UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Printable Version

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UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-08-2007

QUOTEYoung faces fail to save the Congress 
link
Durgesh Nandan Jha | New Delhi
Even the pretty faces fielded by the Congress in the MCD elections could not come to the rescue of the party, facing rout on issues of inflation, corruption and demolition. Most of the young faces that were given tickets lost their seat. While the candidates blame it on the lack of support from the local MLAs, the loss has raised questions on the party's decision to give tickets to the student leaders, who hold a bad record in terms of performance in the civic polls.

.............
Political experts believe that its not a wise decision to give tickets to student leaders straight from the campus.

"They boast of being the past leaders of Delhi University but the reality is that they have done nothing else arranging star nights and making money through admissions. Most of them don't even know how many colleges does the University have," said an expert.

"These people were given tickets either because of their sound economic background or good and attractive faces. Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /> None of them were seen as popular leaders of the locality," he added.


QUOTElink

Take for instance the Ballimaran ward of the walled city. BJP candidate Renuka Gupta has given a husky defeat to Congress despite it being one of their stronghold areas.

"In the last 25 years, when I voted for the first time, I have never voted for any party other than Congress. But this time I am voting for BJP," said Mohammad Jahangir, a resident of Ballimaran, a part of the Capital's walled city.

He further added, "We have been the loyal supporters of Congress. The growing rates of all basic things including cereals and vegetables have led to this change. In the Congress rule, the common masses are suffering the most."

Of the 12 wards in the Muslim-dominated walled city, the BJP this has managed an unprecedented tally of fourÂ <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /> , Congress has a tally of six and two has gone to Matia Mahal MLA Shoeb Iqbal, who for the time-being has embraced LJP.

The Pioneer survey had indicated that 53 per cent of the sample believed that the BJP was not a communal part. Similarly, 54 per cent had rejected the proposition that the Congress was true secular party. The BJP surprised all by winning the Welcome Colony seat, a Muslim majority ward.Â 

Lesson for Congress, just can't believe Ballimaran area gone to BJP. It mean all Muslim appeasement did nothing for Delhi Muslim. Lets see UP election.

It means only Indian Parties are doing good, Italian run party full of Elite" is heading for doom.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-08-2007

QUOTE(Muppalla @ Apr 7 2007, 10:59 AM)<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mudy @ Apr 7 2007, 11:49 AM)It is video CD,
I hope someone will post them on some good websites.
[right][snapback]66622[/snapback][/right]


Here is the transcript.

http://svaradarajan.blogspot.com/2007/04/t...transcript.html

Note: This guy is pure Pinko. Take what ever is worth.

Also, I am reproducint it here. Blogs may not be permanent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

</div>

I hope they continue to show the CD to people even if BJP disowns it.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-08-2007

QUOTETense moments during Rahul`s roadshow in UPÂ 
link
Baghra (UP), April 08: Some tense moments were witnessed here on Sunday when supporters of the Congress and Ajit Singh-led RLD came face-to-face during the roadshow of Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul arrived in this nondescript town this afternoon during the third leg of his roadshow in Uttar Pradesh and his helicopter landed at a pad built 100 metres away from the venue of a rally addressed by rival RLD chief Ajit Singh.

The Congress leader immediately headed for the Aaliya Babul Havaiz Dargah next to the rally's venue and spent some time there.

As he was coming out of the Dargah, some RLD workers at the rally went up to him and chatted with him.

Standing atop a jeep, Rahul started waving at the people and gestured to them to join him.

In his characteristic style, Rahul freely mingled with people, shook their hands and chatted with them, giving his special protection group (SPG) bodyguards a tough time.

While some people responded to Rahul's call by coming near him, others at the rally gestured at him to go away.

Some awkward moments were witnessed as some Congress supporters took objection to the RLD workers gesturing at Rahul.Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Singh and Rahul did not come face to face as the former had left the rally.

Rahul is currently touring parts of Uttar Pradesh to drum up support for his Congress party in the assembly elections. The party is banking on his roadshows in a big way as it feels he has created an impact in the state through his campaign.Â

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-09-2007

Details on BJP campaign...

BJP sensed it in the air, went for the kill
QUOTE...
...

But in 2006, the court-driven demolitions and sealings began to make Congress look vulnerable. And then the incessant price rise, urban issues like rising home loan rates and UPA government's alleged "soft approach" to terrorism began to gain traction. Internal surveys commissioned by BJP confirmed this, and, in fact, sealings slipped to seven in the ranking of issues uppermost on the minds of people.

BJP also understood the value of planning. Senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj handed out tips to candidates. Former Union minister Arun Jaitley was part of the brains trust and played a key role in campaign strategy. Equations amongst Delhi leaders were worked out with V K Malhotra heading the campaign committee.

