UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007

03-02-2007, 12:40 AM

QUOTEBhuwan Chand Khanduri 
Born in Dehradun on October 1, 1934, Khanduri completed his education from Allahabad University and the College of Military Engineering, Pune before joining the Indian Army in 1954.

A civil engineer by profession, he served Army's Corps of Engineers for 36 years in various capacities and also winning the Ati Vishisht Sewa Medal before retiring in 1990 as Major General.

He soon joined the BJP and entered Lok Sabha for the first time in 1991 from Pauri by defeating Congress leader Satpal Maharaj. Except a loss in 1996, he has been winning from the same seat in 1998, 1999 and 2004.Â

A member of BJP national executive, he is also the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha and served as minister for Road Transport and Highways in the NDA regime besides holding additional charge of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.

Having travelled all over the world during his service years and later as union minister, Khanduri likes to indulge in sports and reading in his pastime and is associated with several social organisations and sports bodies.

QUOTEBhagat Singh Koshiyari 
Born in Almora on June 17, 1942, Koshiyari completed his basic education there and went on to receive a masters degree on English literature from Agra University before joining the RSS as an active member.

Following Uttarakhand's creation he was appointed as minister for irrigation, energy, law and parliamentary affairs before he took charge as the state's second chief minister for a period of three months from his predecessor Nityanand Swami.Â

A bachelor who leads a simple life, Koshiyari enjoys immense support among voters in the state especially in Kumaon and regularly keeps in touch with them through his long treks to remote villages.

03-04-2007, 02:51 AM

Punjab - list of BJP MLA inducted in ministry.
QUOTEAll BJP ministers are law graduates 
Tribune News Service
Sangrur, March 3
All five BJP ministers inducted into the Punjab Cabinet are law graduates.

Master Mohan Lal, elected on a BJP ticket from the Pathankot constituency, is an MA, LL.B. Laxmi Kanta Chawla, elected from Amritsar central and Tikshan Sood, elected from Hoshiarpur, are also MA LL.B. Manoranjan Kalia, elected from Jalandhar central and Swarna Ram, elected from Phagwara, are B.Com., LL.B. and B.A., LL.B. respectively.

General Secretary of the People for Transparency and district convener of the Punjab Election Watch Kamal Anand said all five law graduate BJP ministers also had permanent account numbers (PAN) for filing income tax returns. They do not have criminal background as per the data in the affidavit, he added.

Anand added it was a good for democracy these representatives of people were qualified and had no criminal background. He said if people continued electing educated representatives to Assemblies and the Lok Sabha, society would be able to end evils, like illiteracy, female foeticide, and dowry.

03-05-2007, 10:32 AM

It's victory for reconciliation KPS GillQUOTEThe real story, however, is in the very character of the present Assembly elections, in the issues that dominated the campaigns and that eventually defined voting patterns. It is useful to recall that the 2002 election was marred by the usual efforts at communal polarisation. A nasty contest between Mr Prakash Singh Badal and Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra to dominate Punjab's Gurdwara politics, produced Akali campaigns that were at their divisive worst. In 2007, however, the Akalis were no longer flogging their traditional communal agenda. There was not even a faint shadow of gurdwara politics over the Assembly Elections. The customary whining about 'discrimination' against Punjab and the Sikh community was not heard, nor were other divisive issues like the SYL canal and water sharing with neighbouring States raised. Indeed, the Akalis approached the present election almost uniquely on a developmental platform, with Mr Prakash Singh Badal talking of progress, infrastructure projects, and a powerful thrust to Punjab's economy (it remains to be seen whether any of these promises will be fulfilled, of course, but that is an entirely different issue).

..............
It is clear that the people of Punjab have little remaining patience for the petty conspiracies of communal politics. Indeed, the Congress was perhaps the only party to make the tactical error of trying to capitalise on communal politics, directly seeking the support of the Dera Sacha Sauda; this may have yielded some advantage in the Malwa belt, but probably lost them more votes elsewhere.

