Round The States

New Delhi ,13 February 2014

Of Charcha Over Chai

GUJARAT CM PLUGS HUMBLE BACKGROUND

By Insaf

With General elections two months away, national and regional parties across the country are experimenting with nouvelle ploys to entice voters. While the BJP, Congress and Delhi’s fledgling Aam Aadmi Party are focusing pan India, Raj Thackeray’s MNS has is eyes set on maximizing seats in Maharashtra. First of the block is BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi who launched his campaign with charcha over chai in thousand tea stalls in 300 cities on Wednesday. This entails relaying live his ‘gup-shup’ with the common man along-with answering questions posed to him. Replete with promises: bringing back rich Indians black money stashed abroad, replace UPA-II’s “mis-governance” to introducing special schemes to return part of the tax paid by the salaries middle class by distributing the kala dhan (black money) retrieved. Punctuated with a heavy dose of his humble background which included selling tea at a railway platform in his youth. Bluntly, Modi’s focus is not uber India which networks over coffee but the aam aadmi who loves his tea!

Pertinently, the maximum number of queries posed to Modi were from Uttar Pradesh. Needless to say with 80 Lok Sabha seats, the State is crucial for the BJP to garner as many seats therein to improve its chances of forming the Government at the Centre. Already the Gujarat Chief Minister’s right hand man and General Secretary Amit Shah (camping there for months) is moving heaven and earth to garner at least 30-40 seats in the State. The RSS too, is taking no chances and leaving no stone unturned to ensure that at least 30 of its candidates emerge victorious. Towards that end the Sangh Parivar chief Mohan Bhagwat has begun a three-day meeting with zone in-charges of BJP’s poll campaign (on deputation from the RSS) to take stock of planning in Varanasi today. Especially Pracharaks in Bundelkhand, Kashi and Bareilly. More significant, Shah has chosen mostly RSS men as caretakers or palaks of Lok Sabha constituencies including Shahjahanpur, Mathura, Saharanpur, Amethi, Hathras and Jhansi who would oversee coordination between various wings of the Parivar. Everyone has there fingers crossed this becomes a reality.

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BJP-Congress Woo Tamil Chiftons

The battle for the forthcoming elections has hotted up in Tamil Nadu where both the Congress and BJP are busy wooing regional supremo’s DMK’s Karunanidhi and his arch rival AIADMK’s Jayalalitha. The first of the block was Sonia Gandhi who made a health check on DMK’s Kanimozi for an alliance, no matter that the DMK patriach has made plain that he would not ally with the Congress. Followed by Modi, who is hoping that friend Jayalalitha would oblige no matter that she has joined hands with the Left parties. Trust Karunanidhi to lay down his first condition: actor-turned- politician Vijayakanth-led DMDK should come into its fold. Presently, it has got on board Indian Union Muslim League, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Manithaneyaneya Makkal Katchi, and Puthiya Tamizhagam. Not to be left behind the BJP has forged ties with Vaiko’s MDMK and the new western region-based Kongu Nadu Makkal Desiya Katchi and the Indiya Jananayaka Katchi. Undeniably an alliance with the two Tamil Chieftons for 39 seats could go a long way in getting a grand total.  

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Maharashtra’s Toll Politics

Not to be left behind in Maharashtra the fledgling Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has launched its poll campaign with toll politics, demanding a toll free State. That he meant business was clear when he came on the streets and courted arrest with his Sena. A wary Congress-NCP Government is busy trying to nip the MNS latest electoral salvo by assuring Thackeray junior that it would draft a new policy on the issue before the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections kicks in. In fact, Chief Minister Prithvi Raj Chavan went an extra mile by promising that State transport buses would be exempted from toll, so that the common man does not bear the brunt of the cost as also eliminating toll from smaller roads by buying them back from private operators. Moreover, given the high incidents of accidents on highways, ambulances would be pressed in to service with a help from the Centre. Interestingly, the Centre too has taken a leaf from the MNS book and plans to make the contentious Delhi-Gurgaon toll free. Notwithstanding it would take a toll on State finances.

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Kejriwal FIR Against Centre

The crown for the leader with different ideas for capturing votes is none else than Aam Aadmi Party’s maverick Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Working on the premise that all news is good makes good news he has fired his latest salvo against the corrupt New Delhi regime by threatening to pass his Jan Lokpal Bill at a stadium in Delhi. In one fell stroke he has relegated Modi to the back burner become a headache for the UPA Government even as Congress’ youth icon Rahul surreptitiously continues to back him. At one end, even as the Union Law Ministry rebuffed him by stating that the controversial Bill was financial and it was mandatory for the Government to get the Lieutenant Governor’s approval before it was introduced in the Assembly, Kejriwal has made plain that he is willing to stake his Government of its passage in full view of the aam aadmi. This is not all. He has got the anti-corruption branch of his Government to register an FIR against Petroleum Minister Moily, his predecessor Murli Deora and  Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani for increasing the price of natural gas produced in India on the plea that it would cost the people over Rs.54000 crore per year. Add to this he has rewarded those who supported the AAP’s bijli, paani aandolan by refusing to pay their electricity bills by giving them a 50 per cent subsidy on their pending bills and waiver of penalty. Big deal if it leaves a gaping hole in State finances.

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Kerala Ministers’ Scam

Kerala again is in the news for all the wrong reasons as revealed by a reply under the RTI. Shockingly, many ministers have appointed staff with questionable credentials and those who are not even tenth passed.  This came to light following a personal assistant of a senior Congress Minister being arrested for murder. More scandalous another Minister has six persons on his staff who failed in secondary school and only nine are tenth pass. Another has five men who have reached only eight class. Sadly, local politicians recruit their cronies on their directly by sidestepping laws which state that a person should be at least tenth pass. Any wonder that in a brood of thirty people from private secretaries to peons many boast off dubious and illiterate backgrounds. Whither governance? ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and  Feature Alliance)