Poll campaigning picks up through SMSes

In the run-up to the elections,Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had launched a media blitzkrieg...

In the run-up to the elections,Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had launched a media blitzkrieg,highlighting the achievements of his government on television and radio. And for a change,his rivals seem to be inspired as they too are following Hoodas use of communication technology,albeit in their own ways. Kuldeep Bishnoi-led Haryana Janhit Congress Party has actually hired the services of a foreign company to start a campaign to reach out to journalists and select influential people through mobile phones. Om Prakash Chautalas Indian National Lok Dal has also started its own SMS campaigning.

BJP stays away from Chautalas campaign

The political situation in the state has made Om Prakash Chautalas INLD and BJP alliance partners,but strains in the relationship are already showing. Despite various attempts from the INLD,the BJP hasnt agreed to joint campaigning in the state. A top BJP functionary in the state said,We have agreed to an alliance because our party high command wishes for it. But we do not like sharing the stage and the campaigning with the Chautalas. We will avoid it,as long as we can.

Panchkula DC transferred by EC

In Haryana,the sons-in-law are treated with utmost respect and accorded great privileges. But R K Kataria,Deputy Commissioner,Panchkula,had to pay the price of being the son-in-law of state Congress chief Phool Chand Mullana. Opposition parties had been crying hoarse and alleging bias on his posting. Eventually,the Election Commission recommended his transfer. It remains to be seen if Kataria is brought back to the prized post after the model code of conduct is over.

Venod Sharma,the comeback man

Venod Sharma,who had to resign from the state Cabinet and remain in anonymity following the controversy involving his son Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lal murder case,is back in the reckoning. He has been rehabilitated by the Chief Minister,who is also his close friend,as in charge of the campaign committee of the Congress. The significance of this posting can be gauged from the fact that his counterparts in Punjab and Himachal are former chief ministers Captain Amarinder Singh and Virbhadra Singh.