The ticket distribution was carried out in a systematic manner. Gauging the importance of Purvanchali voters, not only did BJP field a whole range of them from Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi, Shatrughan Sinha and Ravi Shankar Prasad, it also fielded 32 candidates. It broadly stuck to its promise of giving "clean candidates and women" a chance. There was no last-minute rush to decide on candidates. The party spread the decision-making process over three days.

Traditionally, municipal election should have centred around local issues like sanitation, desiltation of drains and property tax-like issues. But this time, BJP's strategic shift to inflation, crime graph and terrorism changed the rules of engagement. With sealings and demolitions, BJP got readymade people-related poll issues. However, it took the municipal elections to a different level as its radio spots spoke of the dithering over hanging of Parliament-attack accused Mohammed Afzal.

Candidates were advised not to use loudspeakers and asked to cover each household twice. Special campaign CDs, complete with popular Bollywood songs adapted to BJP's slogans, were brought out. The party spots on FM radio channels were particularly effectively â with the catchline "Delhi gul ya Congress gul" working to the Opposition's favour.

Not just this, the written campaign material, pamphlets and booklets reached each household a week in advance with voter slips pasted on them. Senior leaders emphasised the need for booth strengthening.

This helped the party break new ground. Karol Bagh, Outer Delhi and East Delhi parliamentary seats, where BJP usually does not do well, it has swept this time. With the Assembly elections slated for next year, the party can capitalise on its gains in the municipal corporation. It can ride high on anti-incumbency against the Delhi government and the Centre.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-09-2007

QUOTEDelhi's message 
The Pioneer Edit Desk
People are angry with Congress
That the Congress would lose the Municipal Corporation of Delhi election was a foregone conclusion even before the first vote was cast last Thursday. In fact, the near-absence of Congress leaders of any consequence in the campaign indicated that the party had conceded defeat to the BJP. But perhaps neither the Congress nor the BJP was prepared for the final tally whose implications would be lost only on the politically naive and indifferent. True, the importance of a municipal election should not be over-stressed. But when that election is held in the nation's capital, it assumes certain importance and its results, given Delhi's demographic features, are indicative of mood elsewhere in the country, especially among urban voters. And, when the results show that the Congress has been trounced roundly - it won in 69 wards compared to the BJP's huge tally of 164 - the indications acquire an extra edge. Of course the voters of Delhi decided to punish the Congress for rampant corruption, poor civic services and the mighty mess over illegal construction and misuse of premises. But anger with the rotten lot that has been booted out is only one of the factors that has swung the vote so decisively away from the Congress. The other reasons are to do with issues that have come to haunt the Congress-led UPA Government and could, unless tackled without any further delay, lead to the regime's fall whenever the next general election is held between now and 2009. In between, the party will have to contend with Delhi Assembly election whose results only the foolhardy would dare suggest will favour the Congress.

Starting with the mayoral elections in Uttar Pradesh late last year, through the Maharashtra civic polls and the Congress's poor performance in urban constituencies during the recent Assembly election in Punjab, what has emerged is a common thread that binds the voter's mood against the incumbent Government at the Centre. And that thread is woven with strands of popular disquiet over runaway prices of essential commodities, a faltering economy best exemplified by mounting interest rates, a fast deteriorating internal security situation and a general sense of listlessness that has come to grip Government. It would seem that the crisis of leadership which led to the rapid collapse of the Congress before it lost power in 1996 is not yet a thing of the past. The Prime Minister is in power but is seen to be lacking authority; the Congress leads the Government but is seen to be slyly conniving with scheming allies, especially the Left; and, rather than lead from the front and thus make herself accountable, the Congress president is seen to be pulling strings from behind the visible face of Government. For all its tall talk and long agenda, the UPA Government has little to show as achievement either at home or abroad. Yet, those who presume to run this Government are loath to admit their abysmal failure; they would rather believe flatterers and time-servers. And seek to hide behind the fig leaf of bogus policies that promise quotas and special privileges to those who nurse imaginary grievances and are willing to trade national interest for votes. Not everyone, though. Saturday's results prove this point. Meanwhile, the BJP would do well not to get carried away by excessive triumphalism.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-09-2007

VHP to back pro-Hindu candidates in UP QUOTENew Delhi: Apparently leaving the BJP in cold, the VHP on Sunday decided to support candidates who pledge to work for the interests of Hindus in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and not any particular political party.

Irrespective of the party colours of candidates, VHP, as part of this policy, will give them a list of their demands which include among others a ban on cow slaughter and construction of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

"We have not decided to support any political party. We will only back those candidates who are ready to work for the interests of Hindus," VHP leader Ashok Singhal told PTI.
........

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-09-2007

No need to arrest Rajnath: UP police

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-09-2007

<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/argue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='argue.gif' /> CD Case
QUOTEEC can't cancel registration: BJP
Press Trust of India
Posted online: Monday, April 09, 2007 at 1437 hours IST
Updated: Monday, April 09, 2007 at 1442 hours IST

New Delhi, April 9: Washing its hands off controversial CD and admitting it was a mistake to have released it, the BJP on Monday told the Election Commission it has no power to cancel its registration as demanded by its opponents.

