Gujarat, HP, MP- Election 2007 - 3

[Guest]

Who is CK Patel of FIA? He was behind Modi visa issue along with Sonia led Fascist Congress Party of India.

[Guest]

Bodhiji

Dhanyavaad dhanyavaad.

Mudy

Just got off the phone with a friend who along with most of his neighbors has expressed his sympathies to an elderly gentleman whose son had setup a congressi booth in their colony. Elderly gentleman was assured that the entire colony was with the parents during such difficult times..

My friend is in urban gujarat. I dont know much about saurashtra. North Gujarat should be a sweep or so it is said.

Reg people's reaction to negative capaign against Modi, there isnt much. Or atleast people dont see it. I think journos love this 56-inch-chested man. Who knows ,if Modi can score big (120+) you might even hear some of them like Shekhar Gupta come out of the closet..

[Guest]

Thanks Rajesh,
We want to see Modi Sardar as India's PM.

Rediff
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>With polling of votes for the Gujarat assembly elections drawing to a close on Sunday, exit poll results indicate that Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party is set to regain power in the state.</b>

According to an exit poll conducted by Indian Express-CNN-IBN-Divya Bhaskar,  BJP, which won 127 seats in 2002, will win 92-100 seats and secure a clear majority in the 182-member assembly.

Meanwhile, the Congress is expected to improve its tally from 51 seats in 2002 to 77-85 seats this time, the poll said, adding that the Bahujan Samaj Party and other rebels could split the votes of the main parties.

A similar projection was put forth by the NDTV-GfK Mode exit poll.

The poll predicted that BJP will manage to hold on to power and notch up around 90-110 seats.

It added that the Congress is expected to win about 70-95 seats, a clear gain of over 19 seats from the 51 it won in the 2002 assembly polls.

<b>The common aspect that came across various exit polls was fall in vote-share of the saffron party. </b>

<b>The NDTV poll suggested that there was a four per cent swing of Patel votes away from the BJP in the phase two, as compared to eight per cent in phase one. The party also lost an estimated 13 per cent of tribal votes in this election.</b>

The Star News-Nielsen exit poll saw BJP getting 103, losing about 24 seats of which a loss of 18 is in Sunday's phase in Central and Northern Gujarat. In the 2002 elections, in these regions, the party had swept winning 73 of the 95 seats at stake.

The Congress may get 76 seats, a gain of 25 seats, it said.

Zee News [Get Quote] and C-Voter projected <b>BJP getting 93 to 104 seats </b>followed by Congress at 75 to 87 seats. It gave saffron party a total vote share of about 48 per cent and Congress 45 per cent while the Star News exit poll projected that <b>BJP will get 46.5 per cent votes while the Congress will secure 43.5 per cent</b>.

<b>In Sunday's phase, the Star News exit poll projected BJP getting 55 seats and Congress 39. The BJP and Congress had got 73 and 21 respectively in 2002.</b>
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[Guest]

Is there any effect from Mayawati? She had put up candidates in lot of constituencies. The only effect I see if at all would be taking a percent of Congress votes.

[Guest]

some poll coments
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BJP (MODI) 150
CONGRESS 30

If any one wants to challange this. Only one advise dont even think of it. that 30 seats also because of 75 lacks minoritis(miya) in gujarat. otherwise it will be 100% majority.
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[Guest]

IBN/STar sample size is very small, and they are calling it large sample.
difficult to say anything with this small sample.
(The poll had a sufficiently large sample of 3,893 respondents )
(CSDS interviewed 8,933)

[Guest]

NDTV Exit Poll Highlights

(Sample Size: 8515, Fieldwork done by GfK-MODE)

The BJP is losing ground in Saurashtra. It is likely to drop 13 seats from 2002.


A close fight in South Gujarat where the seats of both the BJP and the Congress remain unchanged.


It's a neck-and-neck fight in Phase I for the BJP and the Congress.

Gujarat Polls- Phase 1: (86 seats)

BJP-40 (Year 2007),53 (Year 2002)
Congress-43 (Year 2007), 30 (Year 2002)
Others-3 (Year 2007), 3 (Year 2002)

Exit Poll Projection - Saurashtra (58 seats)

BJP-26 (Year 2007), 39 (Year 2002)
Congress-31 (Year 2007), 18 (Year 2002)
Others-1 (Year 2007), 1 (Year 2002)

Exit Poll Projection- South Gujarat (28 seats)

BJP-14 (Year 2007), 14 (Year 2002)
Congress-12 (Year 2007), 12 (Year 2002)
Others-2 (Year 2007), 2 (Year 2002)

[Guest]

What media is saying? Just keep it here and will verify it on 23 Dec.

