Ayodhya, February 9 (Agencies) The Ram temple was clearly not on the agenda of those who voted in this Hindu pilgrim town in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections. Ordinary men and women showed much more interest in development issues than the temple, which has ceased to be a talking point even among the saffron-clad sadhus here.
For many, the makeshift temple hurriedly built after the razing of the Babri mosque Dec 6, 1992 is enough — for now.
“A temple is very much in place. I am sure one day we will also have a grand structure. What we need is better roads, cleaner streets, brighter lighting and improved civic amenities in this town,” said 30-year-old Vishambhar Das, a Hindu holy man who was barely a teenager when the 16th century Babri mosque was pulled down by Hindu mobs.
“Except for lip service, the people of Ayodhya have not got anything concrete all these years. The only thing visible is the wealth that successive leaders have amassed in the name of Ayodhya,” he said.
Das spoke that after stepping out of a crowded polling centre behind Ayodhya’s famous Hanuman Garhi temple.
“That is the reason I chose to vote for the candidate who was least corrupt,” he added, while refusing to divulge which party he considered the lesser evil.
Ayodhya, about 700 km east of New Delhi, was one of the 55 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where polling took place Wednesday. After six more rounds of balloting, the votes will be counted March 6.
Seconding Das, a priest, Mukesh ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, February 9 (DNS)- Claiming that it will get absolute majority on its own, Samajwadi Party today said it will not ally with any political party in forming the next Uttar Pradesh government.
“We are not going to meet anyone. We will not form any coalition government with any other political party…We will form our own government, as we are getting an absolute majority,” SP general secretary Naresh Agrawal said here.
The party’s statement of not forging any alliance comes in the wake of Congress’ announcement that it will not ally with any party in forming the next government in Uttar Pradesh.
The Samajwadi leader accused the Congress of trying to wrest control in the state by imposing President’s Rule by one way or the other.
“Congress party is conspiring to rule by proxy by imposing President’s Rule,” Agrawal alleged, adding that that the Congress can never form a government on its own there. When asked about the high voter turnout in the first phase of polling, Agrawal said it would work in favour of the Samajwadi Party.
“Increase in voting means a revolt against the present government…It certainly goes in our favour…We will form the next government and are heading towards it,” he claimed.
When asked on how many seats the party would bag in the polls, the SP leader said he was not a fortune-teller, but claimed that the party will “certainly getting an absolute majority”.
The SP leader also cleared the air about who will be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, February 7 (Agencies)- Campaigning ended on Monday evening for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh in which 55 Assembly seats, spread over 10 district will go to polls on Wednesday.
The first phase of polling will be held in 10 districts including Sitapur, Barab-anki, Bahraich, Gonda, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shravasti, Balram-pur, Siddhartanagar and Basti. On Monday, all parties made a last-minute effort to win over voters and hectic campaigning was seen across the state.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, after addressing a press conference in Varanasi, addressed meetings in Ghazipur Azam-garh and Jaunpur while his sister Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra continued her campaign in Rae Bareli and Amethi.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh addressed meetings in Bahraich and Congress MP Raj Babbar addressed a series of meetings in Faizabad.
BSP president and UP chief minister Mayawati held rallies in Kushinagar and Gorakhpur while BJP president Nitin Gadkari addressed poll meetings in Ballia and Ghazipur. Ms Uma Bharti addressed meetings in Siddharta-nagar and Faizabad and deputy chief minister of Bihar Sushil Modi addressed meetings in Maharajganj.
Mulayam Singh Yadav addressed meetings in Mau and Azamgarh while son, Akhilesh Yadav addressed meetings in Faizabad, Bahraich and Sitapur.
In the first phase of elections, a total of 867 candidates, including 65 women, are in fray. A total of 109 candidates in this phase have more than one criminal case pending against them. The SP tops the list with 28 ... Read Full Story
Allahabad, February 7 (DNS)- Former Indian cricket skipper Mohd Azharuddin today asked the people to vote for Congress in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and said that for him the party's defeat would be as ignominious as getting out for a duck.
