakumar, convener of People's Moment against Nuclear Energy (PMNE), who has been heading a movement against Kudan-kulam Nuclear Power Project and Kumar Sunderam of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), a network of organisations against nuclear power projects in the country, visited the GHAVP site at Gorakhpur in Fatehabad, along with other activists of the Parmanu Virodhi Morcha today.

Later, speaking to the mediapersons at Fatehabad, the activists alleged that both the UPA as well as the NDA have been pursuing the same policies on nuclear energy, which they alleged were detrimental to the interests of people.

"In a country where the governments cannot save people from calamities such as floods, which cause havoc for a limited number of days, how can we expect our system to save people from the hazards of nuclear disaster, if it happens, where the effects lasts for several thousand years?" questioned SP Udayakumar.

He said people want electricity, but not at the cost of lives of their future generations. Udaikumar alleged the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) did not have any plans in place to dump the nuclear waste, which had the potential of playing havoc with the people's lives for centuries.

"When the Supreme Court asked the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited where it will dump the nuclear waste, the organisation was unable to give any satisfactory answer. Where will the waste generated by the Gorakhpur nuclear plant be dumped?" he asked.

He demanded a national debate on the nuclear policy and a moratorium on all nuclear projects.

Kumar Sunderam said there was no big difference between the nuclear energy policies of the UPA or the NDA governments and alleged that soon Prime Minister Narendra Modi was going to sign an agreement under US pressure, which would dilute the nuclear liability clause.

Chandigarh, September 20
Five candidates filed their nominations on the first day of filing papers for the Assembly elections on Saturday. Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad said Jai Prakash Kaushik and Ramesh Verma filed nominations as independent candidates from Bhiwani.

He said Pankaj and Kusheshwar Bhagat filed their nominations as independent candidates from Kosli in Rewari and Badshahpur in Gurgaon, respectively. Sanjay Sharma of the Aarakshan Virodhi Party filed his papers from Ballabgarh in Faridabad district.

Sirsa/Fatehabad: The “shraddhs” seem to be affecting candidates as none filed papers on the first day. Candidates in the two districts planned to file their papers after the “shraddhs” were over.

Karnal: No nomination was filed on the first day. This information was given by Deputy Commissioner-cum-district election officer Balraj Singh. He added that papers from Karnal, Nilokehri and Gharaunda would be filed at the Mini-Secretariat and from Indri and Assandh at their respective SDM offices.

New Delhi, September 20
The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi, cleared candidates for 65 seats, ahead of the October 15 Assembly elections, today. The list will be declared later when all seats are finalised.

Even as the process of filing of nominations for the elections began today, the Congress panel headed by party chief Sonia Gandhi was unable to reach a consensus on 25 seats. The meeting lasted for over six hours, but still consensus eluded 25 seats.

Among the 65 seats cleared today, around 50 were such where either there were single names in the panel or there was agreement on the best candidate.

Also approved today was the nomination of the five sitting MLAs caught in the recent CD scandal where they were seen demanding money for change of land use (CLU) on camera. Among around 12 seats, where sitting MLAs are set to lose their seats is the Asandh seat whose legislator Zile Ram Sharma has been chargesheeted in a murder case.

The seat where there was a strong disagreement among state leaders was Kalayat in Kaithal. Sources said while Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other senior leaders want former MP Jai Prakash fielded from here, Industry Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala is seeking the ticket for Bobby Mann, the son of late Congress leader from Kaithal, Teji Mann.

The Karnal seat is pending because sitting MLA Sumita Singh is learnt to be seeking a shift to Asandh where local leaders are not said to be in her favour. The Asandh seat remains undecided because of Sumita Singh reportedly keen to fight from there.

Also pending for decision are seats from where Hooda is expected to choose one to contest apart from Kiloi Sampla, the one he currently represents. These seats are Baroda, Panipat Rural and Indri.

The list of Congress candidates is likely to be announced after around two days. The pending seats, sources said, would be cleared after Sonia holds a one-on-one meet with the state leaders. No other CEC meeting will be held for that.

Chandigarh, September 20
With a heavy reliance on turncoats to see it through the Haryana Assembly elections and much to the disappointment of committed party workers, the BJP today released its second and final list of 47 candidates even as it gave thumbs down to dynastic politics.

While the party gave over 25 tickets to candidates “imported” from the Congress and the INLD today, the BJP refused to buckle to any kind of pressure from its leaders, including sitting MPs seeking tickets for their kin.

Eight more tickets were announced for women candidates, including union minister Sushma Swaraj’s sister Vandana Sharma from Safidon, taking their total to 15.

