Meanwhile, in8230;

In two minutes, she had said namaste, admired Khajuraho temples and wrapped up her speech. The people who had been reportedly brought from as far as Chattarpur returned disappointed and angry at Sonia8217;s perceived 8220;arrogance8221;.

But not the BJP. Uma Bharati 8220;sympathised8221;: 8220;Actually, Sonia got confused as she had only three speeches ready and suddenly she had to deliver a fourth one. She had only vaguely heard of the Khajuraho temples but did not know anything else, not even the name of the Congresscandidate.8221;

>Kohima: The Congress8217; share of 8220;luck8221; seems unending in Nagaland. First, it 8220;swept8221; to power when all other parties decided to boycott the Assembly elections due on February 23 following a call by the Naga Hoho the apex body of tribal chiefs and NGOs. Now, the only candidate who was contesting against the Congress in the sole Lok Sabha seat here, the Lok Shakti8217;s Akhei Achumi, is missing after he mysteriously 8220;resigned8221; from the fight.

Official sources said his family in Dimpaur received an unsigned note on Saturday evening saying Achumi 8220;has been executed8221;. His body, however, is yet to be recovered. Earlier, the Lok Shakti leader had 8220;written8221; to the returning officer on February 10 saying he was 8220;retiring8221; from the contest as he could not withdraw his nomination on February 7 8220;due to some unavoidable reasons8221;.

Hyderabad: Pout he may but P.V. Narasimha Rao sure doesn8217;t sulk. At the Congress leader8217;s urging, his native village Vangara on Sunday turned up tovote, reversing their earlier decision to stay off due to denial of ticket to him. Vangara Sarpanch G. Venkat Reddy said Rao had sent them a message through his family members requesting them not to boycott the polls. The village, which falls under the reserved Peddapalli constituency, has over 2,500 voters

.Pune: It pays to be the president of the Indian Olympic Association. Suresh Kalmadi, who is that plus an Independent contesting the Pune Lok Sabha seat, on Sunday had several former Olympians and international athletes championing his candidacy. Among others, former billiards champion Michael Ferreira, badminton genius Prakash Padukone, sprinter Shiny Wilson, ex-table tennis national champion Kamlesh Mehta, Davis Cupper Nandan Bal and international wrestler Kaka Pawar hailed the leader, even taking out a morcha in Kalmadi8217;s support. 8220;We have come here to support Kalmadi, who has done a lot for sports at the international level,8221; said Padukone and Ferriera. 8220;Such a man should be elected toParliament.8221;

Jabalpur: Even magic doesn8217;t work on the EC. A magician, Jadoogar Anand, has been banned by the district administration here from putting up posters of his shows as he shares his first name with a candidate in the elections. The commission feels the posters sporting 8220;Jadoogar8221; would be undue publicity for 8220;Jadoogar Nigam8221; the candidate. The Nagar Nigam municipal corporation might just be next on line.

Agartala: Ballot papers have been known to turn up in all kinds of places. The Tripura Upajati Juba Samity TUJS has claimed it found one stamped in favour of its candidate before the sector office at Natunbazar under Amarpur sub-division. The paper, signed by the presiding officer, was meant to be polled at booth No. 28 in Narayan Sardarpara Junior Basic School in the Raima Valley constituency.

BHOPAL: Over in Chhindwara, as a result of District Collector S. Bandopadyay8217;s order, all voters, whether owners of car, jeep or a two-wheeler, had to trudge to vote onMonday. The reason apparently being that the authorities feared a number of private vehicles had been brought in from neighbouring Maharashtra to ferry voters. Rather than take any chances and earn the EC8217;s rap, Bandopadyay decided to restrain the movement of all private vehicles in the district from 21st night to 23rd morning.