"During my cricketing career, I never loathed anything more than getting out for a duck. Now, I am in politics and I have the same loathing for my party's defeat", Azharuddin, who is also a Congress MP from Moradabad, said at an election meeting here.
"I urge the people of this historic city of Allahabad to vote for my party and help me avoid getting out for a duck in my new role", the stylish batsman, who had made his sensational Test debut in the 1980s with three consecutive centuries, said.
He said a lot of money is being given by the Centre for the development of the state but an "inefficient" government in the state is wasting all ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, February 7 (DNS)The Election Commission landed itself in middle of controversy just a day ahead of first phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh. The Opposition parties trained gun on Election Commission and Congress party over transfer of IAS official, who stopped cavalcade of Robert Vadra in Amethi on the final day of electioneering on Monday.
The Election Commission transferred the IAS Pawan Sen to Goa soon after he stopped the car of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law when he took out a bike rally in support of Congress. The poll official Sen stopped Vadra's cavalcade as it was exceeding the permissible numbers of vehicles.
Lashing out at Election Commission and Congress, the Opposition BJP said that it shows dictatorship of Congress Party and Central government.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party General Secretary Azam Khan said that transfer of an IAS officer will set a wrong precedent. He further said that there was also no justification given over Sen's transfer.
The Opposition Parties also accused Gandhis to influence the constitutional body like Election Commission. However, Election Commission on Tuesday came out with a clarification that transfers are routine and on hold till elections over.
The Election Commission has denied allegations that a poll observer was tranferred on Monday for ordering the stopping of a motorcycle rally of Congress campaigner and Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra on the charge of violating the model code of conduct.
The Election Commission in a late night ... Read Full Story
SANT KABIRNAGAR(UP), February 4 (DNS) Putting an end to the speculations of a post-poll alliance with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said his party will have "no truck" with any party.
"The chief minister in Uttar Pradesh is going to be from the Congress (after the Assembly polls).... we are not going to have truck with any other party," Rahul said at an election meeting in Mehdawal area here.
"We will have no alliance with any other party after the elections ... we will have an alliance with the people and your voice will reach Lucknow and your money would reach to you," Rahul said, exuding confidence of returning to power after a long gap of almost 22 years.
"You believed in my grandmother ... you believed in my father. Now believe me," the Congress general secretary said adding that Congress is going to form the government in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul said that a Congress government was also essential for the bright future of Uttar Pradesh as it works not for any particular caste or religion but for the whole society. Charging the political opponents of making false promises, he said that there is a kind of a race among them over it.
"They will promise you whatever you want to hear ... they will also change the colour of the sky if you want to hear that," Rahul said, adding that there was however no truth in their promises. Had there been any truth in it the state of affairs would not have been so bad in the state, Rahul said. UP has a total 403 seats and Rahul Gandhi ... Read Full Story
PANAJI, February 4 (DNS)- Goa education minister Atanasio Monserrate, who was allegedly named in an Income Tax department report for receiving kickbacks to the tune of Rs 26.5 crore from real estate developers, has been given a Congress party ticket for the March 3 assembly poll.
State Congress president Subhash Shirodkar Saturday said the list of 22 party candidates, which contains Monserrate's name as a nominee from St. Cruz constituency, has been endorsed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The party chief had drawn up the list using her "own wisdom", he said.
"The case has only been reported in the media. We will wait for the investigation to finish. Only then we will be able to take a decision on it," Shirodkar said about the allegations against Monserrate.
According to media reports, Monseratte has been named in an income tax assessment report which claimed that as town and country planning minister in the last Congress-led coalition government he received Rs.26.5 crore from real estate companies.
The kickbacks were paid in order to convert prime agricultural land into real estate- friendly zones, in a land use document called the regional plan 2011, media reports said earlier this week. The Income Tax assessment report also named Monserrate's son Rohit, who is a partner in real estate development companies, the media reports said.
Monserrate has said that his record books were clean and, if asked, he would give an explanation on the issue to the party. Shirodkar said the party had not yet ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh/Dehradun, January 31 (DNS)- Elections to the assemblies of Punjab and Uttarakhand on Monday recorded a turnout of at least 77% and 70%, respectively, the Election Commission (EC) said, citing figures furnished by polling authorities.
