2009 -- India Election -

04-16-2009, 07:28 AM

INDIAN ELECTION SCENE 2009
KN RAO & SHANKAR HEGDE
14 April 2009, 12:19 PM QUOTEOur prediction in these circumstances is that UPA will form the government with the support of some regional parties or The third front will form the government with the support of the Congress party.

We predict that the chances of UPA forming the government are stronger.

( Written on 14 April 2009)

04-16-2009, 03:56 PM

Ex BJP worker throws slipper at Advani

Just as I predicted a few days back, someone has thrown a slipper at Advani. In news reports from other news agencies a party worker commented that they were not sure that this guy ever worked for the BJP.

All equal - equal onlee
==========

Can any esteemed forum members let us know how polling is going in India? What were the experience like? How was the security? Were all ages represented? etc.

Thanks.

04-16-2009, 08:20 PM

Slipper is no surprise, This was expected from Congress copy cats. Congress goons are very predictable.

04-16-2009, 08:21 PM

Varun Gandhi released from Etah jailQUOTEDressed in a maroon kurta, a sober and restrained Varun briskly walked out of the Etah prison at 6.25pm and got into a waiting black sports utility vehicle where his mother and

BJP MP Maneka Gandhi anxiously waited for him. He did not speak to waiting newsmen but greeted his supporters with folded hands and also waved at them.

Hundreds of supporters, who had assembled outside the jail since afternoon after Varun's release became imminent, raised slogans in his support.
 <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' />

04-16-2009, 08:46 PM

QUOTEDismayed Brahmins may leave Maya for Ram
pioneer.com
Kumar Uttam | Gorakhpur
While Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati continues to bank on the magical combination of Dalits and Brahmins â the social engineering formula that fetched her the Lucknow throne in the 2007 Assembly election; there seems to be clear disenchantment among Brahmins who voted the Dalit queen to power with a thumping majority.

Struggling to shelve the image of being just a Dalit leader, Mayawati deviated from the normal practice and did not announce the caste break-up of her candidates in the recently-declared BSP list for the Lok Sabha election.

Of the 29 nominees picked from among the Hindu upper castes, she picked up 20 Brahmins, four Thakurs, three Banias and two others. Two prominent Brahmin candidates â Bhishm Shankar Tiwari and Vinay Shankar Tiwari from Sant Kabir Nagar and Gorakhpur respectively â are sons of don-turned-Minister Hari Shankar Tiwari.

While other backward classes (OBCs) got a handsome chunk of 20 seats, the number of Dalits did not exceed the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies reserved for the community. The BSP has never been able to poll more than 25 per cent votes, which is close to the strength of the Dalit population in the State â 22 per cent. The BSP strategists say that this compelled Maya to think of a larger combination that could add weight to her prime ministerial ambitions.

The preference for Brahmins in the BSP list this time indicates that Mayawati continues to bank on âsocial engineeringâ of bringing together upper and lower castes that gave her power in Uttar Pradesh in 2007. âThe Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are different. We voted for Mayawati to keep Mulayam out. This time, we will vote to elect a Prime Minister,â said Dr S Pathak, an employee at Banaras Hindu University.

Political observes say that Mayawati may attract the votes of Brahmins on seats where it has fielded candidates of the same caste, but outside the preference of the community will be the BJP or the Congress. âBrahmins will vote for a strong caste candidate, irrespective of the political party,â said Dr K C Pandey, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Mahasabha.

Brahmins, who had been traditionally the Congressâs vote bank in Uttar Pradesh, switched over to the BJP post-Mandal reaction in the nineties. While Atal Behari Vajpayeeâs name initially attracted Brahmins to the BJP, the partyâs continuous efforts for OBC and other non-Brahmin leaders like Kalyan Singh took a heavy toll on the saffron party.

A totally disenchanted Brahmin community then lapped up Mayawatiâs magical formula as she went on to field many candidates of their caste and subsequently promoted them in the State bureaucracy after retuning to power. Now Brahmins are seated on key posts, right from the Secretariat in Lucknow to Government offices in the block.

But political observes say that due to lack of an ideological commitment with the BSP, Brahmins canât hold on to Mayawati for long, more so because she put up a desperate face to wean away Muslims from the Samajwadi camp. Moreover, there is a clear hesitation among Brahmins about a Dalit PM. 

