Cong reject

Many Congress veterans are still lobbying hard to secure party tickets for their children, although the party has already obliged many of them. Maharashtra Congress chief Manikrao Thakre, for instance, is seeking a ticket for his son Rahul to contest from Yavatmal. Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot wants a ticket for his son Vaibhav. The Congress high command is, however, not amused and would like these veterans themselves to contest.

VOTERS’ DISCOUNT

With the Lok Sabha polls just weeks away, efforts are on nationwide to involve more and more voters in the electoral process to ensure a healthy voter turnout. Authorities in some states are going the extra mile, too, when it comes to innovative thinking. In Punjab, for instance, Deputy Commissioners in some districts have tied up with hotels and restaurants in their areas to provide special discounts and rebates to anybody who votes on the polling day. Under the arrangement, some of these eateries will also be handing over an appreciation letter to first-time voters.

SURPRISE TWEET

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday took many of his party colleagues by surprise with his tweet alluding to “misfire” in ticket allocation and suggesting a Congress hand, saying, “Ahmed Patel has taken undue interest in BJP internal matters. It is a dangerous enterprise.” However, he made it clear that he was not going to oblige the “Trojan horses” of the Congress leadership within the saffron party by turning against Narendra Modi. He also dismissed suggestions of him contesting against Sonia Gandhi, saying there was “not enough time” left to prepare for such a high-voltage contest.

VOICING PROTEST

As the ticket distribution process is on, some disgruntled ticket-seekers are thronging the BJP headquarters to lodge protest. A group of protesters, for instance, shouted slogans against the state unit chief for the choice of party candidate in Sonipat, Ramesh Kaushik. There were protesters from Ghaziabad who were demanding a ‘Tyagi community’ candidate. Party spokesperson Vijay Sonkar Shastri, meanwhile, is said to be disappointed for being denied a ticket from Machhlishahr in Uttar Pradesh. His hopes are now pinned on a technical glitch — the party’s official candidate Ramcharitra Nishad is from a community which is designated as OBC in the state while Macchlishahr constituency is reserved for SC.