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MUMBAI: His claim to fame: he is the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. His occupation: he runs a consultancy on the Internet. His mission: ...

MUMBAI: His claim to fame: he is the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. His occupation: he runs a consultancy on the Internet. His mission: 8220;cleaning the political system of criminals8221;. His opponents: include own relative Usha Gokani, the Mahatma8217;s grand-daughter, who is supporting Abhay Mokashi, the political editor of Mid Day.

Tushar Gandhi, the Samajwadi Party candidate from Mumbai North-West, has a lot to live up to and little to show. But the 38-year-old Tushar, who is pitted against sitting Shiv Sena MP Madhukar Sarpotdar, is confident. 8220;I am against criminalisation of politics and therefore decided to fight Sarpotdar, who allegedly has criminal cases pending against him,8221; says Tushar. The electorate: they have heard this before.

NEW DELHI: The Janata Dal must know Laloo Prasad Yadav inside out. So, the party has claimed that the Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo had 8220;hired goondas on contract basis8221; for 8220;booth-capturing8221; during Monday8217;s polling. The party believes this isespecially true of Madhepura, Laloo8217;s own constituency from where JD president Sharad Yadav is seeking re-election. As many as 441 of the total 1,553 booths in the constituency were rigged, the JD claims. According to it, leading from the front in the 8220;loot8221; were several RJD ministers.

AKOLA: Elections can be maddening. An Independent candidate, contesting from Washim in Maharashtra was reportedly so affected that he recently went on a rampage, killing two dogs and a buffalo and burning currency notes worth Rs 10,000. The 50-year-old Vijay Kumar Shrirampant Deshmukh is said to have even tried attacking his own daughter with a sword, though she escaped unhurt. The police arrested him and Deshmukh is currently lodged in the Nagpur mental hospital.

MADURAI:

What is a tall promise for a former chief minister desperate to win? AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha has prom-ised that in case she and ally BJP are given that catapult to power at the Centre, she would retrieve the Kachathaivu island for thebenefit of fishermen. The only problem is that the piece of land had been given to Sri Lanka under an agreement by Indira Gandhi. Given the circumstances, Lanka is hardly likely to just hand it back.

MUMBAI: The Akhil Bharatiya Sena ABS 8220;hurts8221; if anybody calls it a goonda party. So, the party floated by former underworld don Arun Gawli has fielded candidates with 8220;a good track record8221;. Among those on its 16-nominee list are doctors, engineers, ex-servicemen, social workers, agriculturists and even a retired district judge. The ABS hopes at least three-four of them might be successful. 8220;Our Arun bhai who is currently cooling heels in jail in connection with a murder case is very cautious about the image of the party,8221; says Bhaskar Bagade, the party8217;s chief election agent. Wish other 8220;respectable8221; parties showed such caution too.

CALCUTTA: A polling booth with just 601 voters might have the EC sweating the most. To reach it at 9,000 ft 8212; making it the highest booth in thecountry 8212; the election personnel will have to first drive 99 km up and then trek 11 km. Polling will take place in the booth, which falls under the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, on February 27. The constituency also has the State8217;s remotest polling booths, Tode and Tangta, in Kalimpong sub-division. Going to Tangta requires a 146-km drive and an 8-km trek. Tode is slightly more accessible, with a drive of 145 km and a walk of just three.