The Congress and the BJP are already out to get the Brahmins back into their fold. Both the national parties have fielded some prominent and popular Brahmins across the States. âBrahmins are returning to the BJP in droves. We are hopeful of better results this time,â claimed BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, BJP in-charge for Uttar Pradesh. 

The UP Chief Minister may face the ire of Brahmin voters in Vindhyachal for having denied tickets to Brahmin candidates â Suraymani Tiwary (Bhadohi) and Ramesh Dubey (Mirzapur) â after nominating them. 

Mayaâs image also received a drubbing after her decision to cancel the recruitment of lakhs of sub-inspectors. It was only after the intervention of Allahabad bench of the Lucknow High Court that those who got jobs were reinstated. Moreover, the upper caste is apprehensive about the CMâs intentions to bring about a more stringent reservation regime.

To add to her woes, Maya seems to have repeated the mistake that Mulayam Singh committed â depending too much on candidates with criminal records. âShe is no different from Mulayam. We have to vote for a national party,â said Sahab Sharan, an employee at Mahatma Gandhi Intermediate College at Sikandarpur under Salempur Lok Sabha segment.

The UP Chief Minister seems to be compensating the loss of Brahmin votes (in regions where she does not have a Brahmin candidate) with Muslim votes. Moreover, Dalits are standing rock solid behind her, hoping for a day when a blue flag would be hoisted over Lal Quila in New Delhi.

04-16-2009, 08:50 PM

QUOTEAdvantage BJP in Puri
pioneer.com
Navin Upadhyay | Puri
BJD-expelled Tripathi of BJP has upper hand over Naveenâs Cong-deserter Mishra
In the temple town of Puri, the election discourse is often punctuated by talk of crime and punishment, with Lord Jagannath being invoked to judge over battle of dharma and adharma.

Three-time MP Braja Kishore Tripathy, who was shown the door by the BJD despite being one of its founder members, is seeking justice from voters as a BJP nominee, determined to punish Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his âcrimeâ of betrayal. He is pitted against BJDâs Pinaki Mishra, a Congress-deserter, who is unlikely to be accepted by his new party workers and forgiven by the old supporters.

Tripathyâs image of being the man next door, accessible in need and vocal in raising Orissa-related issues in the Lok Sabha, are big assets in this battle of personalities. Congress nominee Debendra Mansingh is a pushover and is not being taken seriously.

But Pinaki Mishra is no less known in the Orissa political circles than Tripathy. A senior Supreme Court lawyer, who lost the last two Lok Sabha polls on the Congress ticket, Mishra is one of the leading personalities of the State. But that is where the comparison stops.

Unlike Tripathy, who is seen as a man of the masses, Mishra is seen as a man of Delhi. âWe will never forget how he ditched the people when he was elected as MP from here,â recall Devendra Kumar Naik, a farmer at Baikuntha Vihar, on Bhubaneswar-Puri highway.

âMark my word, Trapathy is going to win,â says Ravi Naik, a local contract teacher. âTripathy made it a point to visit us on marriage and festive occasions. But Pinaki Mishra is more heard than seen,â he added.

04-17-2009, 02:49 AM

QUOTE Vote for NDAâs win: Shekhawat 
Former Vice-President of India Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday called upon people to vote for installing LK Advani-led NDA Government at the Centre. He was addressing a public meeting in support of INLD secretary general Ajay Chautala.

Wow he is back to den.

Capt M Kumar · 04-17-2009, 04:26 AM

<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbup.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbup.gif' /> Varun â a picture of defiance
Amit Mukherjee, Soni Sangwan & Vishakha Talreja
April 16, 2009
India Today expert view on
Varun â a picture of defiance
A rebellious streak in the eyes, an aggressive gait and that hint of a smile on the face. All in all a visage that had defiance written all over it. That was Varun Gandhi as he walked out of Etah jail on Thursday evening.

As he came out of the jailâs iron gates, Varun raised his hand to acknowledge the cheers of his supporters, and then gave a clenched fist salute. He did fold hands a few times, but there was no sign of humility â the head never went down by even an inch, the hands didnât touch the chest.

When the district magistrate tried to check Varun from going too near the crowd, the 28-year-old leader placed an arm around his shoulder.

