UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007

[Guest]

<b>Sonia slams Gujarat govt for anarchy </b>
I can only say, either she had lost her mind or under influence of band substance. She should visit Assam or Mahrastra where her party is creating a real mess.

[Guest]

<b>EC boots out Punjab top cop </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Accusing DGP Virk of "favouring" the ruling Congress, the Akali Dal had earlier this month alleged that Virk got a Rs 250-crore pay-off in a mega project coming up near Chandigarh in return for favours. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<b>State of the Nation survey puts UPA, Sonia Gandhi on top</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->If Lok Sabha elections had been held in the second week of January, the ruling coalition would have managed to shed its dependence on the Left and secured a clear majority with around 300 seats, up from the 222 it won in 2004. The NDA would have won 115 seats, down from the 189 it won in 2004.

The latest round of the Hindustan Times-CNN-IBN State of the Nation Survey carried out by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) has more cheerful news for the Congress. Sonia Gandhi continues to be the most popular leader of the country as none of the BJP leaders is able to fill the space vacated by AB Vajpayee.

People want to see Sonia as the PM, but are satisfied with Manmohan Singh's performance and do not want someone else to replace him. Even BJP voters agree that the BJP has grown weaker since 2004.
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WHat a fraud? As we know, we had see from our own eyes how they had changed data.
HT and CNN-IBN both lacks credibility. What a Shame?

[Guest]

First Information Technology Polytechnic of UP inaugurated amidst the Vedic MantrochchAr. The polytechnic is named as <b>Maharshi Agastya Muni Polytechnic</b>.

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> कर्नलगंज (गोण्डा), 23 जनवरी : उत्तर प्रदेश का प्रथम सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी महर्षि अगस्त्य मुनि राजकीय पालीटेक्निक का भूमि पूजन कृषि अनुसंधान एवं शिक्षा राज्यमंत्री ने वैदिक मंत्रोप्चार के साथ किया।
http://www.jagran.com/news/citynews.aspx?i...eid=1&cityid=46
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Amar Singh publicly donating golden ornaments and silver umbrella etc to Ma Vindhyavasini Devi Temple at Mirzapur.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->विन्ध्याचल (मीरजापुर)। अपने 51 वें जन्म दिन पर 27 जनवरी को समाजवादी पार्टी के राष्ट्रीय महासचिव व सांसद अमर सिंह मां विन्ध्यवासिनी के दरबार में दोपहर 12 बजे होने वाली श्रृंगार आरती में शामिल होने के बाद हवन पूजन करेंगे। तीर्थ पुरोहितों की मानें तो श्री सिंह सोने की नथ, चांदी का छत्र व चांदी का माला देवी को चढ़ायेंगे।
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Mulayam Singh publicly took a ceremonial dip in Ganga at Ardha Kumbha, Allahabad, and Sonia Gandhi is lined up for it....

What has happened to the secularism in UP?

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->What has happened to the secularism in UP?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->They still need Hindu votes. Besides, now is their time to lie to the people and say, 'no, we're not anti-Hindu, what gave you that idea? Look at us, dipping in the Ganga (which actually doesn't mean anything to us, as you gullibles will find out when we are back in power).'

[ramana]

Amar Singh was at Kumbh Mela and spoke of seeing Ma Durga in hema Malini's dance performance. Looked like a very devoted bhakta.

Meanwhile Pioneer reports on Jan 25 2007
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Congress may think of forming Govt on its own'

Pioneer News Service | New Delhi

<b>Buoyed by a rosy picture projected by recent opinion polls, Congress leaders have stepped up their demand for a re-think on the party's approach to coalition politics in the times to come.</b>

"Coalition is not a permanent arrangement and it is natural for the Congress to think of coming to power at the Centre on its own," AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said on Wednesday.

Dwivedi's comments assume significance as a sizable section of the <b>party leaders have been advocating that </b>the party's allies were limiting the space for the party's expansion and <b>the Congress should contest all the Lok Sabha seats in the next general elections.</b>

Dwivedi, who is chairman of AICC Media Department and considered close to party president Sonia Gandhi is the second senior party leader to question the advisability of continuing the path of pre-electoral alliance that the Congress forged for 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

Another party general secretary Digvijay Singh had earlier gone on record to demand that the party should contest all the seats in 2009 general elections. "Until we fight all the seats, how will we keep our cadres going?" he asked.