Barring stray incidents, polling in the two states was peaceful, officials said. However, a report from Firozepur in Punjab said one person died of gunshot wounds.
The elections in Punjab and Uttarakhand will decide the fate of 1,866 candidates, including chief ministers Parkash Singh Badal and B.C. Khanduri.
Polling began on a dull note due to the morning winter cold in both states, but picked up as the day progressed. Long queues of voters, including a large number of women, were seen at the polling stations. Earlier, various parties had complained that cold weather conditions may hamper the turnout.
Minor skirmishes were reported from Ludhiana, Bhatinda and Amritsar in Punjab. In Ludhiana, BJP Yuva Morcha general secretary Sanjay Kapoor received minor injuries in a clash, while some people pelted stones at the office of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda in Bhatinda.
While there are 1,078 contestant vying for 117 seats in Punjab, the number of candidates for 70 seats in Uttarakhand is 866. Counting will take place on 6 March.
Talking to reporters before leaving for Patiala, state Congress president Amarinder Singh said the Dera Sacha Sauda, which supported the party in the 2007 polls, was backing it again. “This was expected (after) the way Akalis had treated the ... Read Full Story
NEW DELHI, January 29 (Doaba News Service)- Punjab and Uttarakhand will vote on Monday to elect new assemblies with the Congress hoping to oust the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine in the country's grain bowl and the BJP in the hill state.
According to the Election Commission, 1.76 crore voters are eligible to vote in the 117 constituencies of Punjab in the second round of five-state elections that began on Saturday. The voter population is around 6.3 million in Uttarakhand, which has a 70-member house.
In Punjab, the Congress led by former chief minister Amarinder Singh has levelled major charges of corruption against the government of Parkash Singh Badal. Most seats in Punjab will see a triangular contest between the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, the Congress and the Sanjha Morcha, which includes the Left and People's Party of Punjab (PPP) led by Manpreet Badal, a nephew of the chief minister who broke away from the Akali Dal.
The main contestants include Badal (Lambi), Amarinder Singh (Patiala city), Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal (Jalalabad) and Amarinder's son Raninder Singh (Samana). Congress leader and former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has been fielded from Lehra.
Two former officials, D.S. Guru, who was principal secretary to the chief minister, and P.S. Gill, a former director general of police, are contesting from Bhadaur and Moga respectively.
In Uttarakhand, Chief minister B.C. Khanduri, who replaced Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank last year after corruption allegations ... Read Full Story
Many may regard Manpreet Badal as being too cultured, suave and nice to be capable of negotiating the bends in the rough and tumble of Indian politics. But there is no denying that this estranged nephew of Akali kingpin Parkash Singh Badal, who gave up the key position of Finance Minister to chart out an independent course, is here to stay.
Educated in the elitist St Columbus and St Stephen’s in New Delhi and a graduate in Law from the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn, Manpreet is the archetypal upwardly-mobile politician. On the threshold of turning 50, he is the very antithesis of the old style campaigner as symbolised by his uncle. There is an unmistakable swagger with which the lanky and well-built Manpreet walks. He is his own driver, often driving at breakneck speed as he stops by during his campaign to beseech voters in his disarming style. This dynamo of energy has driven a whopping 8,000 km since he launched his election campaign. Manpreet carries his message through songs penned by political satirist Bhagwant Mann, and two lesser known singers. Mann had left the ruling entertainment industry to join the Manpreet-led People’s Party of Punjab.
The songs give the political manifesto of the party and dwell on issues like polluted water, drug addiction, unemployment, female foeticide, illiteracy and the pain of lagging far behind other states. Mann has adapted the hit number ‘Kolaveri Di’ as a campaign number for the PPP, which has gone down well especially with the youth, who are in any case the ... Read Full Story
Imphal, January 28 (DNS)- Around 82 per cent of the electorate on Saturday exercised their franchise in Manipur assembly elections marred by militants' violence that claimed five lives and left two injured.
Chief electoral officer P C Lawmkunga said as per preliminary official reports, 82 per cent of the 17.40 lakh electorate cast votes but details from the nine districts in the state were yet to be received.
