Poll notes 8212; headline missing

Dr Singh said the Congress had a stable full of able leaders who are prime minister material. However, the party had taken a decision early in the day not to project a person but issues at the current elections. 8220;After they are over, the elected MPs will get together to choose a leader. We will have no problems,8221; he said.Asked if he felt Sonia Gandhi could be one of these able leaders, Dr Singh replied in the affirmative.

Parvati8217;s appeal for BJP

The quid pro quo arrangement between the regional parties is taking effect. Linguistic minorities in Mumbai are being wooed with appeals from the parties from their respective regions to vote for a party. The Telugu Desam Party Lakshmi Parvati group has urged the Telugu speaking community to vote for the Sena-BJP alliance to bring8217; Atal Bihari Vajpayee as our prime minister8217;.

President of Maharashtra unit of the party Vallakatti Laxminayana has said that the Congress did nothing for Telugu community in the last 50 years while within one year the Sena-BJP government distributed Telugu textbooks and promised jobs, housing and financial help.

Meanwhile from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, former chief minister J Jayalalitha has appealed to Tamil brothers and sisters in Mumbai to vote for BJP candidate from north-east Pramod Mahajan.

New poll websitelaunched

the-asian.com is the latest addition to a host of websites analysing the twists and turns of one of India8217;s most crucial elections. Set up by a group of journalists called the Asian8217;, the website will provide information and analysis of the elections.

The website includes sections like Heroes and Mavericks, Party Profiles, The Swingers, the Campaign Trail and Key Constituencies. There will also be a special feature on the current Congress messiah, Sonia Gandhi, including an examination of her impact on campaigns of other parties and Sonia Speak, a compilation of quotes.

A Live Results section will provide hourly updates on party positions when counting begins. While the New Government will track the machinations that go into forming a new government at the centre. After the elections, the website will be converted into a new site dealing with pan-Asian news coverage, said a release.

Tenants blast Congress

The president of Mumbai Upanagar Zopadpatti amp; Bhadekaru Sangh andformer leader of the house in the BMC Pushpakant Mhatre has released an official statement urging slum-dwellers and tenants in Mumbai to vote for candidates of the Shiv Sena-BJP combine in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Mhatre has said that the Congress party has proved to be treacherous, and Murli Deora and the people surrounding him have converted the Congress into a private limited company. Because of the Congress8217; pro-rich policy, workers and the toiling classes were forced to live in slums and the party has framed no policy to better their lot, he added, appealing to voters to stem the rot of corruption by voting for the Sena-BJP.

Congress, a lesser evil: Muslim body

The Congress may have done little for Muslims, but it still is the better of the two evils, stated members of the Bharatiya Muslim Parishad. The other evil, naturally, being the BJP.

8220;In 50 years of Independence, the country may have forged ahead, but Muslims are yet to get the fruits of development,8221; said Nizam Kazi,president of the non-profit organisation. 8220;The Congress has used Muslims as mere vote banks and has ruled the country on the strength of our votes.8221; Quoting a Marathi saying, he said it was better to be hit by a brick than a stone, the stone being the BJP. 8220;The stone will definitely finish us,8221; said A Sheikh, BMP member.

Gujarati lobby for Mokashi

n Community lobbying for votes has begun among the Gujaratis too. In a press release eminent Gujarati writers and journalists have expressed support to independent candidate from north-west Lok Sabha constituency Abhay Mokashi. The signatories include Suresh Dalal, Yashwant Doshi, Harish Nagrecha, Pawan Kumar Jain, Himmat Jhaveri, Manju Jhaveri, Jayant Parekh, Kanti Patel, Prabhodh Parekh and others.