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One killed in Patna poll violence

          Patna: Unidentified gunmen attacked a political party's office in Patna, Bihar, on Saturday killing one and injuring four others. This is the first incident of political violence in the country, barring rebel attacks in restive Kashmir and Jharkhand, in the run-up to the national elections beginning April 20. Eyewitnesses said three gunmen sprayed bullets outside the office of the state's ruling Rashrtiya Janata Dal (RJD), and managed to flee in a runaway vehicle. RJD leaders blamed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which holds power in Patna constituency, for the violence.

Insurgency-prone N-E on alert ahead of polls (Go To Top)

          Guwahati: Paramilitary forces have fanned out across the remote insurgency prone northeastern region ahead of general elections beginning April 20. The separatist guerrillas in the region have called for a boycott of the polls and threatened to attack candidates or campaigning party workers. They also rejected, earlier this week, an offer by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to lay down arms and join the mainstream. A poll panel member, who visited Guwahati on Saturday to review deployment of security personnel, did not rule out stray incidents of violence. "Given the previous experience and the fact that there are underground elements, we do not rule out completely any incident whatsoever of violence. However security forces are well geared up to face any eventuality," N Gopalaswamy, member of the Election Commission, said. The Election Commissioner said that paratroopers have been rushed to rebel strongholds and police commandos are guarding vulnerable political leaders and election rallies. "The additional forces for the state from the central government have also reached. We have gone through the distribution of the forces in various areas," Gopalaswamy said.

Priyanka captures hearts in Rae Bareli (Go To Top)

          Rae Bareli: Priyanka Gandhi-Vadera, daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, on Saturday campaigned for her mother in Rae Bareli, the family's home turf in Uttar Pradesh. Fourth generation of the celebrated Nehru-Gandhi family, Priyanka's massive public appeal has been a consistant boost for her mother's Congress party's sagging morale. Stung by a shoddy campaign and the foreign-origin issue of the Italian-born Sonia, the party, which ruled India for 50 years, has been struggling for survival. Sonia's foreign origins have been a recurrent political issue ever since the leader entered the poll fray in 1999. Though having implications in other parts of the country, in Rae Bareli, which was formerly held by her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, also a prime minister, Gandhis are nothing less than Gods and have won by thumping margins. "The most important thing is that the people are with us and we are with them. They are unhappy with the kind of politics going on in Rae Bareli. They do not want a politics of terror. We want to do genuine work here," Priyanka told reporters as she campaigned on foot, traversing the city's dusty streets.

Rahul campaign big boost to Congress (Go To Top)

          Amethi: Heir to India's most influential political dynasty, Rahul Gandhi is all set to lead his mother's Congress party to an easy win in Amethi, the family's home turf Uttar Pradesh. Fourth generation of the celebrated Nehru-Gandhi family to enter politics, Rahul's charisma and massive public appeal, displayed abundantly during his nomination filing last week, has given a huge and much-needed boost to the Congress party's sagging morale.

           Stung by a shoddy campaign and the foreign-origin issue of its Italia-born leader Sonia Gandhi, the party, which ruled India for 50 years, has been struggling for survival. Rahul is the son of Rajiv Gandhi and the grandson of Indira Gandhi, both former prime ministers who were assassinated. Likened by many to his father, the young leader is looked upon among the youth, as heralding an era of modern governance and new ideas. An opinion poll in a national daily reported that the Congress rating for popularity went up by eight percentage points since Rahul entered the fray.

Congress has been rendered jobless: Vajpayee (Go To Top)

          Buxar, (Bihar): Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday charged the Congress with raking up the issue of unemployment, saying the party itself has been rendered "jobless". Addressing an election rally here, Vajpayee said it was only the Congress that was talking about the problem of unemployment despite lakhs of job avenues being created by the Central government. He claimed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had created 88 lakh jobs during its regime against a target of one crore and promised to fulfil the rest afer it came back to power. "My Government has been creating more and more job avenues, besides launching self employment scehemes," he added.

           In Bhubaneswar, Vajpayee warned the Congress not to accuse his party of being communal. He claimed that if provoked, he would be forced to rake up the past. "Why are we called communalists? It's the Congress, which fostered communalism. Why did the Partition take place and why was Bangladesh created? We want to forget all that," said the Prime Minister. "But we want a guarantee that further attacks will not be made. If they attack us we will teach them a lesson they will never ever forget. I hope that situation won't arise," he added.

Non-Cong Govts failed to deliver: Sonia (Go To Top)

          Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh): Congress president Sonia Gandhi was alleged that the nation's pace of development was severely affected during the "non-Congress rule" at the Centre. Addressing an election rally on Saturday, Sonia claimed that the Congress laid the foundation for development and had taken up several initiatives to accelerate the process during its tenure. Referring to "adivasi" culture, Sonia Gandhi said that late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi initiated many steps for tribal uplift. Accusing the NDA of having "failed on all fronts including employment generation," she said, "They sold out factories for a song and the poor have become poorer. Still, Vajpayee is saying that everything is fine." Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee chief Motilal Vora and leader of the Opposition in the assembly Mahendra Karma, who is contesting from Bastar seat, were among those present.

Advani promises double income for small farmers (Go To Top)

         Jashpur (Chhattisgarh): Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani on Saturday said the NDA manifesto promising to launch a second green revolution on Independence Day this year will be a comprehensive programme to make eastern India another food bowl of the country. Addressing a press conference on the 29th day of his Bharat Uday Yatra, Advani said this second revolution would make Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa a food basket like the first revolution which helped Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh after it was launched in the 1960s.

          "The programme also intends to bridge the rural-urban divide by concentrating on three challenging targets--doubling income of small and marginal farmers by 2010, making India a food producer of the world through high value addition for agricultural products and produces and generating large- scale steady local employment for rural youth," he said. To a question about what made him feel the Ayodhya temple construction will become a reality, Advani said "I am confident that the Mandir will be constructed within a few months after the new government took over." Progress on the issue had been achieved because talks have been taking place away from the media glare, he added.

Rohtang Pass reopens for polls (Go To Top)

          Shimla: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has cleared the treacherous Rohtang pass, one of the highest motorable roads in the world, to help people vote in the upcoming national polls. The strategically important Rohtang Pass was declared open on Saturday, almost a month ahead of schedule, literally "paving the way" for over twenty thousand voters of Lahaul-Spiti. The pass runs close to the India-Tibet border across dizzy Himalayan heights. Snow ploughers and a few bulldozers cleared the pass located at a height of 13,500 feet. The pass usually remains open only six months in a year from May to October. The BRO moved eighteen thousand tonnes of snow in two months to open the pass. BRO officials said that good weather acted as a catalyst. "The main reason is that we are doing the work very fast and the weather is also helping us. So we have been able to complete our work very soon. Certainly, this year we have cleared the pass in a record time, and we have broken all previous records," said Manvinder Singh, a BRO official. Residents of Lahaul-Spiti said that now they could join millions of others in the democratic exercise.