CNN-IBN ---
Modi victory may not get BJP cheering
All exit polls say Modi to hold fort in Gujarat

HT-
Exit polls predict 'touch and go' for Narendra Modi

IE
Exit Poll : Modi all set for a third win
<i>If the science of opinion polling is anything to go by, Guj CM
Narendra Modi is to return to power in the state.</i>

Zee
Modi poised to retain power: Exit polls

Pioneer
Bitter battle for Gujarat ends
<i>64% turnout; exit polls predict clear win for Modi</i>

Telegraph
Exit polls give Modi edge

[Guest]

link
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<span style='color:red'>2002 में भारी जीत के बाद मोदी ने दिल्ली में जो प्रेस कांफ्रेंस की थी उसका बड़ी संख्या में पत्रकारों ने बहिष्कार किया था-इसलिए कि परिणाम उन्हें पसंद नहीं आए थे। छह साल बाद तस्वीर दूसरी है। गुजरात का दिल-दिमाग जीतने तथा बाहरी दुनिया के सामने गुजरात को पेश करने, दोनों मामले में मीडिया ने प्रमुख भूमिका अदा की है। छह ंवर्षो ने पत्रकारों और 'एक्टिविस्टों' के भेद को मिटा दिया है। कुछ लोगों ने मीडिया को इसलिए सलाम किया कि उसने गुजरात में लोकतंत्र के 'काले पक्ष' को उजागर किया तो अनेक लोगों ने मीडिया को लताड़ा भी है कि मोदी सरकार के कामकाज की कवरेज बुरी तरह पक्षपातपूर्ण रही है। दंगा पीड़ितों के दर्द को रेखांकित करने में मीडिया ने यह देखना ही नहीं चाहा कि गुजरात में शासन की संस्कृति में कैसी क्रांति आई है।

गुजरात में मौजूदा चुनाव दो समानांतर लाइनों पर लड़ा गया। मोदी के विरोधियों , भाजपा के बागियों और मीडिया ने लोगों को असंतोष के स्थानीय मुद्दों के आधार पर मतदान करने के लिए प्रेरित किया। इसके खिलाफ मोदी ने विधानसभा चुनावों को खुद पर तथा अपनी शैली, विचारधारा और मुख्यमंत्री के रूप में अपने कामकाज पर जनमत संग्रह बनाने की चेष्टा की। यदि पहली लाइन चली तो भाजपा घाटे में रहेगी और परिणाम एक से दूसरे विधानसभा क्षेत्र में बदलेंगे। दूसरी ओर यदि मोदी पूरी तरह चुनाव का प्रसंग बनने में सफल रहे तो गुजरात मोदी को अगले पांच सालों के लिए फिर से निर्णायक जनादेश प्रदान कर देगा। पूरे गुजरात में मोदी की जीवन से बड़ी उपस्थिति है। वह तीखी ध्रुवीकृत प्रतिक्रिया को जन्म देते है। जो उनकी प्रशंसा करते हैं वे इस हद तक उन्हें चाहते हैं कि पॉप सितारों और धार्मिक गुरुओं के प्रति नजर आने वाली दीवानगी से उसकी तुलना की जाती है और जो उनसे घृणा करते हैं उनमें मोदी के प्रति प्रेम की इंच मात्र भी गुंजाइश नहीं। मोदी के मामले में लोगों की राय में तटस्थता या उदासीनता की कोई जगह नहीं है। मोदी की अपील को सिर्फ उनके हिंदू चेहरे के प्रति समर्पित करना अनुचित होगा। वैसे हिंदू सम्मान के प्रति उनका आग्रह उनके राजनीतिक व्यक्तित्व का महत्वपूर्ण पहलू है। जब वह कांग्रेस महासचिव दिग्विजय सिंह के 'हिंदू आतंकवाद' के आरोप का जवाब देते हैं तो वह उन हिंदुओं के हृदय को स्पर्श करने में सफल रहते हैं जो यह सोचते हैं कि सेकुलर नेताओं ने देश के सबसे बड़े वर्ग की कीमत ही नहीं समझी।