Congress sources said that quite a few members of the Congress Working Committee had suggested convening a special conclave of party leaders to review its present coalition policy.

Asked if the AICC was planning to hold brainstorming sessions of senior leaders on the lines of the Pachmarhi (MP) Conclave of 1998 and the Shimla Shivir in 2003 to decide its future strategy, Dwivedi hedged the queries.

"We will make a public announcement when we convene such a meet," was his cryptic reply.

Significantly, the questions about the advisability of the party continuing with its current coalition agenda are being raised by senior leaders like Digvijay Singh and Dwivedi soon after the UPA Government - the first coalition experiment of the Congress - completed half of its term.

Asked whether Congress would go in for a change at the governmental level as the survey projected party chief Sonia Gandhi way ahead of Manmohan Singh as the popular choice for Prime Ministership, he said Gandhi had declined the top post even though all allies agreed for her only.

But he hastened to add that, "The Congress will go as per her wish."

To a query whether the Congress would go for mid-term polls, he said the party was satisfied with the functioning of the Government.

Asked about the difference between the UPA and the NDA, he said, "Ours is a principled coalition while the NDA is an opportunistic alliance."

On the advice offered by Left parties on growing communal forces, Dwivedi said, "We do not give sermons to others and no one should give them to us."

<b>At the same time, he maintained that the UPA Government would last its full term and the party was not entertaining ideas of going in for mid-term poll.</b>

<b><i>{This means they will do whatever it takes to stay in power. Expect more erosion of the national indentity and new rules to appease votebanks.}</i></b>

"At the moment, we are committed to the present coalition and cannot think of anything else," the Congress leader said.

Asked when the Congress could think of coming to power on its own by, he merely remarked: "Let's not speculate about the future.

<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I think their strategy is to destroy regional parties in order to run for the next LS elections. So expect a lot of UPA allies to be scam charged and tainted.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
<b>Buoyed by a rosy picture projected by recent opinion polls, Congress leaders have stepped up their demand for a re-think on the party's approach to coalition politics in the times to come.</b>

I think their strategy is to destroy regional parties in order to run for the next LS elections. So expect a lot of UPA allies to be scam charged and tainted.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Congress going to elections alone is suicidal for the party and if they are suicidal there is a chance BJP/NDA might get a landslide. Sonia is not that stupid and in all probability she will go with all the alliances to polls.

All the political parites test waters in Municipal and other local elections. congress is testing iself regarding Maharastra in Bombay municipal elections.

CNN-IBN/HT are congress mouth pieces. All the opinion polls are just psy ops on behalf of the GOP of India.

[Guest]

<b>BJP clips Modi's wings, sacks him </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New Delhi: The BJP has cut down Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to size. In a reshuffle of the party’s senior leadership, Modi been dropped from the Central Parliamentary Board.

Party president Rajnath Singh has also replaced General Secretary Sanjay Joshi (Organisation) with Ramlal Agarwal. CNN-IBN’s Political Editor Diptosh Majumdar says that people will read a lot of politics in Modi’s removal.

<b>The BJP’s Central Parliamentary Board is not an all-powerful organisation but it decides a lot of things when it comes selecting candidates for elections.</b>

........
<b>Gopinath Munde, a prominent OBC leader from Maharashtra and brother-in-law of late Pramod Mahajan, has been made a general secretary. </b>

<b>Yashwant Sinha, who was sidelined for criticising Advani, has been rehabilitated as a party vice-president</b>.

Former union minister <b>Rajiv Pratap Rudy replaces senior party spokesperson Arun Jaitley as spokesperson, but Jaitley gets a spot in the Parliamentary Board </b>as its secretary.
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Why they dropped him? is it minority appeasement policy before UP election or something else.

[Guest]

In Hindu
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The dropping of Mr. Modi and Mr. Joshi are being seen in the party as an effort by Mr. Rajnath Singh to keep a "balance". It was well known that both of them — they had at one time occupied the position of general secretary organisation in Gujarat — could not see eye-to-eye. In fact, when Mr. Joshi was inducted as general secretary organisation in Gujarat, Mr. Modi was brought to the central party office and told not to interfere in Gujarat affairs. All that changed when he was sent as Gujarat Chief Minister to replace Keshubhai Patel in 2001. Politically Mr. Modi has always been close to Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani, who represents Gandhinagar in the Lok Sabha. The dropping of Mr. Modi is also being seen in that context. Mr. Advani will have one less voice in the important Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


Hopefully at state polls what'll matter is Gujarat's achievements <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Mr. Modi, however, criticised Kerala for what he termed its failure to ensure security in its coastal areas. Defence Minister A. K. Antony himself had stated that the Kerala coast was unsafe, he said. On the other hand, the Gujarat coast was secure despite its longer length and proximity to Pakistan, he claimed.