There can be little doubt that an increased flow of resources to rural areas is not only a State, but a national imperative. This does not, however, imply a necessary diminution in urban resources, opportunities or growth. An economically marginalised rural sector will be -- and historically has been -- a drag on urban and industrial growth as well, and a continuing effort to transfer substantial resources to, and reinvest in, rural areas is entirely consistent with urban interests and prosperity. A failure to communicate this reality through its political campaigns is at least part of the Congress party's failure at the hustings.

03-05-2007, 06:11 PM

ASIAN AGE 02 Mar 2007

Polls and Q: Difficult days for Congress

Arun Nehru

A month ago we had a national survey conducted by a leading television channel and a newspaper indicating that the UPA would get 300 plus seats if Lok Sabha elections were held now. All that looks like a distant dream as we see the Assembly results in Punjab and Uttarakhand, two states where the Congress suffers defeat. The municipal elections in Maharashtra were a disaster too for the Congress. We now have to look at the political repercussions of the situation on the present and the future of coalition politics. On the one side, the Congress suffers an electoral setback, and on the other, the Q issue raises further complications in terms of credibility. It will require a great deal of political skill to handle the situation.

Let us look at the situation one step at a time. The Congress loses ground to the BJP which reclaims lost ground, after defeats in Punjab and Uttarakhand. Clearly, the effects of all this will be felt in Uttar Pradesh where both the SP and BJP stand to gain in the coming elections. In both these states we have seen the vote consolidating between major contestants, with fringe parties being isolated. This pattern may repeat itself in Uttar Pradesh where the electoral battle may well be between the SP and the BJP, with the BSP too in contention.

The BJP's success in Mumbai followed by Punjab and Uttarakhand will consolidate the minority vote for the Samajwadi Party. I would not be surprised to see the SP cross 130-140 seats, and the BJP, as a reaction to the consolidation of the minority vote may get 70-80 seats. The BSP can get 110-120 seats. It is a gloomy picture for the Congress, the Jan Morcha and the RLD in UP. Things may change, but for the moment, depending on current trends, I see the SP and BJP gaining. While this may confuse the coalition patterns in the future, the obvious loser is the Congress. Also, there will be greater pressure from the NDA and the Third Front.

The election results do not pose any immediate threat to the UPA at the Centre, but the government's credibility has hit an all time low. The usual reasons will be given for suppressing the Q information for 17 days, but the fact is, it was done to prevent a negative reaction on the Punjab and Uttarakhand elections which were held on February 13 and February 21. But it did not have the desired effect, and by hindsight, was a poor decision. Things may settle down after a week or so, and during this time the Opposition will aim to score political points over the Congress. After that, the events in Uttar Pradesh will take over. We may well see mass "defections" towards the SP and BJP with the aim of securing tickets for the elections.

The railway budget has got lost in the political noise and the Union budget too will suffer the same fate; so will other issues, as the major contestants consolidate on the basis of caste or religion in Uttar Pradesh and fight for political control.

The Mumbai result, as I have written earlier, was a warning to the Congress that minority appeasement and caste reservations were very big negatives. The election results in Uttarakhand with its upper caste vote, and the debacle in the urban areas of Punjab are a grim reminder of this reality. The Congress may well find that the upper caste vote has gone to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Sandwiched between the just concluded elections and the Uttar Pradesh elections will be the municipal elections in Delhi, and here again the BJP will win by a mile.

A post-mortem of the election results will show that winning and losing are done by slender margins of one to three per cent. I think this should be a lesson both to the winner and the loser. These are not blanket verdicts given to the winning party. The Punjab verdict is much closer than it seems, and more than the Akali Dal it is the BJP that has defeated the Congress in the urban areas of Jullunder, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Pathankot. Amarinder Singh has put up a "strong" fight and will live to fight another day. The BJP has much to cheer about. BJP's Navjot Singh Sidhu wins by a massive margin in Amritsar, and may have had some effect on the urban vote.