मोदी की यह अपील पूरे देश को प्रभावित करने की उनकी क्षमता का एक पहलू है। आज, मोदी भारत के अग्रणी राजनीतिक हिंदू हैं। वह बाल ठाकरे या लालकृष्ण आडवाणी को पूरी तरह पीछे धकेल चुके हैं। यदि मोदी 2002 की अपनी जीत को दोहरा देते हैं तो यह तय है कि जनमत सर्वेक्षणों में उन लोगों की संख्या बहुत बढ़ जाएगी जो उन्हें भारत के प्रधानमंत्री की कुर्सी पर देखना चाहते हैं। मोदी में उनके हिंदू चेहरे के अलावा और भी बहुत कुछ है। मोदी ने तो हिंदू पहचान में क्षेत्रीय गुजराती सम्मान को इतनी कुशलता से मिला दिया है कि उनके विरोधियों के लिए इस संयोजन का मुकाबला तलाशना असंभव हो गया है। क्षेत्रीय गौरव की जो भावना मोदी ने प्रस्तुत की है वह भारतीय राष्ट्रवाद में बड़ी आसानी से घुल-मिल जाती है। मोदी की राजनीतिक अपील को और अधिक शक्तिशाली बनाता है उनका व्यक्तित्व। 2002 में मोदी हिंदू नाराजगी की लहर पर सवार थे। उन्होंने ऐसा वातावरण तैयार किया जो उनके व्यक्तित्व से बड़ा था। पांच वर्ष बाद यह मोदी का व्यक्तित्व है जिसने अधिक व्यापक राजनीतिक आवेग को अपने अंदर दबा लिया है। </span>
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[Guest]

<b>राजनीतिक दलों का दुष्चक्र</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->इसमें दो राय नहींकि पिछले पांच सालों में गुजरात ने उल्लेखनीय विकास किया है। नरेन्द्र मोदी के विरोधी भी यह मानते है कि गुजरात ने अन्य राज्यों के मुकाबले बेहतर विकास कर दिखाया है। शायद <span style='color:red'>इसी कारण नरेन्द्र मोदी ने इस बार विकास को ही चुनावी मुद्दे के रूप में उभार कर अपना प्रचार अभियान शुरू किया था, लेकिन सोनिया गांधी ने एक जनसभा में उन्हे झूठा और बेईमान तो बताया ही, मौत का सौदागर भी करार दिया। इस तरह कांग्रेस ने नरेन्द्र मोदी को बैठे-बिठाए वह अस्त्र दे दिया जिसका इस्तेमाल करने में उन्हे कहीं अधिक आसानी हुई और उन्होंने कांग्रेस को उसकी ही भाषा में जवाब दिया।

<b>कांग्रेस ने गुजरात चुनाव प्रचार के दौरान यह भी आरोप लगाया कि नरेन्द्र मोदी ने अपना कद भाजपा से बड़ा कर लिया है और वह पार्टी के दिग्गज नेताओं की उपेक्षा कर रहे है। आश्चर्यजनक है कि ऐसे आरोप उस कांग्रेस ने लगाए जो गांधी परिवार के किसी व्यक्ति को आगे रखकर ही राजनीति करने में समर्थ है।</b> यदि भाजपा ने यह निश्चित किया कि वह नरेन्द्र मोदी की छवि को गुजरात में भुनाएगी और पूरी तौर पर उनके ही नेतृत्व में चुनाव लड़ेगी तो यह कोई राजनीतिक अपराध कैसे हो गया? सच तो यह है कि ऐसा ही होना चाहिए। विधानसभा चुनाव मौजूदा मुख्यमंत्री और विरोधी दलों की ओर से पेश मुख्यमंत्री पद के दावेदारों के बीच ही लड़े जाने चाहिए। इसके अतिरिक्त यह भी आवश्यक है कि चुनावी मुद्दों के केंद्र में विकास के मामले ही रहे। इससे जनता को निर्णय लेने में सुविधा होती है। दरअसल यह हर दृष्टि से बेहतर है कि विधानसभा चुनाव में वही आमने-सामने हों जिन्हे राज्य की सत्ता संभालनी हो। क्या कारण है कि कांग्रेस आखिरी समय तक भी गुजरात में मुख्यमंत्री के अपने दावेदार को आगे नहीं ला सकी? </span><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Cornered by all, but Modi is confident</b>
link
By Rajeev Khanna, Ahmedabad, Dec 20 : As Gujarat awaits election results Sunday, Chief Minister Narendra Modi seems supremely confident of retaining power with a thumping majority.

With counting of votes set for Sunday, Modi has been presenting himself in a manner that conveys that he is sure of continuing for another five years in office.