"It is extremely dangerous for democracy if the Election Commission were to assume the law to decide as to which party is to be allowed to contest elections effectively, and which party is to be prevented from so contesting," the BJP contended.

BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the request for de-recognition of a major national party can render the election process into a "mockery".
Â In its separate replies to the EC in response to BSP and VP Singh-led Jan Morcha, which sought saffron party's derecognition in the wake of the CD controversy, the BJP said that the provisions of Representation of People's Act (RPA) had no provision for cancellation or withdrawal of registration.

The Act only provides of registration of political parties, it said.

Seeking dismissal of BSP's demand, the BJP cited the case of Arjun Singh vs BJP in 1992, in which the Commission had already held that there was no such power with the EC to cancel or withdraw the registration of a political party.

Besides, the BJP said, the Supreme Court had also held that there was no power to cancel the registration of a political party once it was granted.

The only exception to this provision to de-register a political party was when a party had attained the registration by fraud or forgery, it said denying all the contents in the materials placed by the BSP.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-10-2007

QUOTEhttp://www.newstodaynet.com/2007sud/apr07/100407.htmÂ (News Today, 10 April 2007)
Is the EC brazenly political & partisan? 
V SUNDARAM

Â Â Â Â 'The English Constitution says that the 'King Can Do Nothing Wrong'. According to the Election Commission of India Sonia Gandhi Can Do Nothing Wrong and L.K.Advani Nothing Right' - Ennapadam Boisterous Boloji.
Â Â Â Â The Election Commission has issued a notice to the President of the BJP asking why the Party should not be derecognised for having produced and released a CD on the eve of the Assembly Elections in UP. According to the partisan view of the Election Commission, this is a controversial CD, which contains inflammatory material. An FIR was lodged against Rajnath Singh, BJP President at the Hazratgunj police station in Lucknow on the direction of the Election Commission after complaints were received against the BJP Party over the controversial CD, which allegedly contained inflammatory material. Taking an aggressive stand on the CD controversy, the BJP has accused its political rivals of orchestrating 'the entire episode' and forcing the Election Commission to order an FIR against Rajnath Singh. What is most surprising is that a known Sonia loyalist and a page boy of her Royal Family and a bosom friend of Sanjay Gandhi during the dark days of Emergency in 1975-77, should be sitting in judgment as an Election Commissioner issuing notice to the BJP Party. When he was appointed as an Election Commissioner in 2006, more than 205 Members of Parliament presented a petition against him to the President and Prime Minister, giving a graphic account of his official misdeeds right from the days of Emergency and seeking his removal from the Constitutional Post of Election Commissioner in the larger public interest. Our disgraceful surrogate Prime Minister, instead of forwarding that petition to the Chief Election Commissioner, referred the matter for the political scrutiny of a servile Attorney General who gave a certificate of Congress political fitness to Navin Chawla. Even Soli Sorabji, the former Solicitor General of India, had rightly suggested in 2006 that Navin Chawla should step down. Any other self respecting Public Servant would have recused himself from hearing the politically foisted CD case against the BJP now listed for Wednesday (tomorrow). The BJP has rightly demanded this move from Navin Chawla on the even more formidable ground that a petition against Navin Chawla is pending in the Supreme Court.
Â Â Â Â In a Press Statement issued on 8 April, 2006, L K Advani (Leader of the Opposition of the Lok Sabha) indicted Navin Chawla in these words: 'One of the principal aims is to alert the people of India on how the UPA government has been undermining our democratic system by misusing the various institutions of democracy'. 
Â Â Â Â 'A case in point is the UPA government's decision to appoint Shri Navin Chawla, an officer with a highly questionable reputation, as member of the Election Commission. It is now becoming increasingly evident that all constitutional norms are being flouted with impunity by the UPA government to shield Shri Chawla, so that his services can be used for partisan purposes'.
Â Â Â Â 'It is to be recalled that on 16 March, 2006 a comprehensive memorandum was submitted to the President signed by 205 Members of Parliament to take action against Shri Chawla. The memorandum to the President presented well-documented information about not only his pro-Congress bias, but also his involvement in improper financial dealings. His close proximity to the Congress Party in general and to Shrimati Sonia Gandhi in particular is well known. Therefore, we affirmed that he was not expected to act in a free and fair manner and there was a very reasonable basis of bias in his conduct'.
Â Â Â Â 'The President forwarded the memorandum to the Prime Minister on 20 March. It is indeed curious that the Prime Minister is sitting over this even though he has no role at all because under Article 324(5) of the Constitution the President can take action against any Election Commissioner only upon the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner'.
Â Â Â Â 'I am surprised that instead of sending the complaint immediately to the Chief Election Commissioner, the Prime Minister has reportedly taken the advice of the Attorney General. The matter is not of technicality, but of propriety. The past conduct of Shri Chawla cannot be divorced from his present status as a member of the Election Commission because he cannot be expected to act in an unbiased manner'.