The party has decided to field Sunita Duggal, a former Income Tax Commissioner, who had quit her job to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Sirsa but couldn’t manage a ticket after the BJP gave away the seat to its then alliance partner, the HJC.

With the release of the remaining candidates, Congressman-turned-BJP leader Birender Singh, completely ignored in the first list, has been able make a comeback by wresting six seats for his supporters. His wife Prem Lata’s ticket from Uchana Kalan was announced in the first list itself. Birender Singh has been able to ensure tickets for his supporters from Julana, Narwana, Gohana, Kalayat, Badra and Beri.

Sources said the second list of the BJP had come as a shocker to the “insiders”, since nearly all Congressmen and INLD leaders have been “rewarded” for switching sides while the committed workers have been given a royal ignore by the party, leading to resentment.

The dearth of candidates within the BJP, as alleged by INLD’s Abhay Chautala at a press conference here today, was especially evident in the party ticket for Rao Surendra Singh, who has been fielded from Kaithal.

Former Congress MP Jatinder Malik, who represented the Sonepat seat in the 2009 elections, has been allotted a ticket from Gannaur, while Congress-inclined khap leader Baljit Malik has been fielded by the BJP from Baroda.

JP Dalal, a Kiran Choudhry loyalist from the Congress who made the shift to the BJP, was given a ticket from Loharu among many others. Chief Principal Secretary in the Congress-led government and Independent MLA Sultan Singh Jadaula, who joined the BJP along with Birender Singh, has failed to get a ticket. Santosh Sarwan, a former minister in the Bansi Lal government, has been fielded from Mullana seat. While Surender Barwala, who has been fielded from Jind, belongs to the INLD, Swatantra Bala Chaudhry, too, comes from the same party.

However, ticket aspirants from within the BJP did not rule out the possibility of a rebellion; some of them even considering contesting as Independents. Party sources maintained that the next two days would be the real test for the party, which is likely to witness protests against “unprecedented weightage to outsiders”.

“However, if internal dissent can be handled over the next couple of days, the worst would be over for the party,” a leader claimed.

Panipat, September 20
A prominent animal rights activist lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (EC) against BJP candidate from Panipat (rural), Mahipal Dhanda, for violating the EC’s direction by using a camel for electioneering.

State People for Animals (PFA), chairman, Naresh Kadyan, lodged a complaint with the EC against Dhanda for abusing camels during electioneering on Friday at Ganjbad, falling under Panipat (rural) Assembly segment.

Kadyan said he got a call from Panipat (rural) returning officer (RO)-cum-Panipat SDM Ashwani Malik. The RO asked him to provide a photograph of the candidate abusing camels during electioneering and he did so, Kadyan added.

Neither Ashwani Malik nor Mahipal Dhanda could be contacted despite repeated attempts. Meanwhile, the EC website stated Kadyan’s complaint ID as HR/7/24/339781.

The BJP declared Bhartiya Kisan Morcha (BKM) state president Mahipal Dhanda as its candidate from Panipat (rural) during the release of its first list of 43 candidates, a few days ago.

Demanding that he should be forbidden to file his nomination papers for violating the EC’s directions, the PFA chairman stated in his complaint that Dhanda violated the EC advisory issued in 2012 by abusing camels at Ganjbad, where he also manages a poultry farm, and molts the birds. This is in violation of the PCA Act, 1960.

He also urged the EC to order registration of an FIR against Dhanda for violating the EC’s directions. Kadyan said EC principal secretary KF Wilfred had issued an advisory on September 19, 2012, to all political parties and state election commissioners, for banning the use of animals during electioneering after getting repeated representations by PFA.

Mahendragarh, September 20
In a development that may change the local poll equations, the INLD has replaced its nominee from Mahendragarh, Rao Bahadur Singh, sitting MLA from Nangal Chaudhry. It has now fielded Nirmala Tanwar from Mahendragarh.

She is the block chief of the INLD women’s cell in Mahendragarh and belongs to the Rajput community, which has over 10,000 votes in the Assembly segment. A greenhorn in politics, Nirmala has been allocated the ticket in view of her activeness and dedication towards the party.

Nirmala is the third woman candidate of the INLD in Mahendragarh district, which comprises four Assembly segments. Earlier, the party nominated Manju Choudhry, wife of former MLA Moola Ram from Nangal Chaudhry, and Kamlesh Saini from the Narnaul constituency.

Though the official reason behind the replacement is yet to be ascertained, it would certainly influence the election equations to a large extent. The emerged situation may go in favour of incumbent Congress MLA Rao Daan Singh, who has been a legislator from here three times.

