New Delhi

April 21, 2004

PINCHING RIVALS' LEADERS AS CANDIDATES

The Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka presents a
strange picture of Congress making an old BJP hand as its candidate and the BJP opting for a former Congress Chief Minister as its candidate and two brothers locked in a fierce fight in one of its segment, Sorab, in the Assembly elections taking place simultaneously.

Former Chief Minister S Bangarappa, who still harbours ambitions of becoming the chief minister once again, deserted the Congress and joined the BJP to stand for it on the Shimoga seat he had won as a Congress candidate in 1999. For sometime, the Congress was shell-shocked as it was Bangarappa who had ensured the Congress win seven of the eight Assembly seats in his constituency last time. But the Congress too sprang a surprise by getting Ayanar Manjunath stand on its ticket. Ayanar was with Janata Party of industrialist-turned MP Vijay Mallya for some time after leaving the BJP before he shifted to the Congress stating that he had learnt tricks of the trade under BJP leaders like Yediruappa and Eashwarappa and now he would use the same tricks against the BJP in this election. He had lost to Bangarappa in 1996 as the BJP candidate but he says his chances are bright because Bangarappa has betrayed the Muslims and the backwards by joining the BJP.

Yet another victory of the Congress against Bangarappa was to manage to get back his eldest son S Kumar Bangarappa in the party's fold and become the Congress candidate from Sorab Assembly constituency. S Kumar had resigned as a minister in the Karnataka Government to switch over to the BJP along with his father. He, however, felt cheated by his father when the BJP gave the Sorab seat to his younger brother, Madhu, and that basically made him return to the Congress. He had won the Sorab seat twice and hence S Kumar happily agreed to fight against his own younger brother and thus teach a lesson to his 70-year old father who still does not accept that his children have grown up and hence they should follow his political gameplans. The Congress is using S Kumar to campaign against his father. The most awkwardly placed are, however, the traditional Congress and BJP supporters as they have to work this time for the candidates against whom they had campaign all these years.

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RABRI DEVI VERSUS HEMA MALINI

Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi no longer basks under the glory of her husband and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav as she moves independently campaigning and declaring that if Laloo is the "hero" of the Biharland, she is the "heroin" to take on all the glamorous film stars that have been brought into the electioneering by the BJP. She debunked Hema Malini criticising the Bihar Government at the poor conditions of road in Bihar, pointing out that the Bollywood heroin has no right to comment on the state's roads when she had not travelled on them at all since she uses helicopters to hop from one place to another campaigning for the BJP.

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WHAT IS SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE...

When Priyanka Gandhi drove down to the Election Commission complaining about the BJP goons trying to use muscle power in her mother Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli constituency, the BJP leaders were amused as she was complaining against Akhilesh Singh who had actually won the Rae Bareli Sadar Assembly seat in the 2002 elections on the Congress ticket and then switched side to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party for a shortwhile before going solo. He is not contesting but helping out his brother Ashok Singh
contesting against Sonia Gandhi on the Samajwadi Party ticket. Ashok had won the seat in 1996 and 1998 on the BJP ticket but neither he nor his brother Akhilesh have anything to do with the BJP now. The BJP leaders say Priyanka should have better complained against the Samajwadi Party if she had any grievance about the goondaism in the constituency. Akhilesh is known in the area for using muscle power and brawn and he has been now canvassing among the Thakurs, who constitute about 15 per cent of the voters. what is at stake is the prestige of their casteman. The BJP has fielded in Rae Bareli Girish Narain Pandey, hoping that a Brahmin will be able to consolidate the upper caste votes that may impact Sonia Gandhi's prospects in a big way.

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PARTY HOPPER AJIT SINGH

Rashtriya Lok Dal President Ajit Singh, who is a master hopper shifting from one party to another for alliance, has suddenly started making postures to the Congress even while having an electoral alliance with the Samajwadi Party of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. Describing himself as a part of the "third front", he has been predicting a post-poll alliance of the front with the Congress. Still going further, he has been telling openly that he has no problem if Sonia Gandhi becomes the Prime Minister of the "third front" and stresses that her "foreign origin" is not at all an issue to debar her from climbing to the top post. It is not known whether Ajit is speaking on himself are echoing the views of Mulayam who will not be prepared to say so openly at this stage when his Samajwadi Party is the main rival in the polls against the Congress in many constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.

For the BJP, it was very embarrassing when wrestler-turned film star Dara Singh campaigning for the party franly stated to reporters the other day that he does not find any significance in harping on the "foreign origin" of Sonia Gandhi. After all, an actor most of his life develops the habit of repeating whatever lines are given to him to speak in the films and hence Dara Singh was not at fault when he had not been told to campaign against Sonia's 'foreign origin.'