The Congress made a "tactical" error in Uttarakhand by retaining a reluctant N.D. Tiwari as chief minister. I am very surprised that the talented and totally committed Harish Rawat, MP, was kept away from the power game. The BJP in this election had Maj. Gen. B.C. Khanduri, a former Union Cabinet minister with an impeccable record and very high integrity levels, and I do hope that he becomes the chief minister of the state.

The Congress has much to think about. I saw a television show by Karan Thapar with Arun Kumar, an MP from Andhra Pradesh. I was quite shocked that the Congress high command, in this day and age, had allowed a gag order on the media. (The Andhra chief minister scrapped the order.) Does it make any sense to carry out a "vendetta" against any media group?

Clearly, the Congress in Andhra Pradesh will face an electoral rout if it persists in using the official machinery to muscle out anyone with a contrary view. The Congress high command cannot take these issues lightly. It is no surprise that the TDP and Chandra Babu Naidu are gaining ground. The public cannot be taken for granted and all allegations of "excessive assets" accumulated by the chief minister and his family members have to be investigated and acted upon. The Congress acted in time in Goa and scrapped the land deals (television had given the details of the real estate companies formed by Goa chief minister's family members). It would be a mistake to take things for granted in Andhra, as any "debacle" here could change the government at the Centre.

Arun Nehru is a former Union minister

03-06-2007, 12:40 AM

QUOTE I would not be surprised to see the SP cross 130-140 seats, and the BJP, as a reaction to the consolidation of the minority vote may get 70-80 seats. The BSP can get 110-120 seats.
I think BSP may not get more than 50, They may work as vote kat party, they may reduce SP seats or can add seats in BJP kitty. CBI probe on Mayawati may cost her some seats. Independent candidates may get more seats.
Congress should pack and sit in Amethi or Rai Bareley.

03-06-2007, 12:47 AM

QUOTEBJP, AD seat-sharing in final stageÂ
Pioneer.com
Agencies | New Delhi
In a bid to woo OBC voters in Uttar Pradesh, the cadre based Bharatiya Janata Party today held key discussions over seat-sharing with the regional Apna Dal ahead of assembly elections in the state.

BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi met Apna Dal's Sone Lal Patel at the residence of JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, party sources said.

"Our talks on seat sharing are in final stages," a BJP source pointed out.

The Apna Dal is believed to have strong foothold in the Kurmi community, especially in eastern and central parts of the state.
Â
The BJP, which aims to unseat the Mulayam Government over the law and order plank, is drawing up its strategy to win support of disadvantaged sections as well through seat-sharing with regional groupings.

"We can have a seat-sharing arrangement for some 50 seats with parties like the Apna Dal, the JD(U) and some small groupings," a party leader informed.

03-06-2007, 09:59 PM

'Mulayamâs petitioner is a Cong crony'
QUOTEThe CD, purportedly, contains a conversation between a reporter of a private television channel and Vishwanath Chaturvedi, the petitioner against the SP chief. The person, said to be Chaturvedi, is heard bragging about his links with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

According to Singh, Chaturvedi is a Congress party worker and he misled the court by concealing his identity. Chaturvedi, in his alleged conversation with the journalist, also talks about offering a suitable job to the judge after retirement.

03-06-2007, 10:46 PM

More on this fellow here.. He even has protection from union home ministry. This is UP elections for you.. IMO though this is just a waste of time - no voter in UP doubts mulayam has accumulated crores and spending so much money+effort to prove that is totally useless.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/06spec.htm

03-06-2007, 11:19 PM

From Rajesh link -
QUOTEAs a fallout of this case, Yadav admitted in the Supreme Court for the first time that he had two wives. His lesser known second wife Sadhna and their son Pratik live at 5, Vikrmaditya Marg in Lucknow, he claimed in court.