Varun could have easily walked out of jail and gone straight to the passenger seat of his vehicle. But he chose to walk around it, took his time, clenched fists, giving his victory salute as the crowd cheered.

Clearly, Varun did not want to let the opportunity pass. After 16 days out of the media glare, he milked every minute he got in front of the television cameras outside Etah jail.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/index.php?opt...id=104&Itemid=1

04-17-2009, 08:43 PM

India Elections 2009 Phase 1 - Analysis

04-17-2009, 08:47 PM

Varun will campaign for party: Rajnath SinghQUOTENew Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Thursday night welcomed the release on parole of the party's Pilibhit candidate Varun Gandhi and said the young leader would 'certainly' campaign for the party.

Varun Gandhi, who was released from Etah Jail in Uttar Pradesh in the evening, reached the national capital after 10 p.m. A large crowd of party supporters were present to welcome him.

Varun Gandhi had taken a chartered flight from Agra to the capital. He did not speak to the media.

04-17-2009, 09:01 PM

Varun tortured in jail: BJPQUOTEAlleging he was a victim of "vendetta politics", the BJP on Friday claimed that Varun Gandhi was tortured in jail, but he has emerged as a "strong man".

"Varun Gandhi is a victim of the vendetta politics of Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh. He has come out (from jail) as a strong man. He will file his nomination papers from Pilibhit on April 21," party spokesperson Balbir Punj told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday.

Punj, who briefed the media after holding discussions with Varun at his residence said, "Varun Gandhi has assured that he will continue to work for the party with the same energy and zeal despite all this".

The young leader will also campaign in other parts of the country for the party apart from his own constituency, he said.

04-18-2009, 11:06 AM

QUOTEVarun thankful for party support during detention under NSA
pioneer.com
PTI | New Delhi
BJP candidate Varun Gandhi on Saturday expressed his gratitude to the party leader L K Advani for having stood by him during his incarceration after being booked under NSA for his alleged hate speeches.

29-year-old Varun, who was released on two-week parole from Etah jail in UP on Thursday, met Advani at his residence in New Delhi.

During the nearly hour-long meeting, Varun is understood to have expressed his gratitude to the party for having stood by him "staunchly in his hour of crisis," party sources said.

During the meeting, Advani also inquired about Gandhi's campaign plans.

The BJP leader also enquired in detail about Varun's experience in Etah jail.

Varun's meeting comes ahead of his filing nomination for Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat on April 21, for which the last date of filing nomination is April 24 and polling will take place on May 13.

Varun's mother Maneka Gandhi is expected to file her nomination from Aonla seat in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.

Varun was released from Etah jail on parole for two weeks following a Supreme Court directive, 20 days after he was detained under the NSA for making hate speeches at a election meetings in Pilibhit.

Varun also assured Advani that he will be more careful with his campaign speeches.

04-18-2009, 11:11 AM

QUOTECMs in Gzb while Rajnath files papers
pioneer.com
SP Singh | Ghaziabad
BJP national president Rajnath Singh filed his nomination papers from Ghaziabad on Friday afternoon amid heavy security. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri and Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal also descended to Ghaziabad to support Singhâs nomination from the significant satellite town. BJP general secretary

Ravi Shankar Prasad was present on the occasion.

After conducting a havan ceremony at Hans Plaza building at Ambedkar Nagar, Singh, along with party workers Mayor Damyanti Goel, MLA Sunil Sharma, ex-MLA Baleshwar Tyagi and Loni municipalchairman Vinod Bansal, filed his nomination papers before Returning Officer Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan around 12:05 pm according to carefully chosen mahurat.

In his affidavit, Singh submitted that he has a residential house on a 272 metre plot in 3/206, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow which is valued at Rs 55 lakh and 45,204 hectares of ancestral agriculture land in Chandoli which is valued at Rs 45.2 lakh. He maintains a cash deposit in banks worth Rs 21,24,876 in addition to a cash deposit in wife Savitri Singhâs name of Rs 8,71,564 and jewellery worth Rs 18,00000. Neither Singh nor his wife owns a car.