Â Â Â Â 'All these glaring pass misdeeds cannot be ignored in Shri Chawla's appointment to the high constitutional office of the Election Commission. As an Election Commissioner, his questionable past can seriously impinge on his neutrality to act in a free and fair manner'.
Â Â Â Â 'As per the Constitution, the authority to examine the allegations against Shri Chawla is the Chief Election Commissioner and he alone. Only his recommendation can be considered by the President. Dr Manmohan Singh or his government has no role in this matter'. 
Â Â Â Â 'I therefore demand that the memorandum against Shri Chawla signed by 205 MPs and addressed to the President be sent to the Chief Election Commissioner immediately. The BJP strongly condemns this rank unconstitutional behavior of the UPA government and would be constrained to approach the President again in this matter'.
Â Â Â Â Against this background, any III class Court of Law can easily draw a reasonable Judicial Inference that Navin Chawla is perhaps abusing his brief official authority as Election Commissioner to settle his personal scores with L K Advani and his Party.
Â Â Â Â An English Daily from Madras, once described by Nehru as an old lady with a past and a matronly amplitude, and viewed today as a known and a sworn enemy of Hinduism and Sanartana Dharma, has rendered a great national service by going out of its way by presenting a few excerpts from the script of the controversial CD under the title 'Bharat ki Pukar' ('The Call of India'). I am presenting below some excerpts:
Â Â Â Â 'Mother India is today screaming aloud: Oh my sons, save me from being fragmented again. No longer have I the strength to be enslaved once more. By using the terrorists, spreading fear and dividing us, they want to break India. Hungry for political power, they are egging them on. They have forgotten what the consequences of this will be. Now, ordinary people of India have to think; do they want slavery again in their independent India?'
Â Â Â Â 'The present government is giving full support to butchers. Cruel atrocities are being committed on Gaumata. They abduct our girls, and if we say we are going to the police, then those people threaten us. Love in Jihad, harm to Hindu Dharma, and forced conversion: This is the protection provided by the government. Politicians are the agents of the anti-nationals'...We must live and die for the nation. Just as the slogan of Vande Mataram inspired us to throw out the British, today we have to take an oath to drive the traitors out of the country. Elections are coming and only your votes can help this country and the Hindu Dharma can be saved. Otherwise we are standing in the jaws of slavery again'.
Â Â Â Â In my view there is nothing provocative or explosive in the above excerpts. Why is the Election Commission getting excited about nothing? What is the imperative national need that impels the Election Commission to function as an Election agent of the Congress Party as alleged by the BJP President Rajnath Singh? The answer to these questions is simple. What was Sanjay Gandhi to Indra Gandhi during the draconian days of Emergency in 1975-77, Navin Chawla of the Election Commission is to Sonia Gandhi today. It has been reported that his political control over the Election Commission is total and unquestioned within the system. It is also publicly known that his colleague S Y Qureshi, as one belonging to the weakest minority community even according to Justice Rajinder Sachar, humbly submits to the 'political' will of Navin Chawla. Navin Chawla has been an open supporter of Indra Gandhi family from 1980s.
Â Â Â Â Many in New Delhi feel that S Y Qureshi is a silent and no less willing partner of Navin Chawla. Many of the MPs from different political parties have told me that these two Commissioners in absolute majority are in a powerful position to call all the Sonia Congress-directed 'Constitutional Shots' (!) against the BJP and other opposition parties today. I understand that Gopalaswamy, the Chief Election Commissioner, is finding it more difficult to deal with his two Congress-embracing Election Commissioners than with all the unscrupulous political parties!
Â Â Â Â To quote the brilliant words of Capt. Balakrishnan: 'My posers to the Election Commission are: (a) why is Rahul Gandhi's statement in Deoband on the so called Babri Masjid, not being treated at par as the BJP CD? (b) Is it perfectly 'secular' for 'Maulana' Singh Yadav to state at an election rally:Â 'Kitne Yadav hain hath uthao Jo Bundela (SP candidate) ko vote denge (Yadavs raise hands who will vote for Bundela)?Â© During the last Bihar Assembly elections posters depicting post-Godhra riots were displayed in Bhagalpur and Kishanganj districts of Bihar and CDs containing footage of the incidents were on display in Purnea by the 'secular' RJD.(d)In the same Bihar elections, posters were displayed depicting Goddess Durga killing Vajpayee and Advani. 
Â Â Â Â The idol of the RJD chief - with his silver hair intact - was depicted holding a sudarshan chakra, the celestial weapon of Lord Krishna; his wife Chief Minister Rabri Devi was made to look alike Goddess Durga holding a trident and in a bright yellow sari; and Sonia Gandhi was projected as deity of sacrifice with a bow and arrow in her hands...... SECULAR HYPOCRICY' in India has to be 'lived through' to be believed!!
Â Â Â Â T S Krishnamurthy, the former Election Commissioner has rightly said on behalf of all the citizens of India: 'If all the Electoral Rules are ruthlessly implemented by the Election Commission in letter and spirit then all the political parties in India will have to be derecognized forth with' (Sonia Congress not excluded - the words within brackets mine!).
Â Â Â Â (The writer is a retired IAS officer)
Â Â Â Â e-mail the writer at vsundaram@newstodaynet.com