Yadav's first wife Malti Devi died in 2003. Their son Akhilesh Yadav is a Member of Parliament, and is married to Dimple who has 'no source of income' but owns properties worth millions of rupees, according to Yadav's own submission.


These politicians don't mind breaking law. It means he had submitted wrong information in his election form. He should be behind bar. <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' />

03-06-2007, 11:53 PM

QUOTEIMO though this is just a waste of time - no voter in UP doubts mulayam has accumulated crores and spending so much money+effort to prove that is totally useless.

400% correct. Take example of CM Mayawati before Mulayam - where does that case and investigation stand? And who remembers about it today?

03-08-2007, 12:45 AM

QUOTEBadal, family get lion's share of portfolios 
Pioneer News Service | Chandigarh
CM retains Home, Excise, Power and Housing
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his close relatives have got the lion's share in the allocation of portfolios, which was announced here on Thursday.

The BJP, an alliance partner of the SAD, has also managed to get key departments.

Badal has retained 10 key departments including Home, Excise and Taxation, Power, Housing and Urban Development, Vigilance, Personnel, General Administration, Justice, Legal and Legislative Affairs and NRI Affairs and Employment.

The key department of Finance has been given to Parkash Singh Badal's nephew Manpreet Badal, who is also a first-time minister. He has also been allocated the Department of Programme Implementation.

Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, son-in-law of Chief Minister Badal, has been given the departments of Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Information Technology. Another of Badal's relatives and also a first-time MLA and Minister, Bikram Singh Majitha, has been given the departments of Information and Public Relations, Science and Technology, Environment and Non-conventional Energy and water supply and sanitation.

The BJP ministers have been given the key departments of Local Government, Industries, Health and Family Welfare,Transport and Labour among a total 10 departments.

Manoranjan Kalia, a BJP minister and number two in the Cabinet, has been given Local Government, Industries and Commerce.

Ranjit Singh Brahmpura has been given Rural Development and Panchayats and Elections. However, Captain Kanwaljit Singh, who was Finance Minister in the previous Badal Cabinet, has been given the departments of Cooperation, Defence Services Welfare, Removal of Grievances, Pensions and Welfare of pensioners wing of the Finance Department. Tikshan Sood has got Parliamentary Affairs, Medical Education and Research, Forests and Wildlife Preservation wing of the Agriculture Department. The transport department has been given to Master Mohan Lal while Swarna Ram has been given Technical Education and Industrial Training, Social Security and Development of Women and Children.

Upinderjit Kaur (SAD) has been given Education and Civil Aviation while Luxmi Kanta Chawla (BJP) has been entrusted with the responsibility of Health and Family Welfare.

Gulzar Singh Ranike has been given the departments of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Dairy Development, Welfare of SCs and BCs and Sports and Youth Welfare, while Parminder Singh Dhindsa has got PWD, B and R Sucha Singh Langah has been given the department of Agriculture, while Janmeja Singh Sekhon has been made Minister of Irrigation, Hira Singh Gabria has got the Jails Wing of the Home Department, Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Printing and Stationary.

Ajit Singh Kohar has got Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management. All other departments, which are not mentioned in the list, would deem to have been allocated to the Chief Minister.

03-08-2007, 12:49 AM

QUOTEPunjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday directed the civil and police officials to curtain undesired expenditures on visits of the Chief Minister and be punctual in their duty and be available to public from 9 am to 5 pm in their offices.

He also called upon the district civil and police administration to adopt a people-friendly approach while dealing with people. Addressing the first meeting of senior officers of the district civil and police administration, Badal exhorted them to discharge their duties with dedication, sincerity, honesty and a sense of deep commitment in order to fulfil the promises made by the SAD-BJP alliance to the people of Punjab.

Badal said that he and his cabinet would strictly adhere to the self-imposed code based on moral ethics. No welcome gates, no hospitality and pump & show at the expense of the Government on official visits of ministers including the Chief Minister would be tolerated.