04-19-2009, 02:50 AM

Its an interesting situation in UP. NSA on Varun will benefit BSP and BJP but if Behenji somehow doesnt cross 30-32 she will be pretty p1ssed and brahmins will be blamed for this. This will inturn test Behenjis maturity.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/170458/Mayaâ...-bout.html

QUOTEMayawati has weakened the political current that was in her favour. On 16 seats in eastern UP, Mayawati.s efforts went in vain for her description of Mukhtar Ansari as Robin Hood. Her statement describing Ansari not to be a criminal is a turning point in UP.s electoral environment. It has the same potential as Mayawati.s slogan in Jhansi during the Assembly Elections. At that time she roared, .chadh goondan ki chhati par, muhar lagegi hathi par.. At that time she had also announced that Mulayam would be jailed. After that the BSP wave took over in UP. That wave and goodwill has diminished after Mayawati defended Ansari. Earlier, it was felt that due to the Dalit- Brahmin equation, BSP would get around 40-50 seats in UP. But, after Mayawati.s statement on Ansari describing him as a social worker, BSP would only be able to garner 35 seats. Mayawati.s love for criminals has created hatred for her among Brahmins and forward voters. Mayawati made several mistakes in her attempt to get Muslim votes when Mulayam inducted Kalyan in the SP. She imposed NSA on Varun. This step of her.s did polarise Muslim votes but BJP also benefitted. Despite all this, BJP was nowhere in the race. But, BJP scrored when Mayawati publicly announced that Ansari was a social worker. After that news of dissemination of forward votes started coming in, this was the point of declination point in the BSP graph.

04-19-2009, 03:54 AM

Mayawati will lose upper caste vote, at this moment, upper caste first preference is BJP.

04-19-2009, 03:59 AM

QUOTEMulayam loses ground,but not hope
pioneer.com
Kumar Uttam | Pratapgarh
They might have lost some ground in eastern Uttar Pradesh but the Samajwadis do not have a reason to lose heart. Mulayam remains a favourite of voters in Allahabad and at least four neighbouring seats, while Mayawati still has to make inroads into the bastion of the red cap-bearers.

The news could come as a big respite for Mulayam Singh Yadav who has made way for Mayawati and the BJP in areas bordering Nepal and Bihar for more reasons than one. Sixteen Lok Sabha seats went to poll in the first phase of election on April 16.

Political observers say in case Mulayam succeeds in defending his fortress in Allahabad and the neighbouring regions, it would certainly make up for the losses he might have been suffering in other areas and bring him back in the reckoning in his fight against the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

After reports of initial setbacks, Mulayamâs hopes are hinging on central Uttar Pradesh, more so because he has hardly anything to gain or lose in the Jat land of western UP (areas neighbouring the national Capital), where the coalition of the BJP and RLD is expected to do better this time in the fourth and final rounds of election on May 7 and 13.

But alarm bells could be ringing for Mayawati here. After taking early lead in eastern UP, she was hoping to put Mulayam on a sticky wicket on his home turf so that the difference between her and Mulayamâs party was decisive. The Dalit leader is taking extra pains to pull the rug from under Mulayamâs feet in his citadel and her 10 MLAs, three Ministers and eight special election observers are already out to accomplish the task.

Mayaâs high-profile campaign notwithstanding, her candidates are certainly not putting up a formidable challenge to the Samajwadis. The only competition that the SP is facing is from Apna Dal candidate Atiq Ahmed (he got elected on a SP ticket from Phulpur last time) in Pratapgarh, the homeland of Raja Bhaiya â another muscleman and loyalist of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Raja Bhaiya also has considerable influence among voters in the neighbouring Kaushambi Lok Sabha seat. Mulayam is concentrating on booth-level management and his party has formed committees at the village level to take out supporters of the SP from their houses on polling day and ensure that they vote.

The BJP could have gained a little bit in the aftermath of the Varun âhate speechâ episode but the delay in the announcement of the names of party candidates in this region, especially Allahabad, seems to be taking its toll on the partyâs electoral prospects. Moreover, former Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, who lost to SPâs Reoti Raman Singh in the last election, became so unpopular that even party workers showed no interest in venturing out and seeking votes for the BJP

04-19-2009, 04:01 AM

QUOTEWin or lose, BJP has a future in Orissa
pioneer.com
Navin Upadhyay | Bhadrak
The BJP is all set to be the number three party in Orissa, both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Even the most optimistic BJP supporter and leader will not peg the number of winnable Assembly seats at more than five, but hopes to capture around 25-30 Assembly seats.