He claimed that no farmer had committed suicide in Gujarat. While the rest of the nation was talking of interlinking rivers, Gujarat had interlinked 23 rivers. Consequently, the State's agricultural income had increased from Rs. 9,000 crore to Rs. 34,000 crore. Power had reached all its villages. Memoranda of understanding had been signed for Rs. 100 billion in investment, which would generate 12 lakh jobs.
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Besides Khanna, the film stars who are likely to enter the electoral arena for the SAD-BJP in Punjab are Dharmendra, Dara Singh and Hema Malini, and television star Smriti Irani.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Vinod Khanna hits campaign trail for BJP in Punjab

[Guest]

<b>Punjab: Cong workers go on rampage - Video</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The footage shows not only how stones were pelted, but how a large number of Congress workers flaunted their guns and even fired a few rounds.

One Shiromani Akali Dal supporter died in the clash and a large number were injured.
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Henry confident of retaining Jalandhar North </b>
Aneesha Sareen | Jalandhar
Though Punjab Industry Minister Avtar Henry, Congress candidate from Jalandhar (North) constituency is banking on the developmental work carried out in the past and his winning of the seat for the past three times, his close competitor Kishan Dev Bhandari, the BJP nominee for the seat, is attempting to woo the electorate with his -drug de-addiction and traffic streamlining programme

A total of seven candidates including Avtar Henry (Congress) , Bachan Lal (BSP ), Kishan Dev Bhandari (BJP, Rashpal Komal (Democratic Bhartiya Samaj Party) and Dharminder Kumar, Badri Narayan Jha and Surjit Singh (independents), are contesting for this seat, which has a total electorate of 1,30,354 voters
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Jalandhar, Cong may just get one seat at the most. Henry will lose, Henry is known for spending lot of money one or two days before election on liquor. Induralist are behind Bhandari so money is not problem.

Cong MP is very proudly telling people that I have made enough money during this term, I don't care whether I win or lose. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I hope voters will help him to enjoy money he milked.


<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Amarinder predicts landslide victory for Congress </b>
Pioneer News Service | Ludhiana
... Addresses impressive rallies at Samrala, Payal and Amloh
As part of his whirlwind campaign, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh while addressing election rallies at Samrala, Payal and Amloh on Thursday threw an open challenge to SAD (B) president Parkash Singh Badal to do whatever he could to stop the Congress from forming the next Government.

Addressing largely attended rallies in favour of Congress candidates Amrik Singh Dhillon from Samrala, Tej Prakash Singh from Payal and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot from Amloh, the Chief Minister predicted that the Congress would create an unprecedented history this time by regaining power for the second consecutive term.

"The Congress has already achieved an unassailable lead over the SAD-BJP combine which is evident from the public endorsement to its Government's people-friendly and pro-development policies and programmes. This has led to a situation in which the opposition alliance finds itself bereft of political agenda. An unprecedented electoral drubbing is staring in the face of Badal led opportunistic political alliance," he predicted amid a thunderous applause.

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[Guest]

<b>Shiv Sena wins eight seats in TMC</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Shiv sena wins eight seats out of the the 16 seats declared so far today in the Thane Municipal Corporation elections held on Thursday.

<b>NCP won six seats, while BJP won two seats </b>and <b>Congress is yet to open an account</b>, according to official sources<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->
According to last week poll, Congress should have won all seats. What happened? What happened to reservation votes?
Now Raj Thackerey will come back. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> Start countdown.

[Guest]

BMC - Bombay
Party Win Lead
SS+BJP 60 31
CONG 39 14
NCP 10 06
OTH 12 05


PMC - Pune
Party Win Lead

SS+BJP 16 00
CONG 15 00
NCP 29 00
OTH 03 00

[Guest]

BMC: Shiv Sena leads
Shiv Sena has made a clean sweep in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance has won 110 seats while Congress has won 73. Trailing behind, NCP has won 14 seats, others 23 and MNS won 7.
BMC (227/227)
Party Seats Won.

