03-18-2009, 02:07 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Strongman Modi axes most sitting MPs</b>
pioneer.com
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Axe has fallen on at least nine of the 14 sitting MPs from Gujarat as BJP central leadership endorsed Chief Minister Narendra Modiâs list of 21 candidates for the parliamentary elections on Tuesday.
The party has yet to decide candidates for four seats, two of which it bagged in the last poll. If Modi dropped these two sitting MPs, he would have retained just three MPs who contested the last election. <b>The BJP also denied ticket to six candidates who unsuccessfully contested the 2004 elections</b>.
The BJP central election committee met for the second time on Tuesday without party general secretary Arun Jaitley. <b>The CEC cleared the names of 12 candidates for Bihar (including Shatrughan Sinha, Rajeev Pratap Rudy, Shahnawaz Hussain), 10 for Maharashtra, including general secretary Gopinath Munde, seven for Andhra Pradesh, six for Madhya Pradesh, four for Rajasthan and two for Uttar Pradesh</b>.
But Modi stole the show by dropping eight sitting MPs from Kutch, Patan, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Panchmahal (earlier Godhra), Vadodra and Surat. Vallabhbhai Katharia, <b>Somabhai Patel and Kanshiram Rana have paid the price for leading the rebellion against the Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the 2007 Assembly poll</b>. At the same time, <b>Modi has decided to repeat sitting MP from Ahmedabad Harin Pathak and Mansukhbhai Vasava from Bharuch. Two candidates who lost in 2004 have got the chance again to contest the poll</b>.
While Modi hogged the limelight in the evening with his list of âfresh and new facesâ, Jaitley remained in news throughout the morning. The party general secretary, who is opposing the appointment of Sudhanshu Mittal as co-in-charge for North East States, skipped the CEC meeting for the second consecutive time; even as the BJPâs top leadership and the RSS tried to thrash out a compromise formula.
<b>Jaitley remains insistent that âcontroversial figuresâ should not have been given important assignments in the party</b>. At the same time, Rajnath Singh is reportedly of the opinion that any rollback in<b> Sudhanshuâs appointment may pose threat to the fate of the BJPâs alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam</b>.
<b>Sudhanshu has aggravated the matters further with refusing to step down</b>, a formula earlier suggested by different leaders of the party to both Rajnath and Jaitley. Earlier, it was also proposed that the CEC meetings should be wrapped up and LK Advani and party chief Rajnath Singh should be authorised to select candidates. But the party later decided to go ahead with the meeting to pick up candidates for Gujarat, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
In Bihar, State president Radha Mohan Singh (Purvi Champaran), former Union Ministers Shahnawaz Hussain (Bhagalpur), Rajeev Pratap Rudy (Saran), Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib) have been roped in to contest election. Former <b>IPS officer Gupteshwar Pandey who was seeking BJP ticket from Buxar has been disappointed. </b>Consensus eluded on Betiah, Seohar and Darbhanga Lok Sabha seats and a decision on these would be taken later.
While party general secretary <b>Gopinath Munde has been fielded from Beed </b>(in Maharashtra), local stalwart<b> Subhash Deshmukh (Madha) would be facing NCP chief and Union Minister Sharad Pawar.</b>
Former Union Minister <b>Ram Naik would be contesting Mumbai-North</b>. He was defeated on the same seat last year by Congress candidate and cinestar Govinda.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
pioneer.com
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Axe has fallen on at least nine of the 14 sitting MPs from Gujarat as BJP central leadership endorsed Chief Minister Narendra Modiâs list of 21 candidates for the parliamentary elections on Tuesday.
The party has yet to decide candidates for four seats, two of which it bagged in the last poll. If Modi dropped these two sitting MPs, he would have retained just three MPs who contested the last election. <b>The BJP also denied ticket to six candidates who unsuccessfully contested the 2004 elections</b>.
The BJP central election committee met for the second time on Tuesday without party general secretary Arun Jaitley. <b>The CEC cleared the names of 12 candidates for Bihar (including Shatrughan Sinha, Rajeev Pratap Rudy, Shahnawaz Hussain), 10 for Maharashtra, including general secretary Gopinath Munde, seven for Andhra Pradesh, six for Madhya Pradesh, four for Rajasthan and two for Uttar Pradesh</b>.
But Modi stole the show by dropping eight sitting MPs from Kutch, Patan, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Panchmahal (earlier Godhra), Vadodra and Surat. Vallabhbhai Katharia, <b>Somabhai Patel and Kanshiram Rana have paid the price for leading the rebellion against the Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the 2007 Assembly poll</b>. At the same time, <b>Modi has decided to repeat sitting MP from Ahmedabad Harin Pathak and Mansukhbhai Vasava from Bharuch. Two candidates who lost in 2004 have got the chance again to contest the poll</b>.
While Modi hogged the limelight in the evening with his list of âfresh and new facesâ, Jaitley remained in news throughout the morning. The party general secretary, who is opposing the appointment of Sudhanshu Mittal as co-in-charge for North East States, skipped the CEC meeting for the second consecutive time; even as the BJPâs top leadership and the RSS tried to thrash out a compromise formula.
<b>Jaitley remains insistent that âcontroversial figuresâ should not have been given important assignments in the party</b>. At the same time, Rajnath Singh is reportedly of the opinion that any rollback in<b> Sudhanshuâs appointment may pose threat to the fate of the BJPâs alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam</b>.
<b>Sudhanshu has aggravated the matters further with refusing to step down</b>, a formula earlier suggested by different leaders of the party to both Rajnath and Jaitley. Earlier, it was also proposed that the CEC meetings should be wrapped up and LK Advani and party chief Rajnath Singh should be authorised to select candidates. But the party later decided to go ahead with the meeting to pick up candidates for Gujarat, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
In Bihar, State president Radha Mohan Singh (Purvi Champaran), former Union Ministers Shahnawaz Hussain (Bhagalpur), Rajeev Pratap Rudy (Saran), Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib) have been roped in to contest election. Former <b>IPS officer Gupteshwar Pandey who was seeking BJP ticket from Buxar has been disappointed. </b>Consensus eluded on Betiah, Seohar and Darbhanga Lok Sabha seats and a decision on these would be taken later.
While party general secretary <b>Gopinath Munde has been fielded from Beed </b>(in Maharashtra), local stalwart<b> Subhash Deshmukh (Madha) would be facing NCP chief and Union Minister Sharad Pawar.</b>
Former Union Minister <b>Ram Naik would be contesting Mumbai-North</b>. He was defeated on the same seat last year by Congress candidate and cinestar Govinda.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->