A CRPF man, three Village Volunteer Force personnel and a civilian were killed and two injured when miliants attacked an polling station in an interior area in Sugnu assembly constituency in Chandel district, official sources said.
However, Lawmkunga said a voter, his supporter and a security man were killed in an exchange of fire at the Dampi polling station in the district.
Bombs suspected to have been planted by militants were seized and defused before the start of polling in Khurai Chingangbam area, Sawombung High School, Khomidok in Imphal East district and Naoremthong High School area in Imphal West district, official sources said.
Two CRPF personnel on poll duty were killed in an ambush by militants in Ukhrul district yesterday, the sources said.
The fate of Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh (Thoubal), Forest Minister and Congress leader Th Debendra (Jiribam), Congress nominee and Speaker I Hemochandra Singh (Shingjamei), former chief minister and NCP chief Radhabinod Koijam (Thangmeiband), Manipur people's party (MPP) leader and former deputy chief minister] L Chandramani Singh (Patsoi), were ... Read Full Story
New Delhi, January 28 (DNS) The campaigning in Uttarakhand and Punjab for the Assembly elections slated for January 30, ends on Saturday.
In Uttarakhand 800 candidates are in the fray for 70-member Assembly seats, while as 1880 aspirants are in the fray for 117-member Assembly seats in Punjab.
The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to ensure free and fair polls in both the states slated on January 30.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari will address rallies in Pathankot and Chandigarh while his colleague, MP Shatrugan Sinha is scheduled to campaign in Ludhiana on Saturday.
Amarinder Singh's Congress, the Parkash Singh Badal-headed SAD-BJP combine and the Chief Minister's nephew Manpreet Singh Badal have come out as strong contenders over weeks of campaigning.
Meanwhile in Uttarakhand, Congress veteran ND Tiwari on Wednesday jumped into the race of chief ministerial post in the event of his party returning to power.
Earlier on January 25, Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN said that the use of black money during the Assembly elections was a major cause for concern and the EC was trying its best to deal with it.
Across the five states getting ready for the Assembly elections, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, nearly Rs 45 crore of illegal money has been seized so far. Out of that, nearly Rs 30 crore has been seized from Punjab only.
Sources in the Election Commission said that money is just the tip of the iceberg to buy votes in ... Read Full Story
Lambi, January 28 (PTI)- They share the common wall of their ancestral house, the family name and even the village name. But in the cut and thrust of politics, a common inheritance seems to matter little when it comes to electoral politics. Punjab's three Badal brothers are locked in a triangular contest in Lambi which goes to polls on Monday.
Fighting from here is Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, also the grand patriarch of Shiromani Akali Dal and the Badal family which hails from Lambi in Badal village. Challenging the CM are his brother Gurdas Badal and cousin Mahesh Inder Singh Badal. While the former is fighting to open the political account of his son Manpreet's newly-formed People's Party of Punjab, the latter is contesting on a Congress ticket, having fought as an independent in the last assembly elections.
The fight here is essentially in the family with Parkash Singh Badal running for the fifth time in a row. And though one would enter Lambi hoping mudslinging matches to be on, the brothers are refraining from running each other down in the public. For the outgoing CM, it is his brother Gurdas who is posing the biggest challenge.
Asked how he felt about taking on his own brother whom he had served for years, Gurdas Badal told PTI, "I have always dreamt of seeing my brother in the CM's chair. But things have now slipped out of his hands. He is only a face. It is his son Sukhbir Badal, the Deputy CM, and his family who are running the show. Nothing is in my brother's control nor does he assert ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh, Jan 22 (DNS)- President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Captain Amarinder Singh, has promised all amenities to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), if elected to power in Punjab. Singh said that if the Congress party is voted to power then there would be a special department to address the grievances of the NRIs and also a proposal of a special NRI court would be taken up with the state chief justice.
"I just want to tell you, we have decided that when our government is formed, we will open an NRI centre in the Chief Minister's office, so that day to day contract and pressure can be maintained. The second problem that you have told us is when you make investments here you get entangled in court cases," Singh said on Saturday.