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-11-2007

QUOTECharan Singh's legacy up for grabs 
Rajesh Kumar | Baghra (Muzaffarnagar)
BJP, BSP set to gain from split in Jat votes
This small hamlet on the Muzaffarnagar-Shamli highway mirrors the struggle to capture the space being created by a dwindling legacy. After nearly quarter of a century, Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal is contesting poll in the region on its own. In Ajit's isolation, the national parties see an opportunity to capture the area referred to as Jatland in the political parlance.Â Â

Even two-and-half decades after the death of his father Choudhury Charan Singh, Choudhury Ajit Singh has been maintaining a stranglehold in the neighbouring districts of Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Baghpat, thanks to strategic alliances that he has been entering into with one partner or the other.

Ajit Singh has repeatedly showed that for him lynchpin of an alliance is winnability rather than ideology. Therefore, it's not surprising that during the past five years, he has tied knot and broken alliance without blinking eyelids. In the last Assembly poll, he had BJP for company, but by 2004, he had made an alliance with Samajwadi Party, and thereafter negotiated with Congress.

Unfortunately, this time around, Singh finds himself dumped by one and all. Even his traditional supporters belonging to the Jat community have launched a political party and are contesting in an alliance with the Congress. Bharatiya Kisan Dal (BKD) led by legendary kisan neta Mahender Singh Tikait may not be a huge force today but certainly capable of giving Ajit Singh a run for his money.
link
...............

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-11-2007

Varanasi blast accused to contest pollsQUOTEThe trend of crime and politics going hand in hand in Uttar Pradesh seems to be getting more disturbing.

Waliullah, the main accused in last year's Varanasi blast, is set to contest the UP elections from behind the bars from Phoolpur.

Phoolpur is a constituency that saw protests in March last year when he was arrested. India has many leaders with criminal pasts but perhaps none could match this.

"In 2002 I came in contact with Huji. Since then I have been actively in touch with the organization. I had sent some people for training to militant camps in Bangladesh on Huji's orders," said Waliullah, main accused in Varanasi blast.

Waliullah is contesting for the UDF, a party led by the Imam of the Jama Masjid in Delhi.

The UDF claims he was forced to make the statement admitting his involvement in the blast

He will make Gandhi family proud. . Terrorist to contest election from Nehru's constituency. <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-11-2007

EC Navin Chawla gets guards, taxpayer the bill QUOTENew Delhi: Election Commissioner Navin Chawla is in the news once again. And this time itâs for all the wrong reasons.

The Auditor General's office has accused Chawla of misusing his powers when he was chairman of the erstwhile Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB).

Chawla, as chairman, allegedly deployed security guards meant for securing power plants at his house. The arrangement continued even after he became Election Commissioner, and the bill that Chawla and another ex-Chairman ran up was Rs 44 lakh.

Documents with CNN-IBN show that no prior approval was taken from the Board and there was no threat analysis done either.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-12-2007

QUOTEAmbitious Deoband satraps divide Muslims 
Pioneer.com
Rajesh Kumar | Deoband (Saharanpur)
Around 15 km off the Delhi-Dehradun highway is Deoband, the seat of an orthodox Islamic seminary. The Deoband Vidhan Sabha seat has over one lakh Muslim voters. However, it's always a Thakur who has been winning this seat. Such results are possible due to the overwhelming ambitions of regional Muslim satraps.Â

Between Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur, there are 24 Assembly constituencies. On more than three-fourth seats, Muslims have substantial presence. The poll agenda of the area perfectly mirrors the policy of Muslim appeasement. A few days back, Congress's star campaigner Rahul Gandhi visited the seminary here and tried to convince the ulemas to help the Congress. But the Muslim clerics did not oblige and demanded that Gandhi should offer an apology for Babri Masjid demolition. <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Rahul Gandhi's attempt to win over Muslims by blaming former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao for Babri Masjid demolition has not really worked. They expected Rahul Gandhi to apologise the way his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi apologised to the Sikhs for operation Blue Star. 

