Tags:
Journalism of Courage
CPM8217;s double trouble
CALCUTTA: There8217;s a missing candidate walking in Calcutta North-East constituency. No one knows him, no one has seen him, but CPIM candidate Mohammed Salim claims to know at least where he has sprung from. An Independent, this elusive nominee is also called Mohammed Salim and the CPIM leader is sure that he is a product of Trinamool Congress8217;s Ajit Panja8217;s brain. The reason being to confuse the voters. Panja, who has been winning from here since 1984, denies all mischief. 8220;I will sue all those who are spreading such canards,8221; the lawyer-politician thunders. But Panja8217;s detractors aren8217;t taken in by these threats, pointing out that the meticulous leader never leaves anything to chance during elections. The only person unruffled, of course, is the one who has nothing to lose: Salim No. 2.
GUWAHATI: Life has come to a standstill in this city, the gateway to the North-east, courtesy the elections. While almost 90 per cent of the local fleet of buses have been requisitioned for poll duty, politicians have sponsored the trip of rickshaw-pullers to home so that they can cast their vote. 8220;We have to wait for hours for a bus to arrive and almost every day reach late for work,8221; says a bank employee, Abhijit Barua. Adds a senior bureaucrat: 8220;Most cities and towns of Assam witness a massive exodus of people, mostly rickshaw-pullers, migrant labourers and domestic help, who come from villages to work in cities, and are sponsored to go back during election time by various political parties.8221; Look at the brightside: at least someone besides politicians benefits from elections.
RAE BARELI: And now the final straw. To ensure free and fair polls in Rae Bareli district, six political leaders have been put under house arrest till 7 p.m. on Sunday, according to an official press release. These include two legislators 8212; Akhilesh Singh Congress and Mohd Muslim Samajwadi Party 8212; Tiloi, who recently joined the Congress, and three Block pramukhs 8212; Kamlesh Singh Amawan, Kaushlendra Pratap Singh Dalmau and Azad Singh Salon.
8211;SABYASACHI BANDOPADHYAY AND AGENCIES
