| Meanwhile, the opposition is not in the pink of health either.
Congress veteran A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury was diagnosed as having gall bladder trouble this week. Chowdhury was rushed to Kolkata from Malda, and allegiances were never more evident from the people who went to receive him at the helipad. Prominent among senior state Congress leaders was Trinammool chief Mamata Banerjee, who looked visibly shaken at her ally's condition. So then, it's a clear case of friends in need. It was Chowdhury earlier who'd helped her with seat-sharing. It's didi's turn now.
Boo to ban on poll graffiti. Indeed. The Trinamool was all set to put up banners like "Chandan chhara jyoti hoy na" (There's no jyoti without Chandan) to remind fickle voters about the notorious son of Jyoti Basu, former chief minister. Of course, they don't have such accusations to make about the impeccable culture-minded current chief minister. Hence the poor rhyme, "Nandan chhara Buddha hoy na."
But trust the CPI(M)'s Subhash Chakraborty to work his way around the ban. Never mind that an FIR has been issued against him following a comment that the poll officers are acting as the EC's underlings, even though the state government pays their salaries. Chakravarty has taken it upon himself to manage the traffic of the roads in his constituency. Every morning, his "boys" stand on the road, wearing t-shirts that appeal for votes for their leader in return for smooth traffic. Then, there are huge umbrellas where his boys need to rest every once in a while. No surprises, they ask you to vote for Subhas Chakraborty too.
A local daily has been running a "marksheet" series where MLAs are graded on various aspects. It was found that the Congress MLA from Kandi, Atish Sinha, despite having contested the elections seven times now, is only known to 43 per cent of the people of his constituency. The rest don't even know what he looks like.
ETs amongst us! CHENNAI: Karunanidhi has promised the sun, Jayalalithaa the moon and only the aliens, and the alienated, appear dazed as the Dravidian stars make a desperate bid to conquer planet Tamil Nadu. It is a universal problem – election manifestos.
Jayalalithaa's pale IT-driven manifesto cuts as much ice as Karunanidhi's magnum opus. Free colour TVs, dirt cheap rice, free gas stoves (did someone forget the cooker) and stipend for unemployed youth, are just some of the freebies in the DMK manifesto. "But will Karunanidhi give free cable connections too?" asks MDMK's Vaiko, in an obvious reference to the DMK's family-owned cable network. Vaiko, who has got himself a name like Puratchi Puyal (revolutionary storm), has stressed on the "much-talked-about" inter-linking of rivers as well as his pet theme: Sri Lankan Tamils.
Painting a virtual picture for the state, Jayalalithaa has set out to create hundreds of IT ghettos as also to generate five lakh IT jobs in the next five years. It has also called for an end to the artificial increase in PDS rice price. Wonder if Amma's sop opera would have been any more different had it been released after the DMK's. AIADMK also promises a flood of money for the victims of the unprecedented downpour – Rs 1,000 in villages and Rs 2,000 in Chennai. The DMK's rural-centric focus shows: two acres of land to every landless family and free power to farmers. It has assured monthly maternity allowances of Rs 1,000 for six months for poor women, and this is sure to rattle family planning departments. And to win almost every community, the DMK has promised to legislate for reservations in government and educational institutions for Muslims and Christians.
But only the dry heat of May will decide whether the alienated are willing to suspend disbelief and convert to what is being sold as God's plenty.  | Quote-Unquote:
Pramod Mahajan: Assam is a unique state. First came the rule of "Haathi" (Elephant, the symbol of the AGP) after the Assam agitation.
Then the "Haath" (Hand, the symbol of Congress) ruled. Then again came "Haathi" followed by "Haath". But Assam remained the least developed state. In this election, throw the "Hand" into the Brahmaputra and send the "Elephant" to Kaziranga National Park. Let the Lotus bloom in Dispur". | | The Age Factor | | |  Total seats: 126
Total candidates: 997 25-34 years: Male: 143
Female: 16 35-44 years: Male: 313
Female: 21 45-54 years: Male: 270
Female: 23 55-74 years: Male: 195
Female: 09 74> years: Male: 07
| | The One and Only …
Vaiko seems to have a fixation with the Number 1. He's come up with the first of his 1000 questions for his former guru Karunanidhi. He once left a stage once because of a fight arising over seating arrangements – who should be sitting where. He recently quit the DPA alliance again owing to differences over seat sharing – of just one seat. So is that the seat he wants to occupy? | Women Candidates:
Almost all national and regional parties talk of women empowerment and adequate quota in state assemblies and Parliament but when elections come they simply don't practice what they preach. Here is what women who constitute nearly 49 per cent of the state's population have got in this election: | | | Party Symbol Male
Female Total Congress Hand 105
15 [13] 120
BJP Lotus 110
15 [02] 125
AGP Elephant 94
06 [04] 100
AGPP Aeroplane 85
05 [--] 90
CPI Sickle 09
Nil [01] 09
CPI [M] Sickle & Hammer 16
Nil [01] 16
NCP Table Clock 44
01 [02] 45
| | Sack the Scriptwriter!