Even during the build up to the elections, Modi spearheaded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign. The election was fought by the BJP around the personality of Modi and his functioning over the last five years.

Modi addressed as many as 12 public meetings extempore in various corners of the state on a given single day. He presented a picture of confidence wherever he went.

The same confidence has been visible ever since the final phase of polling ended Dec 16.

Confident that he cannot be defeated, Modi did not campaign personally in his own constituency of Maninagar where he was pitted against Congress heavyweight Dinsha Patel, a minister in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.

It was towards the end of the campaign that Modi addressed his electorate in his trademark fiery manner.

And it was on the polling day that Modi, after casting his vote, took to the roads in his constituency, cheered by his supporters.

Once the polling was through, Modi got back to work as if the elections were just a formality. The BJP leadership in the state held a three-hour meeting at his residence Tuesday to evaluate the voting percentage, pattern and fallout.

After the meet, the Hindutva poster boy, as he is known, went on to attend the National Development Council (NDC) meet in New Delhi chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

As a matter of routine, he again made headlines for his charge that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had unveiled a 'minority bias' in the 11th Five Year Plan.

<b>Modi's attending the meet was opposed by the Congress, which argued that he does not have the mandate to represent Gujarat as election results were awaited</b>.

<b>Even as exit polls give Modi and his party an advantage, BJP workers still feel that the number of seats coming their way will be far greater than what is being projected by the exit polls. </b>

"There was a strong undercurrent in favour of Narendrabhai and his work across the state. In rural areas also people are happy with the progress that has been made under his leadership and have hence voted for him in large numbers," says Shashiranjan Yadav, a key functionary in the BJP IT cell.

The Congress of course thinks differently. It feels that the BJP is sure to get a shock of its life. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->  BJP notice to Keshubhai, Rana; 2 MPs suspended 
zeenews.
Perhaps encouraged by the exit poll results, the BJP on Friday took action against party rebels and suspended its two MPs, Somabhai Patel and Dr Vallabh Kathiriya. It also issued notices to veteran leaders Keshubhai Patel and Kashiram Rana for anti-party activities. 

The party leaders, who are upbeat over the exit poll results, huddled together to take steps to crush dissidence in Gujarat.

BJP sources said that the state unit under the Narendra Modi was unanimous in strongly recommending to the party chief the suspension of these four leaders.

The party has sent notices to Keshubhai Patel and Kashiram Rana and has asked them to reply within seven

<b>I`ll work for Cong in Gujarat: Soma Patel</b>
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>When bias is passé </b>
Pioneer.com
Jaya Jaitly
Issues before the common man were ignored by the national 'liberal' media in Gujarat in shameless pursuit of an agenda that divided the State far more than what a fundamentalist group could achieve

Five years ago, during the last Assembly election, I was in a small town in Gujarat and visited an old socialist, the editor of the local newspaper. The Election Commission of India had tightened spending by candidates. I learned from the saddened editor that to circumvent the old method of paying for published schedules of public meetings of leaders of parties, money was now being accepted 'under the table' so that the expenditure did not have to be disclosed as election expenses.

Money was given to newspaper owners, who, in turn, had meetings 'covered' by their reporter and published as news. <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>It is a well-known fact that some regional newspapers in Gujarat enter into deals with major Opposition parties during election, charging Rs 2 crore for not writing against it, and an additional matching amount for writing about it in positive terms.</span> A Chief Minister lost his throne for not going through with one such agreement. During the current <b>Assembly election in Gujarat, local cameramen of some television channels were offering 10-second slots for Rs 30,000. </b>

Apart from localised incidents in Gujarat, there is a marked disconnect between what the observer of the political scene saw first-hand in the recent Assembly election and the matter that readers were offered in national newspapers.

An 'atmosphere of fear' was a phrase bandied about by secular badge-wearers well before the election. <b>The Election Commission rightly responded by offering to put up booths exclusively for Muslims to vote in areas where they were supposed to be terrorised. The Muslim population at large was courageous enough to reject the offer and declared that they would stand in line along with everyone else</b>. However, the media told exactly the opposite story. When Congress president Sonia Gandhi screamed "fear and death stalk the State", the media obliged with large headlines.

