The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : POLL

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Monday, Apr 19, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

POLL - POURRI

Where are the cows?

Countering the campaign launched by the Congress against the BJP for failing to distribute cows as promised in its manifesto, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh, said the Opposition had no other issue to raise. However, there have been instances where the villagers have come with ropes and buckets to attend the election rallies, believing that cows will be distributed as promised by the Government. "We never said cows would be distributed within four months. The proposal for distribution is ready but cannot be implemented due to the model code of conduct," he said.

Dr. Singh also referred to the rise in coconut prices by Rs. 2 in the past couple of months, saying it appeared that Congressmen have suddenly become religious minded and need coconuts every day. The authorities had approached the Kerala Government to supply coconuts which would arrive in the State soon and help bring down the prices.

In the name of unity

The Congress has fielded a Muslim candidate from Ajmer in Rajasthan in the name of Hindu-Muslim unity. It is for the first time that a party has nominated a Muslim candidate from Ajmer, which does not have a big Muslim population. The Congress slogan of "quami ekta" (communal unity) is seemingly inspired by the fact that Ajmer has the world famous dargah of the Sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddhin Chisti, while a few kilometres away is located the holy township of Pushkar with its myriads shrines and the unique Brahma temple. Both places have a tradition of believers, irrespective of caste and creed, thronging to them to seek peace and tranquillity.

The State Congress president, Narain Singh, who was present when the party candidate and former Minister, Habibur Rehman, filed his papers from Ajmer, said the town had been chosen to field a Muslim candidate, considering its tradition of communal harmony.

Back and forth

There is a touch of the bizarre in the elections to Kopargaon constituency in Maharashtra's western sugar belt. When Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, former Sena MP and Union Minister, now contesting on the Congress ticket, campaigns, one of the speakers is his son Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil. The son, a former Minister in the Sena-BJP Government in Maharashtra, is still in the Sena. Mr. Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil says he intends to rejoin the Congress, at an appropriate time. That time, it appears, has not yet arrived.

This has not raised eyebrows yet and the reason is simple. The elite who run co-operatives, schools, colleges and banks switch parties with surprising ease.

Mr. Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil had joined the Sena-BJP Government in Maharashtra after resigning from the Congress and easily won an Assembly byelection on the Sena ticket.

— Aarti Dhar, Sunny Sebastian, Mahesh Vijapurkar

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