BJP/Sena 110
Cong 73
NCP 14
MNS 7
Others 23

PMC: Cong-NCP set wins
Counting of votes for civic elections in Pune is complete and Cong-NCP is all set to come to power in PMC. The Congress-NCP combine has won 77 seats, Sena-BJP 45, MNS 8 and others 14.

Pune (144/144)
Party Seats Won.
BJP/Sena 45

<b>Nagpur: Sena-BJP victorious</b>
The results of Nagpur municipal elections have been declared. The Sena-BJP alliance has won 65 seats, Congress 32, NCP 8, MNS 2 and others 28.

Nagpur: (135/135)
Party Seats Won.
BJP 57
Sena 8
Congress 32
NCP 8
MNS 2
BSP 3
Ind 11
RJD 3
RPI 9
CPM 1

Muslim League 1

<b>Others: Sena-BJP combine wins</b>
The municipal corporation results for Nashik have been declared. The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance has won 40 seats, Congress 21, NCP 17 and MNS 12.

Nashik (90/90)
Party Seats Won.
BJP/Sena 40
Cong 21
NCP 17
MNS 12

In Thane, the results are similar to Nashik with the Sena-BJP combine winning 53 seats, Congress 16, NCP 25, MNS 3 and others 19.

Thane (116/116)
Party Seats Won.
BJP 5
Shivsena 8
Congress 16
NCP 25
MNS 3
Samajwadi 5
BSP 2
Shivraj Party 2

In Pimpri Chinchwad, the SS-BJP combine has won 13 seats, Congress 20, NCP 60 and other candidates have registered 12 wins.

According to the state election commission, Congress bagged the early advantage in Nashik with candidate Vandana Manchanda winning from ward number 66 in Nasik Road division.

Municipal corporation elections were held on Thursday in the following:
Mumbai (227 wards)
Thane (116 wards)
Ulhasnagar (76 wards)
Pune (144 wards)
Pimpri-Chinchwad (105 wards)
Nashik (108 wards)
Solapur (98 wards)
Akola (71 wards)
Amravati (81 wards)
Nagpur (136 wards)

[ramana]

Can anyone translate these Maharashtra MC elections to LS elections if held now?

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Resurgent saffron retains Mumbai </b>
Pioneer.com
TN Raghunatha | Mumbai
Setback for Congress in rest of Maharashtra

Silencing its critics, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance on Friday succeeded in retaining its control over its stronghold municipal corporations of Mumbai and the neighbouring Thane, while it was showing sure signs of capturing power in the civic bodies of Nagpur and Ulhasnagar from among the 10 civic bodies that went to polls on Thursday.

In an extremely significant political outcome, ageing Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and his much-criticised son-cum-party's executive president Uddhav Thackeray redeemed themselves by holding on to the civic bodies of Mumbai and Thane, the two cities from where the Sena has derived a major share of its strength ever since it was founded in 1966.   

The Sena's alliance partner, BJP (read its State party president Nitin Gadkari), had something to celebrate for being in a position to snatch power from the hands of the Congress-led ruling dispensation, the civic body of Nagpur, the headquarters of the saffron ideology parent body RSS.

As the Shiv Sena (in alliance with the BJP) inched towards obtaining a similar majority in the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is the richest civic body in the country with an annual budget of Rs 12,000 crore, the happiest men were Sr Thackeray and his son Uddhav, who together stood vindicated that the Sena was still a force to reckon with in Mumbai and Thane, even after the dramatic exit of its senior leader Narayan Rane and their very own family member Raj. Rane and Raj had rebelled against the style of functioning of Uddhav, much to displeasure of a loving father in the Sena chief.

In the polls that saw the civic bodies of Pune, Nashik, Akola and Amravati produce fractured mandates, the ruling Congress and its ruling coalition partner in the state, NCP, paid a heavy price for their failure to forge a pre-poll alliance for the civic polls - a factor that proved to be a blessing in disguise for the saffron alliance, especially in Mumbai and Thane.