There are no retakes in real life. Actor Vijaykant is learning it the hard way. At an election rally he told voters: "You have voted for the AIADMK and the DMK, alternatively and periodically. Last time you voted for the DMK. This time you must vote for the AIADMK, Oops, my party – the DMDK." The audience, however, felt entertained, just like it does in his films. 'Sons' of which Soil?
Tamil Nadu has largely been ruled by "outsiders". This election underlines the connection between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
There's a fair measure of Andhra spice in this year's potboiler. Vaiko is a Naidu. So is actor Vijaykant. Rumour has it that Karunanidhi too has an Andhra connection. But most Andhra organisations in the state are supporting Amma. Wonder why? Lady luck
Jayalalithaa's supporters seem incensed with superstitions. Party workers halted her caravan in Valavanoor when they heard a funeral procession was going to cross Amma's path. Even a train was stopped in Villupuram to enable Amma to keep her tryst with "time". And recently, she made it a point to stay at an "auspicious" house in Cuddalore, which she did in the 2001 polls too. Will she be twice lucky?
Follow the Prime Minister DISPUR: The failure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to turn up in Guwahati's Dispur Assembly constituency to exercise his franchise on April 3 has become a major election issue in Assam. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the main challenger to the Congress, says this alone shows that the prime minister, an elected Rajya Sabha member from Assam, has lost confidence in his own party. "In fact Dr Singh had cast his vote only once_1991. This proves that he and his party don't have faith in democracy," said AGP spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharya.
On the other hand, BJP National General Secretary Pramod Mahajan during his rallies asked Congress supporters to follow the example of Dr Singh and not vote for the Congress. "What kind of PM do we have?
He asks people to vote for the Congress but he did not come to vote.
Everyone including Congressmen should follow the prime minister and should not vote for the party." The Crorepatis …
Asom (Assam) may be the poorest among the poor states in the country but the current Assembly election is dominated by crorepatis and lakhpatis in the fray. There are as many as 13 crorepatis while the number of lakhpatis exceeds 100. Among the crorepatis, five are contesting on Congress tickets, four on BJP tickets, two on AGP tickets, one on an NCP ticket and one on the Asom United Democratic Front. … and the Criminals
There are, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO, as many as 34 candidates against whom serious criminal cases are pending. Among them, 10 belong to the BJP and eight each to the AGP and AGP (Progressive) and two each to the Congress and Samajvadi Party. The Money-bag Maulana
Badruddin Ajmal is not an ordinary Mullah in the minorities-dominated
Assam: he is the richest candidate worth Rs 30 crore. One of the world's leading attar manufacturers, Ajmal, now heads the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF) which has caused panic in the Congress camp. He owns the Mumbai-based Ajmal Group of Industries. Apart from cash and jewellery, he and his family own 15 plots in Assam, three in Bangalore, one in Deoband and one in Khandala. Besides, he owns a shop in Borivili in Mumbai, two flats in Mumbai and one house in Bareilly. Last year in the aftermath of the repeal of the 22-year-old "Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act", the Maulana, alumni of the Darul Uloom Deoband, famous for producing orthodox clerics include the Talibans, formed the AUDF, an umbrella organisation of 12 linguistic and religious minorities' organisations in the state with a vow to wipe out Congress. "Linguist and religious minorities would not vote for Congress as the party in power failed to defend the Act", the 48-year-old Maulana linked with Jamiat Ul Ulema-e-Hind said. To fulfill his vow he is not only contesting from Congress strongholds of Jamunamukh in Nawgaon and South Salmara in Dhubri district but has also set up 65 candidates across the state where Muslims constitute 30 per cent of the population. Many believed that his outfit may not win many seats but would definitely split the Muslim votes that would benefit both the AGP and BJP.
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