ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 8 March 2006

Five-Week Long Schedule

TOWARDS FAIR POLL IN FIVE STATES

By Insaf

Political activity is now in full swing with the Election Commission announcing the schedule for the Assembly-poll in five States: West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.  The ballot is to be held in phases, spread over as long as five weeks, from April 3 to May 8.  For the first time, a five-phase polling is being held in West Bengal, keeping in mind the past record of electoral malpractices in the State, ruled by the Left Front for the last 29 years.  Kerala, another State where the Left Front is hoping to regain power, polling has been staggered in three phases – April 22, 29 and May 5.  Assam and Pondicherry will have two-phase polling, the Congress-ruled north-eastern State on April 3 and 10 and the Pondicherry on May 3 and 8.  Tamil Nadu will have a one-day poll on May 8. 

The Commission has prepared the prolonged schedule keeping in view factors like school examinations, regional festivals and law and order situation.  But real emphasis this time, like in the last Bihar election, is on ensuring a poll which is free, fair, transparent and without fear.  The Commission is of the view that staggered polling would check bogus voting, particularly in West Bengal. Nevertheless, close scrutiny of the electoral rolls indicates that some parties might still succeed in bogus voting.  The Commission has therefore, decided to deploy special observers in sensitive districts, which include those bordering Bangladesh. The Commission will, however, miss the “Bihar hero”, Advisor K.J. Rao, who has refused to continue after his extended tenure of two years which expired on February 28.  He was offered further extension of four months, which he has rejected for “personal reasons”.  There seems to be something more to it than meets the eye!

The upcoming Assembly elections are crucial for all the major parties, which are leaving nothing to chance. So much so that even the schedule of the on-going budget session of Parliament has been changed to facilitate MPs and Union Ministers to tour extensively their States. The Left Front has sealed an alliance for West Bengal with two significant constituents of the UPA at the Centre, the NCP of Sharad Pawar and RJD of Lalu Yadav, both of whom have been given two seats each.  In fact, the move gels with the larger NCP design against the Congress.  The party is with the Left wherever the Congress is the key rival.  It has been with the CPM-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala.  In Assam too, the NCP has entered into an understanding with the Left and a 14-party United Democratic Front (UDF), representing various minority and ethnic interests.  This alliance is expected to cut mainly into the Congress vote.

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Gogoi Brims With Confidence

Despite the odds against the ruling Congress in Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is confident of retaining power in the State.  Contrary to his critics who feel that the Congress would lose because of the anti-incumbency factor, the party is sure of retaining power purely on political arithmetic. While the non-Congress vote would be divided among the AGP, Mahanta-led faction of the AGP, the BJP and the 14-party UDF, the Congress leadership is hoping to retain its committed votes. Gogoi is confident that Congress will get support from the Muslims since the party has already undertaken a damage-control exercise after the Supreme Court’s verdict scrapping the controversial IM(DT) Act.  A move has already been initiated to amend the Foreigners’ Act. Gogoi believes that the amendment will permanently resolve the issue. Gogoi has also claimed that what his Government has achieved in the last five years is unprecedented.

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Vaiko Joins Jayalalitha

In Tamil Nadu, the MDMK Chief Vaiko has proved once again that in politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies.  He has again joined the ruling AIADMK. After committing alliance with Karunanidhi’s DMK only a week earlier, Vaiko called on Chief Minister Jayalalitha and the two together announced a pre-poll alliance and a decision that the MDMK will contest 35 seats in the Assembly poll.  Strangely, while the Vaiko party will be a partner of the AIDMK in the State, it will continue to be an ally of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre, of which the DMK is a part. Vaiko has joined hands with the AIADMK mainly for more seats. This has now prompted other parties in the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA), like the Congress, PMK, CPM and CPI to demand more seats than initially offered.  This has created more problems for Karunanidhi. 

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Serial Blasts In Varanasi

The serial blasts in Varanasi on Tuesday, which killed more than 20 people and injured more than 50 (unofficial figure is much more) has caused the Centre to issue a red alert for several States.  It has added more problems for Chief Minister Mulayam Singh.  Already politics in U.P. continues to be fluid with BSP supremo and former Chief Minister Mayawati and Mulayam Singh playing the numbers game with a vengeance. After the Allahabad High Court set aside last year’s recognition of 40 breakaway BSP MLAs by the Speaker, Kesri Nath Tripathi, Mayawati has urged Governor T.V. Rajeswar to dismiss the Mulayam Singh Government by invoking Article 356 of the Constitution on the ground that it had been reduced to a minority and was being run in an unconstitutional manner.  Mayawati has also claimed that most of the rebel MLAs who had later joined the Samajwati Party, have since started returning to the party. Three of them who were made Ministers have already resigned.

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Hooda Pledges Progress For Haryana

The Congress Government in Haryana, led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda has reason to celebrate its one year in office in the course of which it concentrated on the State’s speedy development and initiated programmes promised in the party’s poll manifesto last year.  It has launched a number of development schemes for agriculture, industry, infrastructure, service sector and social sector. The manner in which the schemes have been undertaken reflects the Government’s pro-people thinking. The intention clearly is to make Haryana truly a “welfare state” in consonance with the spirit of the Constitution of India.  In declaring his resolve to make Haryana “a world class State comparable to the best both in style and substance”, Hooda has sought the peoples’ cooperation: Aapka Saath-Hamara Prayas-Hoga Vikas.

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No Stopping Maoists

There is no stopping the destruction and killings by Maoists in several States.  The latest among the 13 States where they are violently active is Chhattisgarh. The new State is almost under siege for the last five weeks, since January 30 when they struck first in a big way.  Since then they have struck as many as nine times. On March 5, they attacked a Railway Station at Bhansi and blew up an engine. The next day, they blew up a bus and later attacked a village in Baster, killing eight people and injuring over 20.  Both the incidents took place near Awapalli on the Andhra Pradesh border.  Chief Minister Raman Singh has appealed to the Centre for more para-military forces.

The Maoists are well-armed and, as their attacks in Chhattisgarh show, they have been using landmines and sophisticated explosives. In Andhra Pradesh, where they were called Naxalites before their merger with the Maoists, they have taken complete control of some key districts in the State.  As a demonstration of their power and influence, they made people in several villages to boycott the use of salt in protest against what they describe as the Government’s anti-people policies. The absence of the Government was so visible that the villagers were left with no choice but to follow the Naxalites’ command.  The people of rural areas have now demanded strong Central intervention in view of the dismal counter measures by the State.

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Tiwari To Quit As CM

The ruling Congress in Uttaranchal is in big difficulty, barely 12 months before the next Assembly election.  Chief Minister Narain Datt Tiwari has faxed to the party Chief Sonia Gandhi his desire to quit Chief Ministership.  He had offered it before also.  But this time he seems to be serious, as he wants to be relieved within a month.  The veteran Congress leader has cited old age for his decision. He is 81.  With more than five decades of electoral experience he feels tired of polls.  He does not want to contest further elections and wants somebody else to lead the party in the next Assembly poll.  Tiwari has also been unhappy with the manner in which the party has treated him lately.  He was not even nominated to the present Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest policy-making body. Nor was he invited to the recent AICC session at Hyderabad.---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)