Appeasement, patronage and flourishing agrarian economy have ensured mushrooming of several ambitious Muslim satraps in the region. In Meerut city alone, there is serious contest between various Muslim leaders for establishing supremacy. While still a Minister in the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government, local MLA Haji Yakub Qureshi is fighting on Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) symbol. His bete noire Akhlaq Ahmed, who till recently was Mayor of Meerut on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket, is supporting the Samajwadi Party (SP). Ahmed recently switched over to the SP.

And of course, there is the party of Muslim ulemas backed by Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, the United Democratic Front (UDF). Qureshi is expected to cause trouble for Mulayam Singh Yadav on several seats. There are several other small Muslim outfits in the fray. There is the Parcham Party of India led by one Saleem Peerzada, the Momeen Conference, the Muslim Majlis and the National League. These small parties enjoy the patronage of the UP Jamat-e-Islami led by Maulana Mohammed Ahmed.

In addition, the prominent secular parties have fielded a good number of Muslim candidates on over a dozen seats, where elections would be held on April 13. In such a scenario, the electorate stands polarised. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) headed by Choudhury Ajit Singh has tried to dent the Muslim vote-bank of Mulayam Singh by working up Kishan-Muslim unity with the help of former SP leader Munnawar Hasan. Despite the mushrooming of the Muslim outfits, the BSP and SP are still set to grab the lion's share of the minority votes. Mayawati has sent the right feelers by fielding 61 Muslim candidates. The Congress, on the other hand, is trying to deliver the message to Muslims that the party has taken first initiative on the Sachar report and trying to cash in minority dominated areas in western UP.

The split in the Muslim votes, that make the largest block of votes in western UP, may make the task easy for the BJP. To the advantage of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindus cutting across caste lines are pitching for the saffron party, particularly in the urban centres. The BJP is depending heavily on its committed cadre support to take benefit of Hindu sentiments.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-12-2007

QUOTENow, a 'secular' answer to BJP's hate CD
Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow April 11, 2007 13:47 IST

Even as a hot debate is on over the 'hate-Muslims' CD released by the Bhartiya Janata party as a part of its poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh , a group of social activists have brought out a 'secular' CD to counter the 'hate' campaign.
Led by well known social activist Shabnam Hashmi , 'ANHAD' has brought out a 'secular' disc carrying the message of communal harmony , which was being released in Lucknow Wednesday afternoon.
(certificate of 'well-known social activist' just distributed.)

"We will circulate this CD all over this state, where communalism has dug its roots deep", Hashmi told this scribe. Titled, 'Secular Voices', the CD carries 'stop hate' messages from 27 celebrities.

Prominent among these were actors, Nandita Das, Nafisa Aliand Zohra Sehgal, cultural artists Malika Sarabhai, Aditi Mangaldas and Sharon Lowen, journalists Rajdeep Sardesai , Barkha Dutt , Pankaj Pachauri, Tarun Tejpal, cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, poll analyst Yogendra Yadav and billiards champion Geet Sethi.

(I dont know about Geet Sethi, but all others are regular psec anti-Hindu crowd)

Earlier, BJP had released a VCD containing "objectionable anti-Muslim communal material: as a part if its election campaign.

(The fellow has just passed a judgement without being responsible for it by adding quotes)

Though BJP bigwigs have been trying to dissociate themselves with the CD after the Election commission of India took exception to it, the issue has triggered a sharp communal divide in the country's most populous state, where a seven-phased state assembly poll was underway.

Expressing concern over the "unabated rise in communalism in society", Hashmi hopes to do her bit by countering it through an appeal to the youth.

She admits, "There is no magic wand that can overnight eradicate this poison from the minds of people; but one could surely make a beginning."

(How about going to Kerala and doing it with islamists?Â or in Kashmir, or Asam or Bengal?)

She goes on add, "I feel it is time to educate and give direction to the youth of this country, so that the venom of communalism is nipped in the bud at least by the new generation."

(So they have written off this whole generation as communal except for themselves, or may be they consider their own selves in GenNext)

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/11uppoll3.htm

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-12-2007

QUOTENandita Das, Nafisa Aliand Zohra Sehgal, cultural artists Malika Sarabhai, Aditi Mangaldas and Sharon Lowen, journalists Rajdeep Sardesai , Barkha Dutt , Pankaj Pachauri, Tarun Tejpal, cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, poll analyst Yogendra Yadav 
These commies should spend some time in West Bengal.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-13-2007

QUOTEMohite ambition thwarted, major setback for Cong
TN Raghunatha | Mumbai
Sena-BJP wins two Lok Sabha seats
In a major setback for the Congress in general and Revenue Minister Narayan Rane in particular, the Shiv Sena on Thursday retained the Ramtek Lok Sabha seat, by handing a humiliating defeat to its erstwhile partyman-turned-rebel and former Union Heavy Industries Minister Subodh Mohite.
Â
In two other Lok Sabha by-polls held on Monday, the BJP retained the Jalgaon seat, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) wrested the Erandol seat from the BJP. 