Badal said that he had decided in principle to take simple meals at the residence of the workers of SAD and BJP alternatively during his visits in the State.

He also directed the police administration to not disrupt/divert the traffic in view of the visits of VVIPs in future. He said that even he would prefer to wait for an hour in case he was held up in a traffic but the general public would not be allowed to suffer in future due to the inconvenience caused to them by the artificial barriers/hurdles put up en-route. 

Lets see whether he really mean this or its just a talk. Here we are talking about Punjabies, they believe in show and drama.

03-11-2007, 12:14 PM

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/10uppoll1.htm

Wonder what constitutes the votebank for these guys.

Bodhi · (This post was last modified: 03-11-2007, 07:40 PM by Bodhi.)

question to our Punjab experts. Amongst all the elected SAD MLAs, are there any sahajdharis/Hindus? Likewise amongst all elected BJP MLAs are there any Sikhs? What about candidates that lost?

Defeat of Mann supporters - is that in any ways seen as any sign of defeat of anti-Hindu sectarian separationists, or it was just realpolitic?

03-12-2007, 05:09 PM

UP elections a turning point
Deena nath Mishra
Pioneer
March 12, 2007

Assembly elections in UP have always been important for it is the most populous
State in India. It also has a great political significance. It is preceded by
important corporation elections in UP and Maharashtra and Assembly elections of
Punjab and Uttarakhand.

The electoral trend has proved that anti-incumbency factor is far greater
against the Congress and its leader Sonia Gandhi rather than the State. In
other words, the debacle the Congress suffered in Punjab and Uttarakhand is not
as much against the Chief Ministers Amarinder Singh and ND Tiwari as against
Sonia Gandhi and her establishment at the Centre.

According to her inflation is the culprit for this debacle. During whole of the
NDA regime price-rise and inflation were totally absent in the political
parlance. Not a single noteworthy dharna, rally, bandh or strike was held.
Present price-rise is not inflation in usual terms. It is due to shortage of
the essential commodities. This has caused drastic cut in the support base of
the ruling alliance in general and the Congress in particular.

Congress' performance is going to have repercussions in the future, including
the general elections. Not that Assembly elections of Gujarat, Goa, Himachal
are not important. But I don't think any of these elections are going to
deviate from the pattern of electoral battles established as of today by
preceding elections. It is in this context that UP Assembly elections should be
seen.

As far the Congress is concerned, the party is entering the electoral field just
to be counted as 'was also there'. The party was anxious to impose President's
rule in the State for it felt that it would improve its tally under Governor's
pleasure. But it could not muster enough courage to defy CPM's veto in the
matter. Three main players in the arena may be counted with all seriousness -
SP, BSP and BJP. Ruling party and its leader, Mulayam Singh, is the master of
electoral management. His main strength is caste equations, money and muscle
powers with the added strength of manipulating the official machinery openly.

Despite all these tactics he could not manage to get magic majority number on
his own with the exception of earlier era when he was a part of larger outfit.
The BSP is a matching force on all fronts - be it caste combination or the use
of money or muscle power. This time, however, Mayawati wouldn't have officials
playing to her tune. But she still has a plus point - flexibility in ticket
distribution and transferability of its support base to a leader of any caste
to get him/ her elected.

It is in this background, till a year back, two possible Chief Ministers were
being discussed - who would be a lesser evil. The records of both as CMs is
known to all. In that phase the BJP was not in the reckoning. Journalists would
say: It would be a feat if the BJP is able to retain half of its present
strength. The image of the party suffered severe beating on several issues. The
turning point was the result of UP Mahanagar Palikas, it took the top BJP
leaders by surprise.

Then came the results from Maharastra including those of Mumbai and Nagpur. The
BJP-Shiva Sena combination was not in the pink of health. It was not to the
credit of its leaders but the electorates. Then came Punjab and Uttarakhand.
The BJP had never performed like this in all its history. In Uttarakhand also
it returned to power. Much talked of despondency and demoralisation in the BJP
vanished.

