During campaigning in 2004
"Vajpayee is my leader. It is he alone who can keep the country united. We will ensure that Karnataka is indeed the BJP gateway to the South."
Warning: Read Conditions Before You Sign
Had DMK president M. Karunanidhi signed on the NDA’s dotted line without reading the contents? Last week, L. Ganesan, senior state BJP leader, claimed that the DMK chief and other former Tamil Nadu allies of the BJP had signed the NDA agenda (clause 28) in ’99 that sought a legislation to bar foreign-born persons from holding high office. Karunanidhi thundered and asked Ganesan: "Where is my signature on it?". Within 24 hours, Ganesan produced the document before the press: "After Vajpayee and Fernandes, Karunanidhi is the third signatory, having signed the document in English," he said. The BJP’s ploy was to embarrass the DMK now that it had joined hands with the Congress. Also, the DMK chief had issued a statement saying that he had no objections to Sonia Gandhi becoming the prime minister.
Karunanidhi had no choice but to argue that there was no specific reference to the post of prime minister in the document. "Moreover, the Supreme Court has already upheld Sonia Gandhi’s Indian citizenship," Karunanidhi said. The DMK chief’s doublespeak has come in handy for Jayalalitha whose campaign theme is directed at Antonio Maino alias Sonia. Embarrassed DMK men explained that their boss had signed without reading because it written in English!
Have Money, Will Buy Ticket
Now here is a rare story—someone bribing the party leader for a Lok Sabha ticket. Kerala Congressman Rajmohan Unnithan has accused K. Karunakaran’s son and state power minister K. Muraleedharan of taking Rs 25 lakh from the Kollam seat-aspirant Soorandu Rajasekharan for a ticket. Nobody’s saying where Rajasekharan got the money from.
And there’s more. Unnithan’s colleague in the party, T. Saratchandra Prasad, said Muraleedharan has pocketed tons of money collected in the name of a dissident rally held in Ernakulam on November 19. He joked that capitation fee was not only confined to self-financing professional colleges. "It is very much a part of the Congress jargon in Kerala," he said.
Karunakaran has tried his best to coax the two detractors into silence. Till now Unnithan has refused to give in. But he has agreed to make one concession—he will keep quiet about further exposes.
Sorry, Housefull
Troubled times may be ahead for RJD-Congress in Bihar. A confident Laloo Yadav is not keen to allot too many seats to his allies— he is adamant he will not part with more than six out of the 40 seats. While that is good for him, it is not for his allies. Says Laloo: "Demand for seats ought to be realistic." But ally Ram Vilas Paswan is as stubborn. "I will not take less than 14 seats," he says. But he may end up getting only seven—which may be what he deserves as he has only three MPs currently. The CPI too is upset with the RJD boss for allotting not more than one seat to them. But Laloo is in no mood to relent. Sources say that he has bigger plans which he will unveil as the elections get under way.
Poll Vault
Poll Bonanza
Narendra Modi, CM Gujarat
Launched Sujalam Sufalam Yojna to solve water and power problems in north Gujarat; will fill up Mahi river with Narmada waters in two years. Cost: Rs 6,000 crore. Power waiver for farmers; has reduced power prices from Rs 900 per horsepower to Rs 800; several self-employment and rural development schemes initiated.
Navin Patnaik, CM, Orissa
Two DA instalments for government employees; money released for teachers and employees of colleges and schools which had been held up for several years; self-employment schemes to benefit over 20,000 state government employees; will give fresh government jobs to over 10,000 registered at employment exchanges.
All About Apolitical Ads
Whose ads are these? They talk of changing the central government because of rising unemployment and the lack of security for women. But the Congress has nothing to do with it. They are, in fact, put out by the Saanjhi Viraasat Trust (SVT). It’s headed by veteran journalists Kuldip Nayar and Prabhash Joshi and Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande. It’s just a coincidence that Leo Burnett is working with SVT, while its subsidiary, Orchard, has the Congress account.
To be fair, the trust is non-partisan. There are also ads showing Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom struggle with the catchline: ‘foreigners should not be allowed to rule the country’. The Congress has complained to the Election Commission. But it’s not clear which party the EC will hold up for violating the model code of conduct.
Chautala’s Security Net
Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala has set the cat among the pigeons by nominating Krishna Malik, wife of the state’s director general of police (DGP), as the candidate for the Sonepat seat. The DGP is a known Chautala fan, despite his uniform, and hails from a prominent Jat family in Sonepat.
The Opposition Congress and the BJP are demanding that M.S. Malik should be relieved of his charge as the DGP because they say there will be widespread misuse of the state police machinery. But Chautala is unrelenting—he has made it clear that there is no question of Malik being removed from his post.
The DGP has begun campaigning in earnest for his wife. The BJP is videographing "evidence of the involvement of Haryana policemen in Krishna’s campaign" to send to the Election Commission.
Dubious Distinction
Sakshi Maharaj attacks his mentor, Kalyan Singh, for not giving him a ticket, saying "He used me as a doormat".
In Passing
Filmmaker Prakash Jha to contest from Bettiah (Bihar) against local don Rajan Tewari and BJP’s Madan Jaiswal. He has not joined any party.