In the politically significant Ramtek by-poll that saw Rane's stock erode further in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena's Prakash Jadhav romped home by trouncing Mohite by a comfortable margin of over 30,000 votes.

An acolyte of Rane, Mohite had given up his LS seat and quit the Shiv Sena in February to protest against the style of functioning of Sena's executive president Uddhav Thackeray. He was banking heavily on Rane's support to return to the lower House of Parliament.

Mohite's defeat comes as a major embarrassment for Rane, who had made it a prestige issue to ensure his protÃ©gÃ©'s re-election to the Lok Sabha; this time as the Congress nominee. In the run-up to the LS polls, Rane had campaigned extensively for Mohite.

Known for his money and muscle power, Rane landed himself in trouble during the electioneering, with the Katol police registering an FIR against him and Mohite for triggering an incident of violence two days before the polls. So much so that the Opposition Shiv Sena-BJP stalled the proceedings in the State Assembly for a couple of days, demanding Rane's resignation and his immediate arrest for his alleged involvement in the Katol incident.
............

The presence of Congress rebel Ranjit Deshmukh, who was once the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president, in the poll fray as an Independent also made the matters easy for the Sena nominee in Ramtek. Sena's Jadhav polled 2,31,241 votes as against 1,98,699 votes polled by Mohite. Ranjit Deshmukh played a spoilsport for Mohite, by polling 79,638 votes.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-13-2007

Uma bows out of UP polls for BJP QUOTEBharti, a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, announced that the she would withdraw her Bhartiya Janshakti Party candidates from the polls. Bhartiâs decision will help the BJP in preventing division of votes, as she had fielded 72 candidates in the first two phases of elections and planned to contest in 132 seats more using the drum symbol.

VHP leader Ashok Singhal had on Thursday requested Bharti to withdraw her candidates and help BJPâs chief ministerial candidate Kalyan Singh "in the larger interests of Hindus." Bharti and Singh belong to the Lodh community and BJP leaders hope that now votes from the community wonât get split.

Bharti, who left the BJP after a fight with its top leaders, denied she was returning to the party. "We are withdrawing candidates following Singhalâs appeal that division of Hindus should be avoided in the larger interest of the country, " Bharti said at a press conference.

"There is no question of returning to the BJP. If the BJP fails to get clear majority in the election, it should accept that Hindu community has no faith in it," Bharti was quoted by PTI as saying


Too late. She is doing after end of second phase of polling. Tubelight.
Or is it Govindacharya effect?

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-14-2007

After "Dalit chale COngress ke orey" rally, now this
QUOTECong, Modi on warpath to win over tribal votes 
Pioneer.com
RK Misra | Porbandar
Guerrilla warfare tactics is what guiding pre-poll politics in Gujarat. While Congress mounts attacks deep into BJP territory, Chief Minister Narendra Modi hits back to defend his turf.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi led the assault here on Monday at the culmination function of the 'Mahatma Gandhi sandesh cycle yatra' here with a frontal attack on the Modi Government charging it with lack of earnestness in implementation of Central schemes. "The UPA Government headed by Manmohan Singh has initiated numerous welfare measures aimed at all-round development but the State Government has been found distinctly wanting in its implementation. While it has shown reluctance in giving land titles to tribals no such reluctance is visible in gifting land at throwaway prices to multi-millionaires," she added.

Even as the Gujarat Congress was busy concentrating on putting up a grand show at public meeting here, Chief Minister Modi was pounding the very same Saurashtra region wooing women voters of the constituency.

If Sonia Gandhi addressed a largely attended rally at the function here, Modi was at Jasdan in Rajkot district addressing an impressive mahila sammelan. "The Chief Minister in Gujarat talks of women's welfare and does precious little for them while it was the Rajiv Gandhi Government at the Centre that gave one-third representation to women in panchayats," Sonia said.

It was a similar scenario which had played itself out in the tribal belt earlier. Sonia Gandhi addressed a similar rally at Devgad Baria on January 19 aimed at winning back the tribal vote bank. Modi was quick to match it with a string of rallies through the length and breadth of the tribal heartland.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - ramana - 04-14-2007

Pioneer on second Phase of the UP POll
QUOTEBSP's Sanskritisation set to change equations

Sidharth Mishra | Bijnore

Contrary to the subaltern support and campaign, which Mayawati has exhibited in the past several elections, this time around the BSP has certainly moved towards, how sociologist MN Srinivas had put it, Sanskritisation. Driving through Ghaziabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar, the blue flags are definitely making themselves visible. Along with the adoption of Brahmins as party candidates, the BSP has also adopted Brahminical methods of electioneering.

