New
Delhi: As the Indian heartland states get ready for
the second phase of national polls, top leaders filed their
nominations with a good amount of backing from their parties
on Wednesday. Federal Labour Minister from the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) Sahib Singh Verma filed his papers from
Outer Delhi constituency where he faces a tough fight from
Congress party's leader Sajjan Kumar. Verma, a former chief
minister of Delhi, said he would work for the development
of slum dwellers who live in unauthorised colonies. "My
promises are with the people of Delhi, for the poor people
here. I want to give benefits to the unauthorised colonies
and till they are authorised, I will see that no taxes are
imposed on them. I will oppose any kind of tax on the poor
and will fight for water and electricity," Verma told reporters.
RK
Anand, a lawyer with the Supreme Court and a candidate of
the Congress party, filed nomination from the south Delhi
constituency promising to give a tough contest to BJP spokesperson
Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Delhi goes to polls on May 10 in the
fifth and final phase of the world's biggest election involving
more than 670 million people.
Meanwhile,
Sandip Bandopadhyay, an independent candidate from Calcutta
North, and Naresh Gujral of the BJP from Ludhiana filed
their nominations. Bandopadhyay is supported by the Congress.
Film
actor-turned-politician Jayaprada also filed her nomination
from Rampur constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Jayaprada, a
candidate of the state's ruling Samajwadi Party, is contesting
against Congress' sitting lawmaker Noor Bano.
Repolling
for 191 booths in six states (Go
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New
Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday ordered
repoll in 191 polling stations in Andhra Pradesh, Jammu
and Kashmir, Gujarat, Assam, Orissa and Manipur. Senior
officials said the EC may also order repolling in more than
100 polling stations each in Bihar and Jharkhand and would
arrive at a decision either late night or tomorrow when
all the reports are obtained from Returning Officers. The
repoll will take place over the next 10 days after the voting
process was vitiated yesterday due to different reasons.
No repoll will take place in Maharashtra, Andaman and Nicobar,
Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli which had also
gone to the polls yesterday in the first phase of elections
to the 14th Lok Sabha.
BJP
reviews prospects in LS polls (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other
top BJP leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani
and party president M. Venkaiah Naidu, met to review the
party's prospects in the Lok Sabha elections, here on Wednesday.
At the meeting the party also discussed the strategy to
be adopted by the party in the remaining three phases of
elections. It also discussed the reply that it has formulated
for the Election Commission on the Lucknow `sari' stampede
incident in which 22 women were killed. After the meeting,
the BJP also appealed to voters for a decisive verdict in
the polls. "Give us a majority ....... an absolute majority
so that we can amend the Constitution if the need arises,"
said party chief Venkaiah Naidu. He also said that the exit
polls clearly favour the BJP-led NDA alliance.
BJP
activists begin race to woo voters (Go
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New
Delhi: Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raced
on Wednesday to woo voters after exit polls for the first
round of voting suggested the BJP-led coalition was set
to return to power. In New Delhi campaiging has gained momentum
and candidates are filing nominations for their constituencies.
The national capital will vote on May 10, the last phase
of the massive elections.
Television
actress Smriti Irani, hugely popular with the housewives,
makes her political journey from the capital's extremely
traditional old city area and will take on stalwart Kapil
Sibal of the main Congress. Irani, who made television history
portraying the perfect daughter-in-law in one the nation's
most successful soaps ever, played the family card yet again
as she interacted with women and touched the feet of elders,
urging them to vote. "I want to make people, especially
women, aware of their right to vote. All people living in
joint families should go and vote on May 10," Irani said.
Federal
Tourism Minister Jagmohan, known for his honest, no- nonsense
image, on Wednesday filed his nomination papers from New
Delhi. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's BJP has campaigned
on a feel good platform of economic growth and peace with
Pakistan. The Congress party says the average Indian has
not benefited from economic reforms. Both parties have begun
massive rallying as the heartland state of Uttar Pradesh,
which holds the key to power and crucial Karnataka and Maharashtra,
go to polls in the next phase. Fighting to save the fortunes
of her party, Sonia Gandhi, the Italy-born head of the Congress
has hit the road in Uttar Pradesh, the nation's most populous
state.
Both
Gandhi and Vajpayee have their political constituencies
in Uttar Pradesh, which votes in the next three phases of
the world's biggest election involving more than 670 million
people and which ends on May 10. Exit polls by television
channels and newspapers say the ruling BJP-led coalition
would return to power but with a reduced majority, on the
basis of Tuesday's vote for just over a quarter of seats
in parliament. The exit poll, conducted by NDTV and the
Indian Express newspaper, said the alliance would win between
260 and 280 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Vajpayee's
coalition now holds 287 seats, more than the halfway mark
of 273 required to rule. The BJP has played down its hardline
Hindu image and campaigned instead on a platform of peace
and prosperity. The Congress, which says reforms have not
benefited enough Indians, has long accused the BJP of a
deep-seated bias against the country's 120 million Muslims
and says the party remains a threat to India's secular character.
The votes will be counted on May 13 and results are expected
later that day.
Campaigning
ends in Tripura (Go
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Agartala:
Campaigning for the second phase of national polls has
come to an end in Tripura. The strife-torn state goes to
the polls on Thursday. The main contest is between the Congress
and the state's ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)
(CPI-M). The federal ruling National Democratic Alliance
has also put up their candidates for the two seats at stake.
Tripura is only the second state in the country held by
the leftists, after West Bengal. Polling was deferred in
Tripura from April 20 to 22 in view of a local festival.
Campaigning in the insurgency-prone state has been low key,
with neither Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee nor leader
of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi touring the state. "The campaigning
has practically no opposition. It is one sided. So we are
not getting any enjoyment out of the campaigning," said
Binoy Saha, a supporter of CPI (M). Election officers said
despite militant threats, campaigning has been peaceful.
