Round The States

New Delhi, 8 May 2009

Delhi Clears ‘Pappu’ Test

HIGHEST TURNOUT IN IV PHASE

By Insaf

Voting in the fourth phase of elections for 85 Lok Sabha seats in eight States was by far the best so far—a good 57 per cent. Delhi citizens made the National Capital proud as they came out in record numbers putting both Mumbaikars and Bangalorians to shame. Barring some incidents of violence which claimed four lives in trouble-torn Nandigram, and some pockets of Rajasthan and Punjab, polling was by and large peaceful on Thursday last. While West Bengal topped the chart with 75 per cent voting, Haryana recorded 63 per cent as against Punjab’s 65 per cent, Bihar’s 37 per cent and Uttar Pradesh’s 50 per cent. Polling was the lowest in Srinagar, 24 per cent. More importantly, however, it was higher than 19 per cent of 2004 and proved to be yet another case of the voters saying boo to the separatists’ call for a boycott. In the numbers game, this phase of polling was crucial to the Congress, as it expects to make big gains in Rajasthan, West Bengal and Punjab as against the BJP’s performance in the third phase. At least, it expects to retain its hold over Rajasthan and Delhi.

Speaking of Delhi, the city which has seven seats, recorded 53 per cent voting –the highest in 20 years. It was 12 per cent more than Mumbai’s 41 per cent and seven per cent more than the last Lok Sabha poll. Interestingly, the middle-class appears to have risen over its apathy and came out in good numbers, particularly in the elite New Delhi constituency (59 per cent), followed by East Delhi (54 per cent) and West Delhi (53 per cent). The credit for this encouraging change to a large extent goes to the city’s Chief Electoral Officer Satbir Silas Bedi’s campaign, wherein it asked the electorate ‘not to be a Pappu,’ (an idiot who doesn’t vote). Media and a number of NGOs too played a persuasive part. Likewise, adjoining ‘Millennium city’ and hip Gurgaon took its voting percentage tally from a mere 12 per to 40 per cent. With 75 per cent of the polling (457 of the 543 seats) over,  the parties are now busy preparing for the final round of 86 seats next Wednesday.  

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Raw Deal For Women

Aspiring women politicians have received a raw deal this election, notwithstanding tall, hypocritical talk by top leaders of all political parties of providing of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament. Information available from the Election Commission portrays a dismal picture. Of the 7,000 candidates who have filed nominations so far –only 493 are women, a mere 7 per cent of the total! Some State-wise statistics further add to the revelation: For the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, only seven women have been fielded with not a single from Himachal Pradesh; of the 315 candidates in Andhra Pradesh just 25 are women; in Kerala there are 15 women of 217 candidates; Karnataka has more political parties (28) than women candidates 19 and 17 women are in the fray in the national Capital, Delhi, which has about five million voters.

Of all the parties, the Congress has fielded the maximum number of women – 41 (though less than 2004 election’s 45 tally), with the BJP following with 39, the BSP 22 and Left parties 10. As against this, 178 women have decided to contest as Independents. Acknowledging the imbalance, BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj explained: “Most of the women contesting belong to political families or are proxy candidates.” He suggests parties should reserve at least 25 per cent tickets to increase their representation. Women, he added are given tickets only if they have an “exceptionally strong chance of winning.” Ironically, all this even when more women win elections than men. The EC estimates that 12.7 per cent women win seats they contest compared to just 9.8 per cent men. Well, political parties should take a look at the recent results of the Civil Services exams. Women have bagged the top three ranks, creating history.

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UP Surprise For Cong, BJP

Uttar Pradesh may spring a pleasant surprise for both the Congress and the BJP, if seat calculations made so far prove right. In fact, the Congress appears to be counting on the return of the good days after almost two decades of being in the cold. This hope emanates from what appears to be a decisive shift of Muslim votes in its favour. The trend in the three phases suggests that at least a dozen of Congress candidates seem to be in a winning position. Indeed, its decision to snap ties with the Samajwadi Party looks like proving to be a boon. The SP chief Mulayam’s friendship with former UP Chief Minister and BJP leader Kalyan Singh has affected the party’s secular credentials amongst its Muslims. The division of secular votes among the SP, Congress and the BSP is expected to help the BJP. Moreover, the saffron party seems to have retrieved a large chunk of its Hindu votes thanks to aggressive campaigning by Mahant Yogi Adityanath in eastern UP and Varun Gandhi in central UP.  

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Bihar CM In Much Demand

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is turning out to be a much sought-after leader for post-poll alliances. With less than 10 days left for the results to trickle in, both the Congress and the Left parties are busy seeking to woo him away from the BJP-led NDA. His party, the JD (U) has a chunk of 40 seats in the Lok Sabha. However, on Tuesday last, Congress General Secretary and ‘key strategist’ Rahul Gandhi set the cat amongst the pigeons by, first, praising Nitish as someone who “has intention to work” and, second, that his party would be open to all post-poll options. Two days later, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said at a rally that Nitish “would not go with the Congress or the BJP. He will be with us. We are in constant touch with him.” However, Nitish has rubbished the overtures and says he is with the NDA. How true he is to his word will be known soon, once the counting of votes is completed on the eagerly-awaited D-Day --- May 16!

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Without Tigers!

There is bad news for wildlife lovers. The Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has no male tiger. There was one in January, but it has disappeared, according to the Special Investigation Team in Panna sent by the National Tiger Conservation Authority to confirm the missing report. But the state’s Principal Chief Conservator dismisses it is “nothing new” and adds: “We sought permission from the Centre for relocating a male big cat some time back”.  Efforts are on to revive the tiger population in the sanctuary by translocating two tigresses in March. Unfortunately, the Reserve has become another Sariska. The tiger population dwindled from 35 in 2003 to zero in a span of six years.  However, the locals still have a hope. They suspect a male tiger is in the periphery of the reserve and may well choose to give company to the two tigresses!---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)