<b>A full report appeared about secret voting by Muslims because of "underlying fear", yet while campaigning for a Muslim candidate in Jamnagar on behalf of the Samata Party, I asked a 2,000-strong audience of largely Muslims that had gathered spontaneously whether there was an atmosphere of fear around them. They laughed out loud and unitedly responded "nahin" ("no").</b> I was led to this meeting place in a musical procession with women supporters (both Hindu and Muslim) dancing on the streets as if at a wedding. Fear? Purdah? Hostility? Communalism? Hatred of Mr Narendra Modi or Muslims? I saw nothing of these. However, none of the media present wanted any of it.

The entire drama about the "merchant of death" was not a subject of discourse at hundreds of meetings everywhere. It was Ms Sonia Gandhi's grandstanding for headlines outside Gujarat and to frighten the majority of Muslims who have been leading normal lives and had localised views and allegiances just like everyone else. Neither Mr Modi nor Ms Gandhi loomed on the horizon. The petition by Mr Javed Akhtar before the Supreme Court or Ms Teesta Setalvad's complaints to the Election Commission were complete waste of time for the real voters and only entertained an elite readership.

<b>The election in Gujarat was fought on a completely different plane from what was conjured up for the readership outside Gujarat by the media who had become a dice-thrower at the chequer board of the election, betraying their own professional tenets, not to mention their readers</b>. Whoever wins or loses there, communalism will not have been the issue.

Embedded journalism has come to stay since scores of media are flown in helicopters to selected election meetings or to accompany the feudal-style outings of the crown prince, ludicrously termed "road shows". Full-paged advertisements are placed in most newspapers throughout the year by a host of Congress-ruled States, prominently propagating dynastic images and the UPA chairperson who has no constitutional authority to justify such expense from the public exchequer.

Soon this becomes the norm for every party, and the media is effectively co-opted while editorialising about the freedom of the Press. Honourable exceptions only show the others more starkly. Readers struggle to find some meaningful news between pages of semi-clad starlets, six-pack hunks, and front pages taken up with the current cricket match or BCCI battle, the Bachchan family's latest trip to a temple, or Shilpa Shetty's take on world harmony. Many media watchers, including from within the media, have already admitted to the steady encroachment of froth into what should be a serious and noble domain. But they do not allude to the real causes. Some of it may be understandable in the era of the market and eyeball grabbing commercialism. But it becomes another matter when it enters the political spaces.

A recent Delhi High Court judgement made headlines for attempting to define the parameters of investigative journalism, specifically sting operations. The sad fact is that the state of journalism today is far worse than demonstrated by the black brushes of stings alone. The Editor's Guild and the National Broadcaster's Association have expressed dismay over the judgement.

Self-regulation seems to be taking a long time coming and it is not clear whether the entire Press would agree to commit itself to the commonly laid-down guidelines or whether each would want to push its own envelope to the edges to explore grey areas, as was famously declared by the Kings of Stings at the Commission of Inquiry set up to explore, among other things, the methodology of the sting operation itself after the so-called defence expose of 2001. With injured innocence they squealed that investigating their methodology for accuracy and ethics was like shooting the messenger. No one has yet convinced the public that the all such messengers have indeed done anything other than create sensational entertainment.

We engage with our newspaper like a trusted friend that is expected to be faithful in its reporting, meticulous in its quest for truth and accuracy, and be of unswerving integrity so that its credibility is not compromised. If the Press Council and the Editor's Guild did a thorough self-appraisal (maybe even some internal sting operations), they would be surprised at how corrupted and biased the system has become.
-- The writer is a columnist and former President of Samata Party
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>EC pulls up Modi and Sonia Gandhi </b>
New Delhi, Dec 22: The Election Commission on Saturday pulled up Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Sonia Gandhi for violating the model code of conduct by their speeches during the election campaign and expressed displeasure over that. The Commission made these observations in its communication to Modi and Gandhi on their response to its notice on their controversial remarks over the fake encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and "merchants of death" respectively.

Closing the case, the Commission made no reference to the impugned remarks but was giving its order on the <b>complaints made by activist Teesta Setalvad against Modi and Gujarat BJP leader Jayanti Lal S Barot against Gandhi. </b>

"The Commission, after careful consideration of all aspects, has come to the conclusion that in the instant case, the model code of conduct has been violated.

"The Commission, therefore, has conveyed its displeasure and advised you to be more cautious in future so that the salutary provisions of model code of conduct are adhered to and duly observed in letter and spirit", the three-member Commission said today after considering their replies to its notice," it said in its communication to Modi.
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Sonia was involved so no serious action against Modis comment.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJP expresses surprise over EC verdict  </b>

New Delhi, Dec 22: Faced with the ruling against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, BJP today expressed surprise over the Election Commission's "differentiating" verdict against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on her "merchant of death" remark.

