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Repolling in five states today

           New Delhi: Repolling has begun in 81 polling stations in five states today. According to an Election Commission order, polling will take place again in 38 polling stations in Rajasthan, 29 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Madhya Pradesh, two in Arunachal Pradesh and one in Nagaland, where elections were held on May 5. A decision on repolling in Bihar will be taken today. The Election Commission's fact-finding team, which went to Chapra in Bihar following allegations of large-scale rigging and demands for countermanding the election there is likely to submit its report today. The team comprising Adviser K J Rao and Principal Secretary Ananth Kumar, visited Chapra on Sunday and Monday following complaints from the BJP of large-scale rigging and violence in the high-profile constituency which saw a tussle between Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will continue his campaign in UP by addressing two rallies in Bulandshahr and in Ghaziabad on the outskirts of the Indian capital. Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani is in Kerala where 20 parliamentary constituencies go to the polls on Monday. The BJP has never won a seat in the state. Congress president Sonia Gandhi will address a joint rally with DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Sunam, Tamil Nadu.

Opposition parties intensify poll campaign (Go To Top)

           New Delhi: With the general elections entering in the fourth and last phase, the Opposition parties began innovative campaigns to woo the voters. In the Capital, supporters of Kapil Sibal, the Congress candidate from the Chandni Chowk constituency, took out an unusual rally to seek votes for him. The supporters, most of them women, campaigned on three-wheeled cycle-rickshaws. Sibal said the rally was meant to show the extensive support the party enjoyed among the common man. "We want to show that the lawyers, women, trader, the lower castes, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs...every section of society is with us," Sibal said. All the seven constituencies of Delhi will go to polls on May 10.

          Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattachrya took out an impressive rally in the pocketborough of the Nationalist Trinamool Congress leader Mamta Banerjee in Kolkata North-west constituency. "I am a different type of chief minister, I always go for road shows, procession and meetings. I love to talk to people," Bhattacharya told reporters. West Bengal, which sends 42 law-makers, has been ruled by the communists for the last 28 years. The state faces a triangular contest as the ruling Left Front, the Congress and the federal ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have fielded their candidates in all the 42 constituencies.

          In Tamil Nadu senior DMK leader M. Karunanidhi said his party had left the BJP-led federal coalition as it stoked communal tensions. "The BJP has acted against secularism because Hindus, Muslims and Christians were living in peace here. There should be harmony but the BJP stoked communal tensions," Karunanidhi said at a public rally in Chennai. DMK, which was in alliance with the BJP recently left it and joined hands with the Congress to fight the elections. The ruling party in the state, the AIADMK, has forged an alliance with the BJP. All the 39 constituencies of Tamil Nadu vote on May 10.

Security steps for polls in Tamil Nadu (Go To Top)

          Chennai: The state of Tamil Nadu has been fortified even as preparations are being made for the fourth and last round of elections in the state, slated to be held on May 10. With over 568 candidates in the fray in the 39 constituencies, the authorities are working overtime to ensure trouble-free polling. Security drills are on and paramilitary personnel and policemen are patrolling the streets of Madras, the state capital. Senior police officials said that adequate security arrangements have been put in place. "We have managed to mobilise the special forces so we are in a good preparation at the moment, there should not be any problem," said Chennai Joint Commissioner of Police M.K. Jha. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were dispatched on Thursday to thousands of polling stations across the state.State Chief Minister Jayalalitha's AIADMK has forged a state-level alliance with the BJP even as her rival M. Karunanidhi's DMK has formed a formidable alliance with the main opposition Congress, the CPI-M and two other regional parties - PMK and MDMK.

People threaten to boycott polls in Coimbatore (Go To Top)

          Coimbatore: The residents of Vellalore-Kurichi, Chettipalayam here have threatened to boycott Lok Sabha polls, highlighting the issue of dumping garbage, bio-medical waste and septic tank waste in the garbage yard in the area. The people are demanding closure of the garbage yard. The Vellallore garbage yard, situated 18 km from Coimbatore, was a land belonging to the farmers. The government took away the land from them, but five years ago, and convereted it into a garbage yard. Now almost 800 tons of solid waste, garbage waste and bio medical waste is being dumped in this area and to reduce the quantity of garbage inside the yard, the authorities responsible for the yard itself set the garbage on fire. Moreover, the entire area in and around the garbage yard is covered with smoke due to continuous burning of garbage.

           "Despite several demands, petitions, and representations made to the government, district administration and politicians, the need for the necessary action for the closure of the garbage yard has not been addressed to. A chance is now for us to give a wide coverage to it so that we could boycott the elections," said Ganesan, Vice President, Kurichi-Vellore Pollution prevention action committee. Highlighting the issue, thousands of residents in the Kurichi and Vellalore town panchayat have decided to boycott polls in protest against the corporation's inaction.