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A COSTLY 'LAPSE OF MEMORY'

Anindya Gopal Mitra, the BJP's candidate for the Burdwan Lok sabha seat, had a shock of his life when the returning officer served the disqualification notice on him for failing to produce the accounts of expenditure in the 2001 Assembly elections from Habra seat. Returning Officer Subrata Gupta says Mitra figures among the list of persons disqualified by the Election Commission and hence the first thing he did on receiving Mitra's nomination for the May 10 poll to send him notice. Mitra is rushing to Delhi to submit to the Election Commission the expense accounts, pleading that his election agent might have forgotten to submit them and as such his disqualification be withdrawn. While sources in the BJP headquarters say the party would field another candidate in place of Mitra if the Election Commission did not budge, the CPI-M cadres are rejoicing that it will be now a direct fight between their candidate Nikhilananda Sar and the Congress candidate who has no base in the district. Sar had won the Burdwan seat in 1999 by a margin of more than three lakh votes.

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BOLLYWOOD VERSUS BOLLYWOOD

In a bid to counter the star-studded campaign of the BJP in Delhi, the Congress has roped in three Bollywood stars to rush to the capital to help the party candidates. They include Govinda who is contesting as a Congress candidate against Petroleum Minister Ram Naik on a Mumbai seat. All stars would, however, come to Delhi only after the polling in Mumbai on April 26. Sanjay Dutt, who is right now campaigning for his father Sunil Dutt for the first time in Mumbai, and Salman Khan are the two film actors who have consented to campaign in Delhi. The Congress is also persuading Zeenat Aman to campaign for the party in Chandni Chowk to blunt the glamour of Smriti Malhotra Irani, "Tulsi" of the famous TV serial Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi, contesting the seat on the BJP ticket. Since the TV serial is on air five days a week, the Congress is worried that it gives an automatic publicity to Tulsi. Popular film comedian Asrani may also campaign in the capital, the party sources said.

Meanwhile, the political parties have found out the way to evade the Election Commission's censor on the political advertisements by persuading the TV channels to show the movies of the film stars who are either contesting or campaigning for the party. Those watching such movies would automatically enthused to rush to the public meetings where these stars appear to have an experience of seeing them in reality instead of just on the screen.

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BJP CHIEF CONFIDENT OF NDA'S MAJORITY

Bhartiya Janata Party President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday exuded confidence of the NDA getting a clear majority, after discussing strategy for the remaining three phases of the Lok Sabha polls with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deputy PM Lal Krishna Advani, General Secretary Pramod Mahajan and Law Minister Arun Jaitley at the PM's House.

"BJP and NDA partners were comfortably placed in the first round of polls and the mood would further strengthen in our favour in the remaining three phases," Naidu told reporters at a luncheon Press conference at his residence here. He ruled out any possibility of any hung Lok Sabha.

He also appealed to the people to give the NDA a "decisive mandate" not only for ensuring a stable government but also for continuing good work, implement the unfinished tasks and amend the Constitution if necessary. He sought "bigger mandate to achieve bigger tasks."

Pointing out that no opinion poll or exit poll has predicted the NDA's exit from power, Naidu said the "exit of Congress is definite" as seen from all the exit polls. Asserting that the Congress was fighting for survival and not for wining the elections, he said it would be better for the Congress to gracefully accept its defeat.

Naidu said he had also reviewed the polling trends with the general secretaries and those handling the poll-related responsibilities. He is dashing off to Karnataka to campaign for three days "to say goodbye to S M Kishna (chief minister." He remarked that Krishna is a "good man" but he did nothing good for the state.

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BJP REPLIES TO EC NOTICE

The Bhartiya Janata Party has written to the Election Commission that it had nothing to do with (koyee lena dena nahi) the Lucknow function in which 22 women were killed in a stampede over saree distribution and it had not at all organised the function.

Disclosing this to reporters here on Wednesday, BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu said the party has replied to the show-cause notice served on it by the Commission pointing out that it had not violated any poll law or model code of conduct.

The Commission had served the notice on BJP last week as to why it should not be derecognised as a national political party as its senior leader Lalji Tandon was involved in distribution of sarees which amounted to bribing the voters.

He, however, reacted sharply in response to a question on the Congress demanding countermand of the election in Lucknow and fixing fresh dates for the election at a later date. It only shows "cheap, bankrupt thinking" of the Congress "as if it has no other issue."

The Congress wants the election postponed only because Prime Minister is seeking re-election from Lucknow. Asked why the BJP has kept away senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon, whose birthday celebrations caused the deaths, from performing as the election agent of Vajpayee, Naidu shot back: "Humne to kisi ko banaya nahi aur hataya nahi. Press hi unhe banata, hatata rahta hai. (We never made him (election agent) or removed him. It is only the Press that makes and unmakes him.)"

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