The Hindu : POLL-POURRI

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 15, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

POLL-POURRI

EVMs for dummies

Enterprise is the name of the game. And during elections, it is the most enterprising who make hay while the sun shines. Even during normal days, the pavement leading to the AICC headquarters at 24 Akbar Road is peppered with hawkers, vending everything from snacks to election material. There is even a dressmaker ready to drape the ubiquitous `neta' in traditional `khadi kurta pyjama.' With electronic voting machines being put to use all over the country, hawkers peddling election paraphernalia, including readymade banners, buntings, party flags and lapel pins, are also offering a cardboard model of EVMs. Although voters in many States have already used these machines, the hawkers continue to sell replicas to workers so that they can tell voters how they operate.

No light stuff

The trappings of office have always driven politicians and their supporters. Over the past few weeks, the Uttaranchal Chief Minister, Narain Dutt Tiwari, is understood to have cleared many postings which, among other things, permit those appointed the use of a lal batti (revolving red light) atop their official vehicles. It is believed that over three score people now have this privilege. However, the largesse has created a political controversy with the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party raising questions about it. Several Congress workers are also unhappy with the move.

`Ek din ka MLA' ready for more

He tasted success but couldn't really savour it. And he was left with a distinction few would envy — Ek din ka MLA, a tag few would like to flaunt. Mohd. Mukhtada, who defied the odds to win a byelection, could enter the portals of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly only once — and that too for a few hours. He took oath as an MLA on the last day of the brief monsoon session on September 30.

The very next day, the political climate of the State underwent a dramatic change with the People's War's attempt on the life of the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, on the Tirumala ghat road. The Naidu Cabinet got the House dissolved on November 14, ending Mr. Mukhtada's brief tenure. Mr. Mukhtada says that when he was elected, he had hoped to represent the constituency at least for 10 months. But, unfazed, he's already looking to the future. "I am ready for another round. This time I will serve the full term."

VIP constituency?

VIP constituencies usually bring to mind Lucknow or Amethi, and the manner in which they have been pampered. By the same token Sambhal in western UP is a VIP constituency - the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, represents it. When Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, Amethi was a beehive of activity. It received official patronage and businessmen were encouraged to invest there. Development activity has picked up in and around Lucknow during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's second term as MP from the constituency.

However, Mr. Yadav's constituency, Sambhal, appears to be an exception to the rule. If the approach roads to the constituency are bad, wait till you get to the heart of the constituency itself. The streets are crowded; power supply is non-existent. The only decent hospital is at Moradabad over 60 km away and there is no sign of development in the area. Residents complain that Mr. Yadav appears to have lost interest in the constituency after he became Chief Minister. Mr. Yadav won the 1999 elections by a record margin, but the next time round, things won't be so easy for him.

K.V. Prasad, T. Lalit Singh, Javed M. Ansari

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