Round The States

New Delhi, 4 April 2007 

U.P. Assembly Poll

HINDUTVA IS BACK IN POWER RACE

By Insaf

The BJP’s Hindutva plank is back on the eve of the crucial Assembly elections in U.P., as the voting for the first round of the seven-phase poll takes place today, April 7.  In its election manifesto, the BJP has made it clear to the voters that the party remains committed to its core ideological concerns and has clarified that these had merely been put on hold because of coalition compulsions. It has reaffirmed its commitment to the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya and declared that if voted to power, the party would make the singing of Vande Matram and the performance of Surya Namaskar compulsory in schools to imbibe a feeling of nationalism among the children.  The party has also stepped up its efforts to reclaim its traditional support base among the upper castes by advocating reservations in Government jobs for the poorer among these sections.

Pre-poll surveys have confirmed broad assessments: the race for power is between the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP), the BJP and the BSP of Mayawati.  In the last Assembly poll in 2002, the SP had won 143 seats in the 403-member House, while the BSP secured 93, the BJP 88, the Congress 25 and others 49.  The Congress itself is not hoping to go beyond 50 seats.  But it is making all-out efforts to ensure the defeat of Mulayam Singh’s SP and is hoping to increase its tally at the cost of the SP. In its poll manifesto, the Congress has clearly stated that its main aim is to strive for a change in the Government.  It has claimed that during the last 17 years of non-Congress rule, the State has come to be known for criminalization of politics, corruption, unemployment, hunger and absence of development.

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OBC Quota Issue Hots Up

The controversy over 27 per cent reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Government-controlled educational institutions of higher learning continues unabated in most States, following the Supreme Court’s interim order. Even some of the UPA partners at the Centre are agitated about the Congress-led Union Government’s failure to have the case argued properly about the quota legislation passed by Parliament. Dismay is not limited only to the Opposition BJP or the Left parties. Important allies like the RJD of Lalu Yadav and the Lok Janshakti Party of Ram Vilas Paswan have reacted sharply about the concerned Ministries’ failure. Both the Ministries involved are headed by Congress leaders: Arjun Singh (HRD) and Hansraj Bhardwaj (Law). The pro-reservation leaders are now pressuring the Government to move a review petition and get the stay vacated before the admissions start.

Tamil Nadu and its DMK Government led the revolt among the States. But Chennai allowed its anger to run away its good sense and constitutional responsibility of ensuring law and order by calling for a day-long bandh to protest against the Apex Court’s stay. The bandh called by the State Government, paralysed life in the State simply because it was organized by the ruling party and no one could dare oppose it. Expectedly most of the faculties and students in the various IITs and IIMs have, however, welcomed the Court’s order. Like many educationalists, they too feel that the reservation policy would dilute the standard of higher technical education and compromise India’s best long-term interest.

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Another Bouquet For Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has earned for himself yet another bouquet, this time in giving the women of his State a better deal. Bhopal has become the first State capital to reserve 50 per cent seats for women in the local bodies. The State Assembly has amended the concerned legislations---the Municipal Corporation Act, Municipalities Act and Panchayati Raj Act--- to increase the women’s quota in all the civic bodies from the present 33 per cent to 50 per cent.  The historic amendment would not only provide the women increasing opportunity to participate in governance at the grassroots but also make them to grow faster politically and become stronger. Chouhan has already taken several steps to promote the interests of women. These include the gender-based budgeting, establishment of Mahila Panchayats and deletion of the two-child norm as one of the yardsticks for holding Panchayat posts.

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Orissa is quietly and confidently forging ahead on the industrial and agricultural fronts under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik.  In fact, it is heralding a new era, particularly in the steel sector. The State Government has signed as many as 45 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) during the last three years with leading steel giants at home and abroad. These projects involve a total investment of Rs.1,95,540 crore for an estimated production of 74.65 million tonnes of steel. In a bid to ensure quality manpower for those and other industrial projects, an institute for information technology is being set up at Bhubaneshwar. On the agricultural front, several schemes are being implemented or worked out to ensure adequate irrigation facilities to the farmers. Various steps have also been taken to promote tourism and improve infrastructure in the State.

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Bouquet For Narendra Modi

Political opponents of the BJP may continue to deplore the Narendra Modi Government in Gujarat and leave no stone unturned to paint him as a devil incarnate. However, top economic experts and planners think otherwise. The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, is the latest to compliment Modi. He has appreciated the State’s revenue surplus budget for 2007-08, which has shown a growth rate of 10.2 per cent in the agriculture sector and an overall growth of 12.17 per cent during the 2006-07. The Commission has also praised the State’s water management programme. Importantly, the State’s governance was praised last year for its social sector development schemes by none other than the experts of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. These performances have led the Planning Commission to fix the State’s Annual Plan for the current fiscal year at Rs.16,000 crore. This is 25 per cent more than the last year’s plan.

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Buddhadeb Gets Party Pat

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee can now breathe a sigh of relief from the countrywide criticism against his industrial policy, particularly after the mayhem in Nandigram on March 14. His policy now got not only the party’s stamp but also full support of its Left Front allies, the CPI, RSP and the Forward Block.  These partners had earlier threatened to quit the alliance if the State Government did not change its farmland acquisition policy. Some of his colleagues too were unhappy with the Chief Minister. Importantly, Bhattacharjee has also received full support for his industrial policy at the CPM’s Central Committee meeting in New Delhi on Monday.  The top policy-making body of the party has authorized Bhattacharjee to go ahead with his industrialization plans for the State’s progress.

Meanwhile, farmers in some States have been quick to take cue from the Nandigram episode. Consequently, Maharashtra and Haryana Governments are now facing mounting trouble in the matter. In fact, Mumbai is facing a dilemma, following intense protests by the farmers of Raigad district against the Reliance Group’s 10,000-hectare SEZ project. The ruling Congress constituted a three-member Committee to interact with the farmers. This Committee has warned the Government of a possible repeat of Nandigram in case it chooses to go ahead with the Reliance project. The Haryana Government too is facing a similar threat against Reliance’s SEZ project near Gurgaon. Farmers from five villages in the district are dead set against the plant transfer of 1395 acres of land to the Reliance Industries by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Corporation (HSIIC).---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)