<b>"It is really surprising that while giving the ruling, the EC has cautioned both Modi and (Congress General Secretary) Digvijay Singh but just expressed displeasure in the case of Sonia Gandhi," </b>BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.

<b>Maintaining that the poll body had "not given the same kind of caution" to Gandhi</b>, he said after a preliminary reading of the ruling,<b> "we do not see any qualitative difference in the objections raised by the EC in the speeches of all the three. This is surprising". </b>

The Election Commission had expressed displeasure over the controversial election speeches of Modi and Gandhi
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What else one can expect from Congress stooge Naveen Chawala ?

[Guest]

Any bets - no. of seats Modi will get?

[Guest]

Check the headline
<b>Satta bazaar trashes Modi, swings in favour of Cong</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->In what is seen as a dip in confidence on the BJP in the satta market, the bookies now say there is a positive vote swing towards the Congress. It is, however, not clear if this vote swing will be enough for the Congress to come to power.

.....

Earlier, CNN-IBN had reported that the satta rates were in favour of the BJP in Gujarat, but since Friday evening winds are blowing in favour of the Congress, which has now emerged as the bookies' favourite.

Ten days back, no one was even betting for 90 seats for the Congress while today the rate is Rs 6.50 for 90 seats. Rates for the BJP have marginally decreased as of Friday.

Earlier for 90 seats in favour of the BJP, it was 25 paise; while today it is 15 paise. These rates indicate that there is a fair chance that the state may get a hung Assembly though people are still betting on BJP winning by a narrow margin.
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Gujarat election: First results by Sunday 10 AM </b>
Pioneer.com
PTI | Ahmedabad
Posted online: December 22, 2007
Gujarat is waiting with bated breath with counting of votes in the fiercely contested Assembly elections to be taken up on Sunday and the first result is expected to be out by 10 AM.

As political parties kept their fingers crossed for the outcome, which may alter the political landscape in the country, rival parties -- Congress and BJP -- were confident of victories and Chief Minister Narendra Modi waited to see whether he would be second time lucky at the hustings.

Exit polls by TV channels projected that Modi will return to power but with a reduced majority. A hung assembly was also not being ruled out. In the outgoing 182-member House, BJP and Congress had 127 seats and 51 respectively.

The Election Commission has set up 37 counting stations throughout the state to tally votes polled in electronic voting machines in the two-phased elections.

The counting will commence at 8 AM with Congress and BJP locked in a virtual straight fight.

"About, 8,000 staff will be involved in the process but they will come to know on which counting table they are stationed on the morning of the counting day," state EC official AH Manek said.

"Every table will have a central Government officer as an observer. After completion of each round of counting the observers will randomly select two EVMs and recheck the votes polled for party on those EVMs," Manek said.

The EC has developed a special software this time by which the data will be fed from the counting centres to the official website of the EC for public viewing, the EC official informed.
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BJP suspends 6 more </b>
Pioneer.com
RK Misra | Gandhinagar
Gujarat rebels begin work on regional party
With the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha election result just round the corner, the BJP leadership continued its disciplining spree for the second day on Saturday suspending six more senior leaders. The rebels retaliated by beginning work on the blueprint of a regional party in the State.

<b>"We are grateful to Chief Minister Narendra Modi for hastening the process of dismembering the BJP in the State and heightening regionalism to create an atmosphere conducive for the growth of a regional party in the State,"</b> said a senior rebel leader.

The suspended members include <b>three former Members of Parliament, Dr AK Patel, Lalit Mehta and Chandresh Patel, former party vice president Jeevraj Dharukavala, former Surat mayor Fakir Chauhan and former Gujarat Minister Arvind Patel. </b>On Friday, the party had suspended two MPs, Vallabh Kathiria and Somabhai Patel and issued showcause notice to former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and former Union Textile Minister Kashiram Rana on Friday.

Meanwhile, veteran Keshubhai Patel said he had not received any showcause notice so far. He termed it an undignified way of going about the entire issue. "I'm pained to get this treatment from the party but I will definitely reply to it when I receive it," he added.

Patel told mediapersons that it would have been better if he had been asked to explain his views in person. "If I would have been called there and asked what I had to say about it, it would have been better," he added.
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[Guest]

At this stage Satta is favoring Congress.
Another 2 hrs we will know trend.