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Election Code of Conduct violation in Tamil Nadu

         New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday asked the Election Commission (EC) to take action against the Congress party for its alleged violation of election code of conduct in Tamil Nadu. A BJP delegation including state BJP chief Ganes Lal complained to the Commission that the Congress party has placed hoardings and posters in violation of model code of conduct.

         However, senior Congress party leader Jagdish Tytler ridiculed the BJP's allegation saying that the complaint did not have any truth in it. The Commission has ordered parties to remove all hoardings and posters from public places and restrict them to the premises of their party offices. Campaigning in India has traditionally been about larger-than-life cutouts, posters and banners pasted on every roadside and walls, either public or private property, and extraordinary roadshows.

          Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu's ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) asked the CEC to keep a check on the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, whom they alleged of selling party tickets. "The DMK party has collected some Rs. 25 crore and above in Tamil Nadu. From every candidate who wanted to contest the election, they have collected Rs. 6 to 8 lakhs each. That's what we complained about the DMK party to the election commission," Dindigul P. Sreenivasan, treasurer of AIADMK, told reporters. The newly formed alliance of Congress-DMK is expected to give a fierce fight to the BJP-AIADMK alliance in Tamil Nadu's 39 seats to the Lok Sabha. Tamil Nadu will vote on May 10.

PM launches poll campaign in Patiala (Go To Top)

          Patiala: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Thursday kicked off his Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign in Patiala for the next month's national polls. The best monsoon in a decade has encouraged Vajpayee to call for early elections, six months ahead of schedule. Vajpayee's ruling coalition is cashing in on the growth rate of more than eight percent in the year to the end of March, a booming economy, and peace initiatives with Pakistan. "We want to bring the second green revolution. More than Rs. 50,000 crore are being invested to change the structure of the agriculture policy," Vajpayee told a public rally in Patiala. Prakash Singh Badal, former Chief Minister of Punjab and opposition Shiromani Akali Dal, an ally of the BJP, also shared the dais with Vajpayee as he launched the campaign in the agrarian state.

Bappi Lahiri joins Congress (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: Popular Bollywood singer Bappi Lahiri on Thursday joined the Congress and announced that he would actively campaign for the Congress to spread the message of party president Sonia Gandhi through his music. Observing that joining the party was like a "dream come true," Lahiri, who is stated to hold a world record for providing music in nearly 435 films in various Indian languages, said he would contribute his best to canvass for the party in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Senior party leader Salman Khurshid and AICC general secretary Subirami Reddy welcomed the singer into the party fold.

Advani, Sonia continue their election campaign (Go To Top)

         Barauch: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday continued her roadshow in Gujarat, ahead of national polls beginning next month. Gandhi drove through several places, alighting at several points to talk to the people waiting for her at the road-sides. The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have been leading an intensive campaign against Sonia Gandhi's origin, saying that a foreign-born cannot hold the top post in the country. Gandhi's public programmes are expected to improve her party's prospects, which is likely to face its worst rout in the elections expected to be won by BJP-led coalition.

          Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani addressed a public rally, which included a large number of Muslims in Karimnagar district, as a part of his 33-day gruelling nationwide chariot ride. Abandoning the hardline Hindu rhetoric of the past, Advani's BJP is making a concerted effort to woo minority Muslims and Christians in next month's elections. Advani shot to fame in 1990 when he led a nationwide rath yatra, or chariot ride, to campaign for the construction of a controversial temple in place of a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya. The issue helped propel the BJP to power in 1998, but since then the reality of coalition politics has seen the party put many of its Hindu revivalist themes on hold.

BJP hopes to gain in Kerala with its new ally (Go To Top)

          Muvattupuzha (Kerala): Hilly Muvattupuzha constituency in Kerala is all set for a triangular contest between its three-term sitting lawmaker's new party, his parent regional party and the state Opposition Left Front. Muvattupuzha alongwith other 19 parliamentary constituencies in the state, votes on May 10. The Christian dominated constituency in central Kerala has been a strong bastion of the community dominated by Kerala Congress (Mani) (KCM) and has been voting for the party candidate for more than a decade. The sitting lawmaker and Central junior minister PC Thomas, had won the seat on the KCM ticket for the third consecutive term to the outgoing 13th Lok Sabha.

          Otherwise a sure seat for the party, Muvattupuzha witnesses a fierce triangular fight this time with Thomas coming into the fray as the candidate of his new party, Indian Federal Democratic Party (IFDP), which joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central coalition last year. Thomas' political patron and state Revenue Minister KM Mani has fielded his son Jose K Mani in Muvattupuzha to retain his party's single parliamentary constituency in the state, while the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) led state Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) has Ismail as their candidate. Thomas hopes to cash in on his performance in Parliament and the developmental activities he has done during his term as junior minister in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee-led government. The Left Front hopes to take advantage of the split in the state's ruling Congress party-led United Democratic Front (UDF) votes as Thomas would take away a major chunk from his personally-nourished constituency. The LDF hopes to win over minority Muslim voters who are obviously disappointed with Thomas' entry into BJP camp.

          The stand of the Catholic church which wields a definite influence over the community electorate, would be crucial for both Mani and Thomas. The Church controls the Kerala Congress groups, which have a wide support base in central Kerala and are virtually the political arm of the Christian clergy. It has a stake in the rich plantations of rubber and coffee, as well as in the education sector, where the community dominates. Christians constitute 21 per cent of the state's 29 million population. The BJP, which has fielded four Christian candidates in the state in order to project its secular image, hopes that Thomas' entry would help the NDA open their account in the state, at least in Muvattupuzha.