Political pundit opine that since the Mahendragarh constituency is dominated by the Ahirs in terms of votes, replacement of a heavy weight Ahir leader with a Rajput will benefit Daan Singh, as he would be the lone prominent Ahir leader left in the fray after Rao Bahadur’s departure. The situation is likely to avert a division among the Ahir voters, they add.

There are around 60,000 Ahir voters, who hold the key to victory in the Assembly poll followed by the Scheduled Castes with 30,000. Thereafter, the Brahmins are in a majority with over 15,000 votes followed by the Rajputs.

“Most of the Ahir voters use to mobilise in favour of winnable Ahir candidate at the eleventh hours to ensure the victory of their candidate. The caste unity is turning out to be instrumental behind Daan Singh’s success in the last three elections,” said a political analyst.

Though the Congress is yet to name its nominee from Mahendragarh, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has already announced Daan Singh as the party’s pick from Mahendragarh, while the BJP has nominated its state chief Ram Bilas Sharma from the constituency.

Chandigarh, September 20
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Saturday released a list of eight more candidates, replacing party candidate for Mahendragarh. With this, the party finalised 81 of the 90 candidates in Haryana.

Addressing a press conference, INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala said the party decided to replace Mahendragarh candidate Rao Bahadur Singh with Nirmala Tanwar, state unit chief of the mahila wing of the party, altering caste equations. While the Congress ticket was likely to go to an Ahir, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dan Singh, the INLD had announced Rao Bahadur Singh as the party candidate in the first list.

The fielding of Rao Bahadur Singh would have divided Ahir votes, giving advantage to state BJP chief Ram Bilas Sharma. By fielding Tanwar, the INLD changed the complexion in Mahendragarh.

The other candidates included Raj Kumar Sharma from Rohtak, Satish from Meham, KC Bangar from Gohana, Kapoor Singh Narwal from Baroda, Kishore Yadav from Sohna, former MLA Tejvir Singh from Pundri, Deputy Mayor Bhim Mahajan from Hisar and Umed Singh Lohan from Hansi. “The remaining candidates will be announced in a day or two,” Abhay said, adding that the Shiromani Akali Dal would announce candidates for the two seats it would contest in alliance with the INLD.

Karnal, September 20
Dr Vimal Dhawan, ex-district president of the RSS, today quit the RSS and joined the HJC along with his supporters.

“I am dissatisfied with the ticket allotment to Manohar Lal Khattar. I am also upset with the behaviour of local BJP leaders,” Dhawan told The Tribune. He said he was angry at the BJP for breaking alliance with the HJC. “It is a betrayed. That’s why my supporters and I decided to join the HJC,” he maintained.

Dhawan was an active member of the RSS for 20 years and resigned from the post of district president a few days ago.

Welcoming Dhawan in the party, HJC leader Renuka Bishnoi assured all support to him and his supporters.

Rubbishing the allegation of being the ‘B’ team of the Congress, Renuka said if it were the ‘B’ team of the Congress, they would have not parted ways. “The BJP has half the members of the Congress. They have fielded many turncoats for the Assembly elections,” she said. Taking a dig at the results of byelections, Renuka said in the Lok Sabha poll, the BJP had sought votes in the name of Modi, but the results of byelections exposed the reality of the BJP. There was no BJP wave in the state, she said.

Replying to a question over the plenty of chief ministerial candidates in the BJP, the former MLA said the BJP had no chief ministerial candidate. “If they have, they should announce the name before the Assembly elections. They are making fool of the people of the state.”

Taking stand for Capt Abhimanyu, she said if the BJP announced him as the chief ministerial candidate, she would ask her supporters to votes for him; but the BJP would not do that, she said.

“The seat sharing process between HJC chief Kuldeep Bishnoi and JCP chief Venod Sharma is going on and the list of the candidates will be announced in two days,” she claimed.

Karnal, September 20
Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP candidate from the Karnal seat, today managed to convince the party rebels who resented allocation of ticket to him. All ticket aspirants who were unhappy with the party leadership over the fielding of Khattar came in his support.

A meeting of the party leadership was organised at the residence of the party’s state secretary Chander Parkash Kathuria, who was a ticket aspirant and was dissatisfied with the allocation.

The meeting was chaired by BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh, accompanied by Manohar Lal Khattar, district president Ashok Sukhija, former minister ID Swami, former minister Shashipal Mehta, district vice-president Deepak Dhawan, state spokesperson Jagmohan Anand, mayor Renu Bala Gupta, and senior deputy mayor Krishan Garg. “We all support Khattar and will work to ensure his victory. There is no kind of resentment among the party cadre,” said Chugh.