"It is impossible for you to make regular trios to India for court cases. We have put it in our manifesto that we will take it up with the Chief Justice of Punjab to make special courts for NRIs so that on a day to day basis cases are taken and disposed off soon," he added.
Punjab is one of five states due to hold elections this year. As per the schedule planned by Election Commission, the state assembly poll in Punjab would be held on January 30.
In Punjab, the main battle is expected to be between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)- Bharatiya Janata Party alliance and the Congress party. Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and son of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, heads the ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh, January 22 (Doaba News Service)- Traditionally, Congress leaders of Haryana do not campaign for their Punjab counterparts in elections and vice versa. But, this time, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will hit the campaign trail in Punjab on the request of certain Congress candidates, though no formal invitation has come.
Incidentally, Hooda’s kin Vijaylakshami Bhadu — she is the mother-in-law of his daughter Anjali — is contesting election on the BJP ticket from Abohar. Hooda will start his campaign on January 22.
While many Haryana Congress leaders have been campaigning in far-off Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, they skipped neighbouring Punjab, prompting Haryana BJP president Krishan Pal Gurjar to say “we invite Hooda to campaign for his samadhan in Abohar”. However, Haryana Congress leaders maintained they would go for campaigning if invited by the Punjab Congress.
State Congress chief Phool Chand Mullana said he was not aware of any formal invitation from the Punjab Congress for campaigning. “I don’t think there is any invitation but the Chief Minister is going on the request of some candidates,” he said.
Mullana asserted that difference of opinion on inter-state issues did not matter as the Congress was one. “Issues are settled on different platforms. What’s important is to ensure the Congress victory in the elections,” he said, adding that he won’t be able to join the campaign as he was not keeping well.
B K Hariprasad, the Congress general secretary and in ... Read Full Story
Gidderbaha, January 21 (DNS)- Varinder Kaur, the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) teacher who was allegedly slapped by an Akali sarpanch recently, has claimed the SAD leadership had offered her money to stay mum after the incident.
Having earlier refused to support any party, Varinder today came out openly in support of the Congress for the January 30 polls. Speaking at a rally in the presence of CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal at Harike Kalan village in Gidderbaha constituency, she appealed to the electorate to elect the Congress. Narrating her plight from the stage, Varinder said, "The time has come to teach the ruling Akalis a lesson. Their Daula village sarpanch, Balwinder Singh 'Toti', slapped me a number of times at Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal's Sangat Darshan where we had gone to register our protest. This is the real face of the Akali leadership who do not even mind serving girls with slaps if they seek their rights."
Urging the voters to ensure the defeat of the ruling alliance, she said: "Even after the slapping incident, no senior SAD leader came to my house to give any assurance about justice. They only offered me money to keep mum and not to highlight the issue."
Varinder said she would go to other constituencies as well seeking support for the Congress ... Read Full Story
Jagraon/Khanna, January 21 (DNS)- Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh, addressing a public rally at the Grain Market in Jagraon today in support party candidates Isher Singh Meharban, said that the Akalis were yet to overcome their sectarian mindset.
He said they had never thought about Punjab but their own “narrow and vested interests” which had resulted in Punjab’s decline from number one to the 19th place over-all development. Amrinder said if voted to power, the Congress would provide crop insurance to the farmers. "We will provide every assistance, including financial, to the farmers to motivate them to grow crops other than wheat and paddy", he said.
He pointed out that during his previous term he had introduced the farm-to-fork concept and roped in the Reliance Group to help farmers to diversify to growing vegetables. “The Akalis abandoned the project, lest the Congress got credit for the same.”
Among others who addressed the rally were MP Manish Tiwari, Congress candidate Meharban, MLA Gurdeep Singh Bhaini and Sehajdhari Sikh Party president Paramjit Singh Ranu.
Earlier, addressing a rally in Khanna in favour of Congress candidates Gurkirat Singh Kotli, grandson of the late Beant Singh, the PCC chief sent a stern warning to the rebels. He announced the expulsion of former president of Ludhiana DCC (Rural) Bhalinder Singh for opposing the official candidate. Attacking the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), he said the latter had reached a secret pact with the SAD and “are fighting ... Read Full Story
