Round The States

New Delhi, 8 October 2008

Plans For Assembly Poll

CANDIDATES & EXPENSES UNDERWAY

By Insaf

The stage is getting set for the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi even though the Election Commission is yet to make a formal announcement. Top leaders of the Congress and the BJP, the two main parties, have met to decide on their broad strategies and set the ball rolling. All the State leaders exuded confidence in the last meeting of the Congress Working Committee and even talked of winning all the four polls. Senior party leaders, however, spoke differently in private. They feel the party has a fair chance of winning only two of the four, namely Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It is anybody’s guess in Madhya Pradesh.

Top BJP leaders, for their part, are no less optimistic. They are confident of retaining power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, notwithstanding the anti-incumbency. They are even hopeful of wresting power from the Congress in Delhi. They concede that Sheila Dikshit has a fairly good image of a caring mother.  Nevertheless, they feel that the Party’s decision to name V K Malhotra as its Chief Ministerial candidate has given the BJP a clear edge over the Congress in view of his long and unrivalled involvement in Delhi and its development.  Remember he was earlier Chief Executive Councillor for five years.

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Thoughts are simultaneously turning to other aspects—choice of candidates and funding. Both the parties have asked their State units to draw up lists of candidates in consultation with their respective district leaders. Importantly, they want at least two names for each constituency. These lists may or may not include the name of the sitting MLA. The final decision will of course, rest with their respective High Commands, which appear inclined to induct a sizeable number of new faces to fight incumbency. Funding is, meanwhile, posing a problem as seldom before. There is talk of the two parties having to allot each candidate Rs 50 lakh to Rs 80 lakh for poll expenses, including five jeeps.

All in all, both the Congress and the BJP appear to be moving towards providing anywhere from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore per candidate, beating all past records. Importantly, neither the Congress nor the BJP seem to have any great problem in mobilizing resources for the poll battle. If one is ruling at the Centre, the other is in power in half a dozen States, individually and in coalition. But then both are conscious of the fact that these State polls are a dress rehearsal for the all-important next General Election due in May next year!

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Mayawati Surges Ahead

Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party has, meanwhile surged ahead in its plans and preparations for the Lok Sabha poll. The Congress and Mulayam’s Samajwadi Party have still to decide whether or not to join hands and, if so, on what basis. Likewise, Ajit Singh’s RLD has still to decide whether to join the Congress or the BJP. But Mayawati, for her part, has her sights crystal clear. She has decided to contest the polls alone and has not only finalised candidates for a majority of seats but also announced their names. In fact, these candidates have already started campaigning in their respective constituencies. That is not all. Mayawati has shrewdly has reserved 10 seats out of a total of 80 for last-minute party hoppers.

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Church Mischief In Karnataka

Facts now reveal that the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal are not the only villains of the piece in the anti-Christian violence in Karnataka. Intelligence agencies have reported to the Centre that literature produced and distributed by New Life Christian Church has been a “major source of disquiet” in the State, among others. The New Life movement has, in fact, brazenly been indulging in conversions and is doing so by using highly questionable means. Shockingly, its publication, Satya Darshini, is ridiculing the Hindu gods and goddesses and painting them in the most distasteful and disgraceful light to wean away the Hindus from their faith. The book was first written in Telugu by one Rev. S Parasatu and later translated into Kannada and revised by one Rev Samson Malekar.

In its defence, the RSS has listed, among others, the following two extracts from the book, which is being distributed widely by New Life: Page 48 reads: Urvashi, the daughter of Lord Vishnu is the son of this prostitute. He, in turn, married his own Mother. Such a degraded person is the Guru of the Hindu God Rama. Page 39 reads: It was Brahma himself who kidnapped Sita. Since Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were themselves the victims of lust, it is a sin to consider them as Gods. When Krishna himself is wallowing in darkness of hell, how can he enlighten others? Since Krishna himself is a shady character, there is a need for us to liberate his misled followers!

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Bangladeshi Havoc In Assam

Unabated influx of illegal Bangladeshi migrants continues to play havoc in Assam, even as the Congress-led government would like to deny it. Past week’s violence between the Bodo tribals and the Muslims migrants in Udalguri and Darrang districts has claimed more than 50 lives. Hundreds of houses have been torched and over 1.55 lakh people have been forced to take shelter in 75 relief camps! The Congress-led Government of Tarun Gogoi is uncertain about the reasons that triggered the violence, but in its defence of containing it said that the Udalguri SP had been suspended and the DC replaced! The Speaker of the Assam Assembly has been requested to send an all-party delegation to the affected areas to instil confidence among the people. But what is urgently needed is to tackle the basic problem of Bangladeshi infiltrators, which continues to snowball!

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Modi’s Gujarat Bags Nano

Narendra Modi has scored yet again. His Gujarat bagged the wonder car ‘Nano’ project on Tuesday last, following weeks of suspense over which State would replace West Bengal after the Singur fiasco. While there was a scramble among various Chief Ministers to get Ratan Tata’s dream project to their States, the latter opted for 1,100 acres at Sanand, 25 km from Ahmedabad. Tata’s reason: “Modi moved very fast.” The business tycoon was extremely impressed by the CM’s “seriousness of intent and the speed with which his government moved to seal the deal”. The decision was also guided by the State’s “well-developed infrastructure, particularly its highway system and reliable power supply, all such intangibles that come with a business-friendly environment.” Other than the good chit, the Tatas will invest about Rs 2,000 crore and provide employment to 10,000-odd people. Clearly, communist West Bengal’s tragic loss (thanks to Mamata Banerjee), is saffron Gujarat’s glorious gain! ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)