The party is expected to win a major chunk of seats in western Orissa, which went to poll in the first phase on April 16. Over the years, the party has built its base among tribals in Western Orissa where it hopes to gain enough number of seats to deprive Naveen Patnaik an absolute majority.

In comparison, the BJP has little at stake in the coastal belt where most seats were contested by its former ally, the BJD. But irrespective of the number of seats it wins in this zone, stretching from Puri to Balasore, the fact remains that the BJP is bound to improve its vote percentage and establish itself as a party of the future.

On a number of seats, even though it may eventually lose to either the BJD or the Congress, the BJP is in serious contest. For example, Braja Kishore Tripathy is the frontrunner in Puri, while in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Jagjitsinghpur, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, which will go to poll in the second phase on April 23, the BJP is either in a close contest or putting up a good fight..........

04-19-2009, 04:05 AM

QUOTEVarun sniffs mischief petitions EC
link
PNS | New Delhi
Apprehending âmischiefâ by the Uttar Pradesh Government when he files his nomination on April 22, Varun Gandhi has requested the Election Commission to appoint neutral observers and conduct video recordings of the proceedings.

He has also sought the transfer of Pilibhitâs DM and SP, alleging that they have âdemonstrated their malafidesâ against him.

Alternatively, he has requested that directions be issued to the two officers against âany illegal and partisan conduct with specific regard to my nomination process and electoral campaign.â Varun said this in a three-page letter to the Election Commission.

Varun said he feared that the State Government could âact on its hostile attitude against meâ and âcreate public disturbance which it can conveniently blame on me.â

The 29-year-old, who is out on a two-week parole, met Advani at his residence. During the hour-long meeting, he expressed his gratitude to the party for having stood by him âstaunchly in his hour of crisis,â sources said.

04-19-2009, 04:10 AM

QUOTELalu on demolish Cong mission
pioneer.com
Amarnath Tewary | Patna
Blames party for Babri Masjid
Zonked by and jittery over the discouraging first-phase poll trends, RJD boss Lalu Prasad Yadav is now making an all-out effort to woo Muslim voters. 

Late on Friday night, he blamed his recent ally, the Congress, for the demolition of the Babri mosque. The RJDâs alliance partner and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan supported Laluâs statement.

âBabri Masjid was razed. The Congress Party too was responsible for this as it was in power and did nothing to prevent the demolition,â Lalu told a cheering crowd at Manigachhi in Darbhanga.

Lalu was addressing the public meeting in favour of his party candidate Dr M A A Fatmi from Darbhanga where a sizeable number of Muslim votes decide the poll course.

Fatmi is pitted against BJP candidate Kirti Azad.

Lalu reiterated his statement on Saturday morning at Patna airport. He added that if the Congress compelled him, he would continue to reveal more secrets. âJyada bak bak na karein nahi to sara bhed khol denge,â he threatened.

Soon the wily politician in Lalu surfaced and he targeted the BJP.[B] âYeh jo BJP ke alamgar bane hue hain (Advaniji) yeh kabhi Prime Minister nahin ban sakte. In logon ne Babri Masjid giraane ka kaam kiya,â[/B], he said.

With trends not getting encouraging, Lalu put up a brave face. âMedia confuse ho gayi hai, especially electronic media. They are watching my body language and writing me off. Let the results come. Pura NDA ka safaya ho jayegai,â he said.

Capt M Kumar · 04-19-2009, 04:31 AM

<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /> As the campaigning for the remaining four phases of Lok Sabha polls gathers momentum, BJP on Friday set the stage for unleashing a
fresh wave of publicity blitzkrieg highlighting the Manmohan Singh governmentâs betrayal of the aam aadmi (common man), and the partyâs mantra to reduce their sufferings.

BJPâs campaign-managers on Friday unveiled before mediapersons a set of five TV spots likely to go on-air from Saturday. The 15-minute-long commercials, with the themes of girl-child, aam aadmi, high taxes, black money and farmers, will be telecast on all prominent news channels. Party also plans to extend their coverage to FM radio channels.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Politi...how/4416438.cms

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