Congress to back Mahan Dal against Maneka

Explaining the party’s decision,UP Congress chief spokesperson Subodh Srivastava said: “We do not have an appropriate candidate for Aonla,so we would rather be supporting the Mahan Dal candidate.”

For the record,even local Congress leaders don’t know the name of the Mahan Dal candidate they are supporting. “We haven’t heard much about the party,but since some parts of Badaun have a Shakya population,we expect it to do well. The real situation will be clear only after the elections,” said Onkar Singh,a senior Congressman from Badaun.

In 2004,the Congress candidate had polled 50,000 votes in Aonla. This time,the Congress initially considered the name of a Brahmin candidate,but later decided against it.

Among the nine other seats,the party will not be contesting in are Mainpuri for Mulayam Singh Yadav and Firozabad and Kannauj for his son Akhilesh. This is in return for Samajwadi Party’s gesture of not fielding candidates against Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli and Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.

The Congress is also not likely to contest in Mohanlalganj and Jaunpur,which they are planning to leave for Rashtriya Swabhiman Party of R K Chaudhary,a former associate of the late Kanshi Ram. Akbarpur has been left for Sarvoday Kranti Party of Raja Ram Pal,a local outfit.

Balia,Gazhipur,Etawah and Lalganj are among the other constituencies where the party does not have suitable candidates,party sources said.

Allegations of Varun being harassed are baseless: govt

The state government has claimed that allegations regarding harassment of Varun Gandhi at the District Jail of Etah were baseless and far from the facts.

A government official,on the basis of the report of the district magistrate of Etah,said Varun was getting high quality food as per the norms of the jail manual.

With the permission of the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Pilibhit,home food was being provided through the person nominated by Varun only after it is examined by the medical officer of the district jail.

Adequate security arrangements have also been made. A deputy jailor has been made the in-charge of Varun’s security. He along with the Superintendent of district jail is responsible for Varun’s security requirements. The state government spokesman said Varun had been kept in a separate ward in compound number 8,isolated from the other prisoners.