Chennai:
Bharatiya Janata Party president M Venkaiah Naidu on
Saturday ruled out realignment of political forces after
the Lok Sabha elections. "There is no question of realignment
of forces, even if the people threw a hung Parliament,"
he told a press conference in Chennai. Asked specifically
if the erstwhile partners of NDA from Tamil Nadu would be
readmitted after the polls, he said the question did not
arise. He likened exit and opinion polls to the trailers
of films, which were yet to be released. "These will help
the people understand the forces of instability," he said.
The battle of the 'Lals' of Haryana (Go
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Bhiwani:
Call it the battle of the Lals. A tough fight is on
the cards in the prestigious Bhiwani Parliamentary constituency
of Haryana as the scions of the famous Lals of Haryana battle
it out for the Lok Sabha seat. The battle here is between
Surendra Singh of Haryana Vikas Party and son of former
Chief Minister Bansi Lal, Kuldip Singh Bishnoi of Congress
and son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, and Ajay Chautala
of Indian National Lok Dal and son of present Chief Minister
Om Prakash Chautala. The campaign is in full swing as the
three candidates are touring all the nine Assembly segments
of Bhiwani trying to shore up last-minute support before
Haryana votes on the 10th of May. The present MP from Bhiwani,
Ajay Chautala of INLD is upbeat about his chances and says
that the development work done by him in the constituency
will see him through. Bhiwani is now awash with the flags
of INLD, Congress and HVP. There is hectic activity as last
minute campaigns are going on to capture the voter's minds.
Bhiwani seems all set for the battle royale.
PDP
alliance campaigns aggressively (Go
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Doda:
The PDP alliance made its last bid to woo voters in
the troubled region as campaigning for the fifth and final
phase of the massive national elections ended on Saturday.
Chief Mufti Mohammed Sayeed of the People's Democratic Party
(PDP) and Ghulam Nabi Azad, senior Congress leader, a junior
coalition ally, rallied in Doda, claiming to have brought
peace and economic development to the region, ravaged by
years of militancy. The Hindu-dominated Doda along with
the Buddhist-majority remote Ladakh constituency will go
to the polls on Monday. "There has been a positive change
in the conditions here. The common minimum programme that
the PDP and the Congress have made has been a big help in
bringing about the change in the entire state," Sayeed said.
Violence has marked voting in Kashmir where militants and
political separatists have called for a boycott of the poll
saying elections cannot resolve the decades-old conflict
over the Himalayan region. Overall however, violence in
the troubled state has fallen since India and Pakistan began
a peace process last year. Congress stalwart Azad on the
other hand slammed the BJP for misleading the nation with
claims of prosperity.
Laloo denies charges of poll violence (Go
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New
Delhi: A key leader from India's eastern Bihar state
on Saturday slammed the federal ruling alliance for making,
what he termed as, false charges of booth capturing on his
party. Laloo Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD),
which leads the state's coalition government, has been accused
by the BJP of instigating violence and rigging, in Chapra
cosntituency on April 26, from where Yadav is a candidate.
The issue has caused a furore in the state, with state's
opposition parties led by the BJP candidate and Civil Aviation
Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy demanding a repoll in the constituency.
The Election Commission (EC) which is investigating the
charges, will present its report in next week.after a 30-minute
meeting with the three-member Commission in New Delhi, Yadav
told reporters that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance
(NDA), stung by its imminent defeat, was trying to make
a mountain out of a mole-hill. "I requested the full bench
of the Election Commission that repolling in Chapra should
be done at booths where it is required. Election Commission
should not fall in their (federal ruling National Democratic
Alliance) trap. They (NDA) are simply making a hue and cry
because they know that they are not going to form the next
government," he said. Laloo also came out strong against
the federally-deployed paramilitary forces after a video
report by a news channel showed some soldiers breach the
code of secrecy and help villagers cast ballot in Madhepura,
another constituency where Laloo Yadav is pitted against
another federal minister Sharad Yadav. An agitated Laloo
Yadav demanded strict action against the offenders.
