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Vajpayee files nomination from Lucknow

          Lucknow: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today filed his nomination papers for the Lucknow parliamentary constituency here. Vajpayee, who was accompanied by BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu, party general secretary Pramod Mahajan, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, and leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Lalji Tandon, filed four sets of nominations in the presence of the Returning Officer and District Magistrate Aradhana Shukla. BJP leaders Badriprasad Awasthi, Lalji Tandon, Shivkumar and Lucknow Mayor SC Rai proposed his name. Before filing his nomination, Vajpayee performed a 'havan' at the BJP election office here at around 11 a.m.

          Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress party has announced that it will field former Mayor Akhilesh Das against Vajpayee from Lucknow as independent candidate Ram Jethmalani had to leave the country due to personal reasons. Congress sources said that as Jethmalani's son was unwell, the eminent lawyer had flown him out to London for further treatment. They said that Das would withdraw his candidature should Jethmalani return to contest. On Wednesday, Vajpayee had urged Jethmalani to reconsider to contest against him, saying that they were friends and colleagues of over 40 years standing and that this would probably be the last elections that both of them would contest. Jethmalani said he would ''consider'' the Prime Minister's request, but would not take any hasty decision. Das is stated to have filed his nomination papers at around 11:30 am.

          Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Murli Manohar Joshi and veteran film actor Dharmendra also were scheduled to file their nominations today from Mainpuri, Allahabad and Bikaner, respectively.

Tickets for Sandeep Dixit, Kapil Sibal, Sajjan Kumar (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Ending days of suspense, the Congress has finally named its candidates for the three remaining Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi. The party has nominated Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit's son Sandeep Dikshit from the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat. The party had earlier announced candidates for four of the seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi, but was unable to evolve a consensus on the nominees for rest of the constituencies. Delhi Chief minister Shiela Dixit's son Sandeep Dixit, who has been nominated by the Congress for East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, says his mother's performance would come to his advantage during the elections, while the non-performance of the sitting BJP would be his USP.

          Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal has been nominated from the Chandni Chowk seat, while veteran leader Sajjan Kumar will contest from Outer Delhi.

Nominations for fifth phase of polls opens Friday (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Nominations for the fifth and final phase of the general elections will open on Friday after President APJ Abdul Kalam issues a notification for the same. As many as 182 parliamentary seats in 16 states will be covered during the last phase of the polls on May 10. The seats include West Bengal (42), Tamil Nadu (39), Kerala (20), Uttar Pradesh (18), Madhya Pradesh (17), Punjab (13), Haryana (10), Delhi (7), Uttranchal (5), Himachal Pradesh (3), Jammu and Kashmir (2) and one each in Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar islands, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. Sikkim will also elect its 32-member state Assembly on May 10.

Advani's yatra over (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani returned here on Thursday after completing his 33-day-long odyssey across the country. "As far as the journey is concerned, I have learnt from all this more than what I had expected," he told reporters at Palam airport. Advani had kicked off his "Bharat Uday Yatra" from Kanyakumari on March 10.

JKDFP launches anti-poll campaign (Go To Top)

          Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) in Kashmir on Thursday launched an anti-poll campaign, to urge people to boycott the forthcoming general elections, beginning later this month. JKDFP, which took out a massive protest rally in Srinagar, is among dozens of separatist and militant organisations who have asked people to stay away from elections, saying it would not help resolve the decades old issue. JKDFP leader Shabir Shah said his party would visit all parts of the state to garner support. "We are going to launch an awareness campaign and we will go to every nook and corner of the state," said Shah. "We will go to Kupwara, Nubra, Ladakh and the whole of Jammu and Kashmir. We will tell the people we will not be able to do anything without you. Be it Buddhists, Kashmiri Pundits, Muslims or Sikhs," he added. Jammu and Kashmir sends six lawmakers to the 543-member lower house of parliament.

Naga tribe in Manipur to vote as rebel group lifts ban (Go To Top)

          Sobhapati (Manipur): Election fever catches up the Naga tribe in insurgency-hit Manipur, who had long been staying away from elections due to a ban imposed on them by the militants. The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak- Muivah), (NSCN-IM), a powerful rebel group operating mainly in Nagaland, had banned their tribes from voting in elections. However, as the peace talks between the Indian officials and the NSCN-IM are in progress, the Naga tribes are enthusiastic about participating in the national elections. A large number of Nagas have been living in the contiguous areas of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. At Sobhapati in Ukhrul district, banners and election posters with pictures of the candidates have appeared in every nook and corner, the native place of NSCN-IM supremo, Thuingaleng Muivah.

          "The election mood is very high in the hill areas specially for voters at the grassroot level. They are very much enthusiastic about electing their representatives, the right person to represent them in New Delhi, because they know who is the right person and who will work for them in the future to meet their aspirations. They want peace and development," said Ashang Shimray, a Naga student leader. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to Nagaland last year also raised the hopes of the local people. Major political parties, who have fielded their candidates in the outer Manipur constituency also campaign on the issues of development in the region. "If we do not have food, how will we survive? If we do not have clothes, how will we keep ourselves warm in winters? We need food, clothes and development in our area. So we should choose the right party and the candidate, who will look after our people," Dominic Loli Adanee, candidate of Vajpayee's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said. The hilly areas of Manipur are mainly inhabited by more than 30 ethnic communities. Meiteis and Kukis are prominent among them. As the Naga tribes were staying away from elections, only Meiteis and Kukis had been elected to Parliament.

           Apart from the sitting lawmaker, Holkhomang Haokip of the Nationalist Congress Party, the BJP, Janata Dal (United) and Trinamool Congress are also in the fray. Outer Manipur constitency has around 800,000 voters. One each of the two parliamentary constituencies in Manipur will vote on April 20 and 26. Elections have been staggered as Manipur is one of the most violence prone states in the northeastern region after Tripura. The Manipur People's Liberation Front, an umbrella organisation of the three major rebel outfits in the state, - PREPAK, RPF UNLF, has given a call for poll boycott while NSCN-IM, which has observed a ceasefire with Indian government, has opened talks.

          The Central government's interlocutors have recently held talks with representatives of NSCN-IM. In November 2002, the government lifted a 12-year ban on the group, the biggest among the northeast's 50-odd rebel armies, to pave the way for its leaders to return to try to end a conflict that has claimed 50,000 lives over more than five decades. The peace process between the rebel group and the Indian government received a boost when NSCN chairman Isak Chisi Swu and party general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah met deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani in New Delhi in January last year.The NSCN and Indian officials have held discussions in Europe and Asia since a 1997 truce but this was the first time Naga leaders had met a top Indian leader in New Delhi since 1967. Rebels accuse the federal government of looting the region's rich mineral resources and neglecting its economy. Northeast, comprising seven mountainous federal states, is home to about 200 ethnic groups and has been plagued by revolts since India won independence from Britain in 1947.