The party is back again. The mood of the voter is surging towards it.
Interesting electoral battle lies ahead. Many of its leaders at the State level
hope to reach majority mark. It is for this, Apna Dal having influence in a few
districts and trusted ally JD(U) are being seen as allies. As far as Chief
Ministerial candidate is concerned neither Mulayam Singh nor Mayawati can match
the stature of Kalyan Singh.

This might make the BJP a number one party. Though in my opinion it might not be
a majority party. If ticket distribution is attempted with serious strategic
targets then the results may be surprising. But if the formulas like
sitting-getting is adhered to, there is no hope. Leaders should understand the
apathy of the people, for at least 50 per cent of the sitting MLA's may be
defeated.

We have seen how Narendra Modi denied ticket to all the outgoing members of
corporations in three Mahapalikas and winning upto 80 per cent of the seats. In
others he used a mixed strategy stunning results.

Resource crunch may be yet another factor where the BJP won't be able to match
the SP or the BSP. But using the available resources judiciously and taking
strategic view it can manage. In a scenario like this Uttar Pradesh Assembly
elections would be a turning point in the Indian politics, after the completion
of three years of the UPA regime.

03-14-2007, 06:21 AM

QUOTEMaya snubs Congress, woos upper castes 
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Snubbing the Congress overtures for formation of a broad-based alliance for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Tuesday announced candidates for all the 403 constituencies and went all out to woo the upper caste voters. Mayawati will herself not contest the Assembly poll.

Till Monday, the Congress and Jan Morcha allies were pleading with Mayawati to forge an alliance or electoral understanding to take on both the Samajwadi Party and the BJP. Senior Congress leader PR Dasmunsi had gone on record saying "we are talking to all parties other than the SP and the BJP."Â

Leaving the Congress the humiliating option to join hands with the effete Jan Morcha, Mayawati has once again rejected pre-poll alliance and decided to cast her net wide outside the traditional Dalit support base. Gone is the distrust for the upper castes who were once greeted by her with slogans of "tilak, taraju or talwar, usko maro jute char!"

In a move aimed at making a dent in the BJP's vote bank, Mayawati has given maximum tickets to upper castes, mainly Brahmins. This is also a reflection on the changing reality of UP politics where the division of the OBC and Dalit votes has left their leaders knocking at the door of the upper castes.

The BSP list includes 139 upper caste, 110 OBCs, 61 Muslims and 94 Scheduled Caste nominees.

The BSP chief categorically stated that she would give all her time for campaigning and so she herself would not contest.

"After becoming the Chief Minister I will contest the by-election as any MLA can vacate seat for me," she clarified.

In the exercise taken up by the BSP supremo, though the tickets to the Backward Castes and Muslims have come down by 17 and 24, respectively, as Muslims got 85 tickets and OBCs 127 seats in the last Assembly elections. But observers feel that the scaling down of seats of the two communities is based on the hard calculation of the performance in the last Assembly election and the current caste equations in the State.

To counter the increasing influence of the BJP among upper castes after the poll victory in Punjab and Uttarakhand elections, she has increased the number of Brahmin candidates to 86 as against 37 in the last election. Similarly, Thakurs have got 38 tickets in comparison to 36 last time. The trading community has got 14 tickets while Kayasthas can only have the pride of being represented in one seat.

Though only 89 seats are reserved for SCs, the BSP has given tickets to 93 persons belonging to this category.

Interestingly, contrary to the expectations of Sonia Gandhi who lost no time trying to woo the blue brigade chief, BSP has fielded a candidate even in Rahul Gandhi's 'empire' Amethi, and that too, she has given the ticket to a Sonia family loyalist, Ashish Shukla.Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /> He was a Congress nominee in the last Assembly election and was supposedly a close confidante of local MP Rahul Gandhi. He was also an accused in attempt to murder former Union Minister Sanjay Singh in 1989 when the latter was contesting the election on a Janata Dal ticket after revolting from the Congress.