It is learnt that Ashok Sukhija, district chief, and Kathuria had resentment over the issue of allotment of tickets. Sukhija had sent a letter to party chief Amit Shah for not consulting the district leadership before naming the ticket and Chander Parkash Kathuria had called a meeting of his supporters, it was, however, cancelled at the last minute.

Kathuria said, “I am a dedicated BJP worker and will continue to work hard. I will campaign at all five Assembly segments to ensure victory of the party candidates.”

Khattar, who was shown black flags during the party’s Vijay Sankalp Yatra, assured the ticket aspirants that they would be given full respect.

Kurukshetra, September 20
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) led by Simranjit Singh Mann is all set to launch its election campaign in the state. The party has identified over 20 Sikh-dominated Assembly constituencies and is likely to contest on all those seats. The party will release its manifesto on September 27.

Jaswant Singh Mann, secretary general, SAD (A), said, “The party has decided to field its candidates in Sikh-dominated Assembly constituencies of Haryana. There are about 20 such seats and the party will not only make its presence felt, but also give a tough fight to the Congress, BJP, INLD and HJC.”

Replying to a query, he said, “We are open to alliance. The party had been in talks with the BSP, but for some reasons it couldn’t happen. It seems the BSP doesn’t know what it wants to do in Haryana.”

Ajit Singh Khalon, SAD (A) state chief, said, “There are nearly 14 per cent Sikh voters in Haryana, but no political party in the state has given due representation to the Sikhs here. We had given a proposal of support to the Congress if Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda promises due representation to the Sikhs, but we got no response.”

He said after a meeting in Kuruksehtra, the party’s election committee had prepared a list of five candidates — Gurcharan Singh Khalsa for Thanesar, Amarjit Kaur for Pehowa, Krishan Kumar Singh for Gulha, Gurjit Kaur for Asandh and Mamta Kaur for Shahabad — to be sent to the parliamentary board.

“Five candidates for five constituencies have been shortlisted and the candidates on the remaining seats will be shortlisted soon. The party will release manifesto on September 27 in Kurukshetra. Party Chief Simranjit Singh Mann will also be here on the occasion,” said Kahlon. On being asked about the agenda, Jaswant said, “The party will go to the polls with the agenda of liquor prohibition, social reforms, fertilisers on remunerative prices, employment, equal development and women empowerment.”

Criticising Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, he said, “Corruption is rampant in every department in Punjab. The Badals have never worked for the welfare of the Haryana Sikhs. He has an alliance with the BJP in Punjab, but in Haryana he supports the INLD.”

Chandigarh, September 20
Nearly one-third of the polling stations in Haryana are either sensitive or hyper-sensitive — a development which hints at the heightened security concerns in the high-voltage battle of the ballot. Of the 16,244 polling stations, there are 5,310 polling stations which are either sensitive or hyper-sensitive.

Over 80 per cent polling stations (423 out of 537) in Palwal district are sensitive or hyper-sensitive. Faridabad has the highest number of 435 such stations (out of 1,108), with Bhiwani third in the list at 421 (out of 1,180).

Among the districts which have a large number of such booths are Sonepat (365 out of 984), Sirsa (360 out of 895), Panipat (347 out of 682) and Karnal (322 out of 877).

Districts with fewer such booths are Ambala (179 out of 801), Mewat (146 out of 472), Kurukshetra (141 out of 679), Fatehabad (130 out of 595), Rewari (123 out of 660) and Panchkula (103 out of 375).

The figure is 189 out of 773 in Yamunanagar, 212 out of 676 in Kaithal, 223 out of 879 in Jind, 226 out of 730 in Rohtak, 227 out of 655 in Jhajjar, 278 out of 1,105 in Hisar, 166 out of 661 in Mahendragarh and 294 out of 920 in Gurgaon.

Panchkula has the lowest number of sensitive or hyper-sensitive booths at 103. Sources said extra security arrangements would be made at sensitive and hyper-sensitive booths with a view to ensure fair, free and violence-free elections.

Chandigarh, September 20
The state unit of the CPM today released its manifesto and the list of 17 party candidates for the Assembly elections.

Addressing mediapersons, CPM state secretary Inderjit Singh said over the years, corporate, contractors and real estate sharks had flourished, while peasantry, the working class and ordinary people had suffered in the face of mounting unemployment, price rise, corruption, malnutrition and criminalisation.

The manifesto promised to get the Swaminathan Commission recommendations implemented, comprehensive legislation for the rights of agriculture labourers, ban on blind land acquisition, distribution of surplus land to landless, reservation in private sector for the SCs, Ranganath Commission recommendations for the minorities, elections for students unions, 33% reservation for women in legislature, etc. — TNS