Poll Pot

But this Italian mem Sonia Gandhi, of course showed a trailer by first announcing that she would contest from Amethi, then secretively running down to Andhra Pradesh and eventually filing her nomination from Karnataka. This resembles the actual position of the Congress too.8221;

BJP general secretary Narender Modi, perhaps remembering how the whole episode backfired on the Congress, warmed up tothe theme. 8220;Even when we have to select a car driver, we do not just go by his driving licence. What we look for is experience. Soniaji has started her political campaign with a licence of Indian citizenship. Jab hum bina anubhav ke kisi ko car chalane nahin detey to sarkar kaise chalane denge When we do not allow an inexperienced driver to drive our car, how can we allow her to run the government?8221;

But the preening BJP also had its share of embarrassments at Monday8217;s rally. Its candidate from here is Sudha Yadav, the widow of Deputy BSF Commandant Sukhbir Singh Yadav who died fighting in Kargil. The party, which can8217;t stop talking about the battle, was doing the same when its Haryana chief Om Prakash Grover referred to Yadav as Squadron Leader Sukhbir Singh Yadav. To make it worse, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee repeated the mistake in his address. Local BJP leaders tried to cover the goof-up by saying: 8220;It does not make much difference. What matters is he was a shaheed martyr.8221;

PANAJI: WithKargil not turning out to be quite the magic mantra that the BJP had hoped it would be in Goa, the party has turned to a tried and tested weapon: name change. The state unit has promised to rename Vasco da Gama town as Sambhajinagar in its manifesto. But as always, this sword cuts both ways. A segment of the Goans which wants a merger with Maharashtra may be pleased but there are others 8212; including many Hindus 8212; who feel Sambhaji, the son of Shivaji Maharaj, didn8217;t do enough to liberate Goa from the Portuguese. They point out that just as a huge Maratha army stood poised to annex Goa, the assault was called off.

PANAJI: Maybe the BJP didn8217;t consult own Murmagao candidate, Ramakant Angle. Others may turn to astrologers to know about the future, but Angle claims to get it from the highest authority. According to the candidate, God appears to him in his puja room and predicts his future for him. To be on the safe side, the mine-owner and businessman also keeps close contacts with 8220;godmen8221;. In an earlieravatar as a Congressman 15 years ago, he was a disciple of the notorious Chandraswami. In his then unsuccessful bid for the Lok Sabha seat, Angle had insisted he was destined to be the prime minister of India. Any doubt whose prediction that was?