Though the BSP chief made it clear that the list was final, she said in case a change was to be made the caste of the candidate would not be altered. She also reiterated that her party had no plans to have an alliance with any party, either before or after the poll.

The party has also given tickets to at least one dozen sitting MLAs belonging to the BJP, SP and from among Independents. While nearly half a dozen sitting MLAs have been denied party ticket, three were lucky enough to get nomination from the party despite leaving it earlier to help Mulayam Singh Yadav form his Government.

The constituency of two MLAs have also been changed. Party MLA from Fatehpur Anand Prakash Lodhi will now contest the Khaga seat in the same district while Independent MLA Mahesh Trivedi has been directed to Derapur instead of Rajpur in Kanpur Dehat, from where he was elected in the last election

03-15-2007, 07:36 AM

QUOTEKhanduri wins trust vote in Uttarakhand 
Dehradun
The BJP Government in Uttarakhand headed by BC Khanduri on Wednesday won the vote of confidence in the State Assembly amidst a boycott by the main Opposition Congress. Thirty-nine members supported the one-line motion moved by the Chief Minister, which expressed confidence in the Government, while the eight BSP MLAs voted against it.

03-15-2007, 11:04 PM

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath quits over UP ticket listQUOTEBharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Yogi Adityanath has resigned from the national executive of the party in protest against the unfair manner in which the ticket distribution was handled by the party's central leadership.
............
"We know how much influence he wields. He is adopting pressure tactics to get a couple of additional seats for his supporters. They all come with list of 50-60 but the real candidates are limited to five or six," a senior party functionary told rediff.com.

Meanwhile, BJP chief Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj, who was given the party mandate, has refused to contest in the Uttar Pradesh polls.

03-16-2007, 04:17 PM

For Congress, gloomy days are here again

QUOTENew Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Less than three years after it remarkably came back to power in India to head a hurriedly-cobbled coalition, the Congress party is not smiling any more.

While the resounding electoral defeats in Punjab and Uttarakhand are the latest and most visible evidence of the reversal of fortunes for the 122-year-old party, the malaise seems to run deep.

This week's shocking scuffles in the Lok Sabha between MPs of its two major allies, DMK and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), over the location of a maritime university have added to the Congress' worries.

Worse, party president Sonia Gandhi is finding her authority being challenged by some disgruntled colleagues.

The Janata Dal-Secular and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh respectively have ceased to be allies of the Congress. The Congress ended up losing control of Karnataka.

Relations with the People's Democratic Party have soured in Jammu and Kashmir. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is also miffed with the Congress. The Samajwadi Party, which rules Uttar Pradesh, has turned into a bitter foe.

It was the support of all these parties that had helped the Congress win a respectable 145 Lok Sabha seats in 2004 and put together the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) with Left backing.

Political analyst G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said the Congress was indeed in a bad shape.

'Their governance has taken a huge hit. There is a sort of paralysis. Suddenly, not just the Congress president, even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to be under siege,' Rao told IANS.

'Unfortunately, a series of elections until the end of next year is likely to bring more bad news to the Congress. Already there is talk of realignment of forces in New Delhi.'

The Left has not stopped squabbling with the Congress. Admitting that the DMK-Left tiff had dented the government's image, a central minister said on condition of anonymity: 'We don't know how long we are going to last.'

Sonia Gandhi's problems may have only just begun.

After disgraced former external affairs minister K. Natwar Singh shockingly raked up her 'foreign origin', suspended Congress MP Kuldeep Bishnoi has hit out at her, charging her with arrogance and more.

And in Meghalaya, outgoing chief minister J.D. Rymbai created a stir when he refused to resign despite Gandhi's order, though eventually he did give in.

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja, who often interacts with Gandhi, admitted that the Congress was facing a credibility crisis.