The party chief is not running any advertisement campaign. Nonetheless, Mayawati has featured at equal footing with Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in the media blitzkrieg let loose by Samajwadi Party. Her rival has projected Mayawati in worse than macabre proposition. However, her upper caste admirers, wearing BSP tickets on their sleeves, are sponsoring full page 'news coverage' in the local editions of the national Hindi dailies. These news features are in prose what Lalu Chalisa was in verse.

Mayawati, with Brahmin purohits (priests) and Chauhan ladyya (warriors), this time around is certainly moving with the trappings of the front-runner. But will front-runner would materialise into being the winner? Nobody gives Mayawati a chance of becoming the Chief Minister. The Congress is immaterial, the Samajwadi Party support is ruled out and in the BJP, even at the talk of a post-poll alliance there is great resentment at the grassroots.

With two crucial phases of UP election over, there is just one point clear in the very complex political situation, BSP has peaked but it is also finding it difficult to go further. The limitations of a casteist and sectarian political movement is tearing the BSP at its seams. The U-turn from Tilak, tarazu aur talwar maro inko joote chaar" to Brahmin sankh bajaega haathi badhta jayega has created an ideological dilemma among her core voters - the Dalits. Bijnore, from where Mayawati was initiated into electoral politics in mid-1980s by late Kanshi Ram, mirrors the 'corruption' of the original Dalit agenda best. Among the seven Vidhan Sabha seats falling in Bijnore Lok Sabha constituency, the BSP's prospects are best protected by the land-holding upper caste Thakur like Yashpal Singh Chauhan in Sheohara and Ashok Rana in Dhampur. On the reserved seats of Najibabad and Nagina, the BSP is still to emerge a clear front-runner. In both Najibabad and Nagina, DalitsÂ and Muslims can together form an invincible combination. But it is not happening. In the former, CPM candidate, supported by Samajwadi Party, is the front-runner. BSP's flag-bearer here is a former judge, who decided to ride on elephant when he failed to get the lotus symbol. In Nagina, the BSP is again paying for abrupt Sanskritisation. She has fielded controversial bureaucrat RK Singh's wife Omwati. The front-runner here is a BSP veteran Manoj Paras, contesting on Samajwadi Party ticket.

Her efforts to checkmate her rivals by fielding forward caste candidates in wholesale on the face of it looks to have checkmated the gameplan of parties like the BJP and, to an extent, the Congress. But she is facing the challenge at her own game by her bete noires Samajwadi Party, which has fielded several ex-BSP members on the cycle symbol.

The rise of Mayawati has brought about one perceptible change in the UP politics. The Dalits, who were kept away by the upper castes during elections, are certainly now coming out in large numbers to vote. Their average presence on each of the seats is in the vicinity of 10 to 12 per cent. With caste as the sole agenda, the BSP is increasingly feeling the handicap to move into the category of a party able to form a Government on its own.

A hung House, says Exit poll

New Delhi: An exit poll held after the second phase of UP election on Friday predicted a hung Assembly with the BSP and ruling SP running neck and neck. The poll conducted by NDTV projected the BSP emerging as the single largest party with seats between 115-125, while Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's party was likely to bag 110-120 seats in the 403-member Assembly. It projected the Bharatiya Janata Party to be following closely with 95-105 seats. The Congress would get 35-45 seats. Others would win 20-30 seats, it said. Meanwhile, 46 per cent voter turnout was reported on Friday.

UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007 - Guest - 04-14-2007

QUOTEChawla evades property tax 
Pioneer.com
Rajesh Kumar\Neelam Pandey | New Delhi
Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, who was recently in the news for misusing the funds of erstwhile Delhi Vidyut Board, has now been found to be defaulting on house tax payment to the MCD.

The Municipal body, which in the past one year has gone around sealing properties, that too on the slightest pretext, has overlooked the non-payment of property tax by Chawla for his posh 4, Jaipur Estate Nizamuddin house. According to sources, Chawla has given out his property on rent. However, he is understood to have concealed this fact in the papers submitted by him to the MCD.Â

The MCD, which had earlier booked Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for putting a grill in her balcony, has not even bothered to check the veracity of the declaration made by her neighbour.

According to an inquiry by The Pioneer, Chawla has not paid his property tax since 2004 and owes Rs 52,575 as property tax to the Municipal Corporation, going by his own declaration. An official of the property tax department revealed that Chawla has not paid his property tax from 2004 to 2007. He owes Rs 17,525 for 2004, which amounts to a total of Rs 52,575 for three years.

"According to the declaration made by him, Chawla has not shown that he has rented out a portion of his house after August 2004. If the property tax department calculates tax taking into account the earnings he made from rent, and the penalty for late payment, then the figure would go up to around Rs 1 lakh. However, Chawla can take a plea that he did not receive any notice from the MCD. It seems the MCD indeed did not serve any notice under DMC Act. Still, it was obligatory on the part of Chawla to disclose his property details and pay requisite tax in accordance with the stipulated rate for category B," says a source in the MCD