In their dismal failure to cash in on their status of being in power in the State, the ruling Democratic Front (DF) partners had a consolation each in these polls. For, the NCP managed to capture power on its own strength in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (which it earlier ruled in coalition with the Congress), while the Sonia Gandhi-led party looked poised to retain power in the civic body of Solapur, which incidentally is the hometown of Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

On its part, the NCP had something to regale even its foolhardy decision not to go with the Congress in the civic polls: it vastly expanded its base at Pune at the cost of the Congress. In a battle of egos waged between Pune strongman Suresh Kalmadi and Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar, the latter had the laugh - with the NCP winning as many as 42 seats (previous poll tally-24) and Congress settling down to a figure of 35, as against 64 seats held by it earlier in the 146-member Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

Despite the fractured mandate, the NCP will in all likelihood call shots when it comes to forming the next ruling dispensation at the PMC. For both Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit who have been controlling the neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body for the last one-and-a-half decades, having Pune civic body - which incidentally in the Maratha strongman's home district - is strategically important from the long term point of view.

Agreed. The civic poll outcome, which saw the Sena-BJP alliance return to power in the BMC, may not have any bearing on the stability of the DF Government in Maharashtra, led by the Congress-NCP combine, but the fact remains that the two ruling parties have a lot to learn from these polls.

Significant among the lessons to be learnt by them is that they will not be able to serve Mumbaikars in an effective manner they could have, had they fought the elections together and come to power in BMC at a time, when the country's commercial capital is undergoing a make-over by making use of vast sums of money allocated by the UPA administration at the Centre. Secondly, the Congress and the NCP will at best ruin each other in the long-run in their effort to expand their respective party bases, a thing that will not augur well for the two parties that have a similar ideology. Together, the two parties and their leaders should realise that they should end their turf war somewhere along the line.

The civic poll outcome should dwarf - albeit politically - Rane, an erstwhile Shiv Sainik-turned-senior State Congress minister Narayan Rane, whom Sr Thackeray called "ded futiya" (a man as tall as one and half feet), who had gone to town about eroding the strength of the Sena after a string of victories in the State Assembly polls that former Sena men return to the lower House of the State Legislature on a Congress ticket.

Parties
Shiv Sena+BJP Congress+NCP Others (including Raj Thackeray's MNS)

Mumbai------------110-----------87--------30
Thane-------------58------------40--------12
Nashik------------40------------38--------30
Ulhasnagar--------27------------20--------28
Pune--------------45------------77--------22
Pimpri-Chinchwad--13------------80--------12
Solapur-----------22------------54--------NA
Nagpur------------65------------40--------40
Akola-------------18------------30--------23
Amravati----------26------------39--------16
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Heads set to roll in Maharashtra Congress </b>
Pioneer.com
Yogesh Vajpeyi | New Delhi
Rattled by the Congress debacle in Maharashtra, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has summoned Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Maharashtra Congress chief Prabha Rau and other senior Congress leaders to Delhi.

"The Congress president is upset at reports that infighting among faction leaders and the role played by some of them in sabotaging an alliance with NCP contributed to the defeat. She fears this could have implications beyond the borders of Maharashtra unless something drastic is done," a senior AICC functionary said.

Congress sources indicated that some heads might roll as the Congress president has taken serious note of reports about some senior party leaders actively working against party candidates.

While Chief Minister Deshmukh and Maharashtra PCC chief Rau are likely to face most of the heat, several other senior leaders might also get the stick, sources said.

Apart from Deshmukh and Rau, others asked to come to Delhi for a post-mortem of what went wrong in the recently held civic elections are Mumbai Congress unit chief Gurudas Kamat, Pune strongman Suresh Kalmadi and Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane.

"Sonia Gandhi had made it clear to Deshmukh and the State party leaders that regaining control over the prestigious BMC, held by the saffron combine since more than a decade, was of vital importance and they should galvanise the party to achieve the objective," said a senior Maharashtra Congress leader.

<b>The Congress president had even addressed a huge rally at Shivaji Park in the last week of December and assured complete support of the AICC to the state unit, he pointed out</b>.  <!--emo&:roll--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' /><!--endemo--> The Congress president has already held two rounds of discussions over what went wrong with her political secretary Ahmed Patel and AICC general secretary Margaret Alva, who is in-charge of the State.

A senior AICC functionary admitted that the results of civic elections in Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai, proved that it was a big time goof up by the party.

The Congress high command is particularly peeved at the way Union Minister Vilas Muthewar and State Minister Suresh Chaturvedi openly worked against each other in Nagpur.

