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MUMBAI: Give this much to Congress president Sitaram Kesri: he knows his place in the party hierarchy. At the Congress rally here on Sunday...

MUMBAI:

Give this much to Congress president Sitaram Kesri: he knows his place in the party hierarchy. At the Congress rally here on Sunday, it was Sonia Gandhi all the way as workers and the crowd completely overlooked him. No one noticed Kesri at Chaityabhoomi, B.R. Ambedkar8217;s samadhi, either where Sonia went to pay her homage. But Kesri didn8217;t seem to mind. At the meeting, the Congress president quot;modestlyquot; declared: quot;Sonia Gandhi is a mass leader who alone can lead crores and crores of Indians8230;I am merely the president of the Congress organisation and not a mass leader.quot;

MUMBAI:

Villages all over India have apparently decided to attack politicians where it hurts the most. At least 15 of them in five Lok Sabha seats of Maharashtra boycotted the first phase of polling in the State on Sunday. The residents were protesting against the non-availability of basic amenities like water, power, roads and educational facilities in their villages. Kumpatti in the Nilgiris Lok Sabhaconstituency in Tamil Nadu saw a similar protest. Here, all the villagers barring two 8212; one man, one woman8211; boycotted the elections protesting against the recent arrest of some residents of the village in connection with an accident.

KUMBAKONAM TAMIL NADU:

However, there were some who hadn8217;t lost their faith in the electoral process. Like a 125-year-old woman who walked 1 km from her village, unaided by anyone, to cast her vote at the Vanduvanchery polling booth in the Mayiladuthrai Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. Not far behind were 108-year-old Sunderlal and his 93-year-old wife, who came to vote in the Vidisha constituency in Maharashtra. Banshilal Vishwakarma, 111 years old, too cast his votes in the same constituency.

PATNA:

When you can8217;t beat them, join them. Many presiding and polling officers in the State stood by the adage during the second and final leg of elections here. Those on duty at polling centre 114 in the Samastipur Lok Sabha constituency reportedlyhelped supporters of a particular political party grab booths. They have now been taken into custody. The presiding officer in polling centre 195 of the Gopalganj parliamentary seat is also under arrest for similar quot;largessequot;.

The few who tried to do their duty paid for it. When the presiding officer at Bangra village in the quot;super-sensitivequot; Siwan seat tried to stop some people from grabbing the booth, they grabbed him instead. The poor officer was later freed.