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POLL
ROUNDUP
With
assembly elections in some states round the corner, political
parties have gone into overdrive trying to outdo one another and
woo the electorate. Read their latest machinisations in the POLL
ROUNDUP.
Information Power
DELHI:
The BJP to its utter surprise recently discovered that its central ministers
have often had a word of appreciation for Congress-ruled governments in
various states. Determined to make amends before the elections, party
chief M. Venkaiah Naidu hurriedly called a breakfast meeting of the central
ministers last week. In the presence of Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani,
the ministers were told to collect hard information on the performance
of state governments especially those in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Delhi and Rajasthan where elections will be held in two months' time.
Ironically, 16 out of the 59 invited ministers were absent from the meeting.
While Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Arun Jetley were out of the country,
at least one senior minister missed the meeting because he did not know
about it. HRD minister M.M. Joshi said he got no intimation about the
meeting which was why he kept away. One wonders then if Naidu's purpose
was served.
Status Quo
RAIPUR: The clouds of uncertainty over the continuation of Chief Minister
Ajit Jogi may have dispersed for now. In hindsight, much of the apprehension
was created by two former chief ministers Motilal Vora and Shyama Charan
Shukla who were looking for gainful employment. The duo desperately tried
to convince party President Sonia Gandhi that court cases and CBI investigation
against the incumbent chief minister-in connection with his schedul status
and the Operation Black Sea-were ruining the party's chances. Although
the high command was all ears initially, two things swung things back
in Jogi's favour. The first was his strong plea that the CBI be let to
indict him increased chances of his gaining public sympathy. Secondly,
when Shukla and Vora could not decide who among them could effectively
replace Jogi, Sonia decided it was best to retain the status quo.
Power is the Key
BHOPAL: Over time party manifestos have lost their importance but
the seriousness with which Ma
ter Digvijay Singh is treating his 2003 manifesto needs special mention.
Even as the Congress unit in Chhattisgarh and the BJP units in both states
have been unable to decide on who would be on the manifesto committee,
Digvijay has already held four meetings in Pachmarhi and Mandu where he
spent 12 hours each day to finetune what his government would do if voted
to power. But why Pachmarhi and Mandu? To stay away from pressing matters
of administration and ticket-seeking Congressmen who were asked to strictly
keep off these places. Two former chief secretaries of the state-K.S.
Sharma and S.C. Behar-had already made a draft copy on which Digvijay
has prepared his new agenda for governance. The focus this time appears
to on employment and power generation unlike the last time when it was
on decentralisation and education. The simplest way of offering employment
today is assurance of reservation to all classes and this time the non-creamy
layer of upper castes are in for rewards. Digvijay feels that 70 per cent
of his voters may come from the 18-35 age group, so he wanted to do something
about them. As for power which is going to be the most crucial issue in
the elections, there is a promise to make the state power surplus by 2007.
Sounds impressive enough on the manifesto, but its efficacy will be known
only four years hence.
Identity Crisis
RAIPUR: The legal cells of political parties have never had so much
work. The Vidhik Prakoshtha--whether it exists or not--of the NCP and
Congress in Chhattisgarh have taken out full-page paid ads in local papers
to prove their point-Jogi's schedule status. On September 12, the NCP
put out an ad which excerpted the recent judgement of a Shahdol court
which prima facie accepted a case filed against Jogi by Union minister
Dalpat Singh Paraste dated September 4. The court has accepted Paraste's
contention that Jogi is not a tribal but a Satnami by caste. It has issued
notices to Jogi to appear before it on September 16. Miraculously the
same day another full
ha of the state Congress excerpted the judgment of the Jabalpur High Court
in a previous case filed in 2001. Justice Deepak Mishra had levied a fine
of Rs 10,000 on petitioner Manohar Singh of Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh,
for raising frivolous matters through public litigation and wasting the
court's time. The case had related to a similar matter on Jogi's caste
status where the court agreed with the advocate generals of both Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh that the case could not be enquired into once
the Thana incharge had submitted the report of his investigations. It
appears Jogi will have to contend more with allegations against his schedule
status than any incumbency or development-related matter.
Surprise Tactics
JAIPUR: After crisscrossing Rajasthan through her Parivartan Yatra,
Vasundhra Raje Scindhia, state BJP chief, disappeared from the media spotlight
for a while. And just when everyone felt fatigue had got the better of
her, she resurfaced in an unexpectedly successful rally in tribal dominant
Udaipur. All these days, it is learnt, she has been focussing on party
affairs and working out probable candidates. In another surprise move,
she invited dissident Brahmin leader Ghanshyam Tewari for a meeting where
she asked him his choice of constituency for the coming assembly polls.
What her next move is is anybody's guess.
Emerging Mass Leader
JAIPUR: There are not many young turks in Rajasthan politics. But
among them is Pratap Singh Khachriawas. A nephew of Vice-president Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat, he has in the past rather forcefully tried to build his
own mass base through grassroots agitation. At one time, he fell out with
Shekhawat and the BJP and even opposed its official candidate in an assembly
poll but has since come back with more strength. His help during the Parivartan
Yatra and his ability to organise successful agitations have impressed
Vasundhra Raje Scindhia so much that she unilaterally appointed him as
head of the party's Yuva Morcha two mon
vi, general secretary and son-in-law of Shekhawat as also the RSS lobby.
A major reason was that Khachriawas has a strong claim for candidature
from Bani Park constituency in Jaipur where Rajpal Singh who is related
to the late RSS chief Rajendra Singh was contesting. Scindhia has now
succumbed to pressure and removed Khachriawas from the post. If the party
rises above petty politics and gives Khachriawas enough support, he can
could emerge as a refined but aggressive mass mobiliser and fill the void
created by expelled rustic leader Devi Singh Bhatti.
Sheer Rhetoric
DELHI: The poll bells may be ringing with the Congress and BJP gearing
up for big fights in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. But there
is precious little beyond rhetoric happening. The BJP finally called all
its ministers in the Government for a meeting and asked them to pay particular
attention to requests from party functionaries in poll-bound states. The
code of conduct is likely to come into force by early October and then
it would not be possible to announce central assistance. Good thinking
but party circles cannot help but wonder whether this should not have
been done earlier.
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