"This is unacceptabe, they will have to pay for it," said an AICC general secretary.

He admitted that the Maharashtra results had dampened the euphoria generated in the leadership by recent surveys which claimed that the party could come to power on its own in the next Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking in Mumbai, <b>Revenue Minister Narayan Rane alleged that, "Internal grievances and lack of planning has resulted in the downfall of the Congress in the State even though it was constantly rising in the past 18 months."</b> <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Rane was also critical of the successful opposition to the Congress-NCP alliance by some influential Congress leaders.

<b>" The party actually donated BMC to Shiv Sena by offering the city on a platter. I think that the party made a huge political blunder and miscalculation by not tying up with the NCP,"</b> he added
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Time had come to remove Congress President, even after a huge rally, they lost BMC. Head should roll and it should start from top. Only problem with COngress, only die-nasty rules or dictator rules, no democracy.

[Guest]

<b>Sharabi Dal says cheers to polls</b> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->So in times of such creative campaigning, what can a leader from a ‘drunkards’ party’ say?

<b>“Nowadays nobody in their right minds can vote for candidates. Only if one is drunk can we vote for them,” </b>satirist Jaspal Bhatti says.  <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->

An absolutely acidic statement but what else can one expect from a Sharabi Dal?

But don't be fooled by such lines, the party is concerned about some very serious issues like the state of Punjab's water resources.

<b>“The liqour barons have made sure that there are drunkards in each house in Punjab and to drink you need to mix liquor with water. So can we give away even a drop of water?”</b> Bhatti asks. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->

So they were concerned and in true democratic tradition the party also believes in sharing responsibilities with the state's other drunkards or, shall we say, parties high on booze-bank politics.

<b>“During elections parties lure voters with alcohol and drugs. We will help such parties,” says Bhatti.</b> <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->

And there's more, <b>Bhatti has promised 50 per cent reservation for police in the distilleries as well as post-election tie-ups with like-minded political parties. </b>

My vote is for Sharabi Dal  <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Senior Congress leaders wary of testing troubled waters in UP </b>
Pioneer.com
Yogesh Vajpeyi | New Delhi
Senior Congress leaders in Uttar Pradesh are running for cover following Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi's suggestion that the party should field heavyweights, including former MPs and senior PCC functionaries in the State Assembly elections.

While some of them are trying to get out of the trap by pleading that it will be beneath their status, others have started looking for safe constituencies.

The Amethi MP, who is overseeing the party's come back strategy in Uttar Pradesh from the back-stage is reported to have made the suggestion at a recent meeting of State Congress leaders.

He asked all former MPs, zonal in-charges appointed by the party high command to galvanise the party in different regions of Uttar Pradesh to contest for the Assembly elections because they had a good profile and the chances of their victory were good.

Apart from State Congress Chief Salman Khurshid, other senior leaders likely to be affected by <b>Rahul Gandhi's proposal, include former MP Khan Gufran Zahidi, Congress Working Committee member Noor Bano, Rita Bahuguna, RPN Singh, Rajesh Pati Tripathi, Raj Bahadur, Nirmal Khantri and new Congress entrant from BJP Sanjay Singh.</b>

Many of these heavyweights are miffed with the suggestion, as it is fraught with risks. They fear that if they lose the Assembly elections, they may not get a ticket for the next Parliament polls thereby putting a question mark over their political career.

Some of them are now trying to wriggle out from the test by convincing senior party leaders that exposing seniors to the State's inhospitable political terrain was not advisable in the long-term interests of the party, sources said.

CWC member Noor Bano, who is in-charge of party affairs in Jharkhand, is reported to have met Ashok Gehlot, the AICC general secretary in-charge of UP, and told him that contesting Assembly elections was beyond her status.

While an AICC functionary tried to downplay the move as "a mere proposal", Pramod Tiwari, leader of the Congress legislature party in UP welcomed Rahul's suggestion.

"It will send the right massage to the people. If senior leaders contest Assembly polls, it will not only increase the chance of the party increasing its tally substantially but also energise the Congress workers at the grassroots level," he told the media at the AICC headquarters.

<b>Union Minister of State for Steel Akhilesh Das, who is one of Amethi MP's close confidants, is also in favour of the senior party leaders to be fielded in the crucial elections. "I am ready to contest for the Assembly is asked to do so," he told the media in Lucknow.</b>
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