'Sonia Gandhi is a good listener, she shares some of our concerns. How far she is able to influence the government's policies, that is a different matter.

'Unless the Congress goes in for some mid-course corrections, it is going to be tough,' Raja warned. 'But the party fails to see its problems. There is a lot of self-deception.'

All this is already taking a toll. The Congress refusal to tie up with the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra's municipal elections ended in its rout at the hands of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Even in Delhi, where the Congress is in power, its prestige has taken a heavy blow.

Few are giving it a chance in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh - three states that will see elections in the coming months.

According to party insiders, rising prices of essential commodities have dented Congress popularity. Continuing distress in the farm sector and policies perceived to be pro-rich are said to be alienating the common man.

The Congress' worst nightmare will come true if a resurgent BJP, having come to power in Uttarakhand besides Punjab, emerges as the single largest party in a splintered Uttar Pradesh verdict.

If that happens, Rao warned, UPA allies might start putting pressure on the Congress to cede more ground in the central government.

As an MP from Tamil Nadu said: 'The Congress is needlessly haughty. It behaves as if it rules India on its own. Even the BJP, with 180 seats in the last Lok Sabha, was more accommodating towards allies.'

03-18-2007, 05:22 AM

Acid test for SP in its pocket borough
Subodh Ghildiyal
[ 18 Mar, 2007 0030hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

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NEW DELHI: Chambal and Bundelkhand, dacoit-infested terrains, have been a happy hunting ground for Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The 62 seats in the volatile region, which go to polls on April 7 in the first phase of the battle for UP crown, will again decide to a large extent if Samajwadi Party's guns will boom in the state.

If Samajwadi Party can retain its lead of 2002 assembly polls or even marginally match the sterling show of 2004 Lok Sabha, it would be well placed to negate, to some extent, the losses it might suffer later. But a fumble here may hit it hard.

What Mulayam managed on his home turf is interesting. In 2002, Samajwadi Party won 23 of the 62 seats, ahead of BJP's 16 and BSP's 15.

Congress managed only four. SP's 62 were part of its tally of 143 seats. What it did two years later in the historic 'India Shining' LS polls was phenomenal. The party just swept the elections here, with BSP and BJP falling by the wayside.

Samajwadi Party won 44 of the 62 assembly segments with its challenger BSP managing only six seats. Riding on its
performance here, Samajwadi Party nearly doubled its LS tally.

But voting in these pockets, with Mulayam as chief minister, came under a cloud much before the results were out as there was violence, and the police was accused of partisanship.

Samajwadi Party swept the show. It won all the five assembly constituencies of Mainpuri LS seat from where Mulayam contested.

It was five-nil in its favour in Jalesar, Etah, Agra and Kannauj. The party conceded the lead in one assembly segment in Etawah, Ghatampur and Hamirpur.

The massive swing from 2002 assembly polls, when Samajwadi Party went to the polls under the most favourable circumstances and could manage only 143 seats, to 2004 LS, when it had the obvious advantage of incumbency, was surprising and was, no wonder, questioned.

While matching the 2004 results seems a tall order, retaining the 2002 tally would be a huge boost to its prospects.

But, it's a tough ask. While it would be a closely-monitored election, with central paramilitary forces manning polling booths, Samajwadi Party is also facing a challenge on the electoral front.

Considered its pocket borough, the party's minority votebase is under attack from splinter Muslim groups even as it faces a negative campaign from Jan Morcha which, while not being a force on its own, could add to the anti-Samajwadi Party sentiment.

Congress is not helping its cause either, deciding to unleash its best face, Rahul Gandhi, in the region. His roadshows and campaign are likely to appeal to Muslims and a fragmentation could help BSP or BJP.

The latter would be aided by the return of Kalyan Singh who could use his appeal with OBCs, especially Lodhs, to good effect. BSP's Brahmin card would also be on test. For, the upper castes seem amenable to BJP and their original party, Congress.

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