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Election arrangements in Bihar hit normal life

     Gaya (Bihar): Come elections, and most of India comes to standstill. Poll-bound Bihar is the most striking illustration of how normal life grinds to a halt as the mammoth election process sets rolling. Most of state-run transport corporation buses have been engaged for movement of poll material and staff and security personnel. The bureaucracy also hires private buses on contract as the transportation capacity of different departments is inadequate to meet the requirements. Many more buses, lorries, jeeps, cars and auto-rickshaws are either hired by political parties or hijacked by local goons and musclemen to ferry crowds to rallies by political leaders. The few remaining public transporters, who do not benefit of political largesse, prefer to send their vehicles to the garage. Disruption of public transport has thrown life out of gear, with many commuters left stranded on the roads. Even patients are finding it difficult to seek medical help due to lack of transport facilities. "We are facing problems as lesser number of buses are plying because of the elections. The owners fear that their vehicles will be seized," said Narendra Singh, a commuter at the bus-stand in Gaya district. The market place adjoining the bus stand, which is usually a hub of activity, also bears a deserted look. "The vehicles are not operating. That is why our business is being affected," said Kamta Prasad, a shopkeeper near the bus- stand. Bihar goes to a three-phased polling on February 3, 15 and 23. One of the country's most lawless and unruly states, Bihar is also known for its high crime rate and kidnappings for ransom.

Pappu Yadav quits RJD Parliamentary Board (Go To Top)

     Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav resigned from the membership of party's Parliamentary Board on Tuesday, protesting against the "denial" of tickets to his supporters. Surendra Prasad Yadav, a representative of Pappu Yadav, confirmed that the MP had sent in his resignation letter to the RJD chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav. "MP saheb has also made up his mind to resign from the RJD and membership of Lok Sabha," he said and charged Lalu Prasad with "committing gross irregularites in the distribution of tickets". Pappu Yadav, currently lodged in Beur Jail of Patna, is an accused in the CPI(M) MLA Ajit Sarkar murder case. Pappu's supporters have revolted and are contesting as independents against party's official candidates in several constituencies. In a sharp contrast, Pappu Yadav is a RJD MP from Madhepura while his wife is the Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP) MP from Saharsa. Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP is fighting against Lalu's RJD in the state. Before joining the RJD, Pappu Yadav was a member of the LJP.

Opposition unity remains a far cry in West Bengal (Go To Top)
by Gautam Ghose

     Kolkata: Opposition unity against the ruling Marxists in West Bengal seems to be a far cry with the state Congress leaders expressing contradictory views on the possibility of a "Mahajot" or grand alliance of anti-CPI(M) forces to fight the coming municipal and civil polls. While union water resources minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi has underscored the need for this kind of alliance to ensure the Marxists' defeat in the elections, PCC chief and defence minister Pranab Mukherjee has virtually ruled it out, saying the Congress is capable of meeting the Marxists' challenge on its own. All this has sent conflicting signals to the Congress and Trinamul Congress workers at the grassroots level, to the delight of the ruling CPI(M). The Marxists intend to fully exploit lack of unity among the mainline opposition parties to win the municipal polls and retain power after next year's Assembly elections. The state Congress' stand has no doubt made things difficult for Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee and forced her to target both the Congress and the CPI(M), highlighting the "open understanding" between the two parties to keep the UPA in power at the Centre.

     Ms Banerjee, who happens to be the lone Trinamul Congress member of the Lok Sabha from Bengal, has apparently ruled out an entente with the Congress in the 2006 Assembly polls in view of the party's current hobnobbing with the Marxists. She rightly feels an alliance with the Congress at this juncture will only harm her party's political credibility as the people will start questioning her anti-CPI(M) credentials. The Bengal Congress too seems to be in complete disarray with PCC chief Mukherjee failing to put an end to the party's chronic infighting in the powerful Murshidabad district committee. Murshidabad happens to be the only district in Bengal where the Marxists have not been able to launch their onslaught against the opposition parties mainly due to Berhampore MP Adhir Chowdhury's political clout. The latter, however, has been at loggerheads with Congress legislature party leader Atish Sinha as well as former PCC president Somen Mitra over some tricky organisational issues, but recently succeeded in roping in Mukherjee's support by threatening to quit the post of the district party president. A concerned AICC leadership last week convened a meeting of the rival groups in Delhi to thrash out the matter, but Mitra and Sinha skipped it, citing personal engagements.

     According to informed sources, the state Congress has not been able to take a uniform stand vis-a-vis Trinamul Congress mainly due to Mukherjee's preoccupations as defence minister. The Congress high command is yet to find Mukherjee's replacement as the PCC chief despite his repeated pleas to relieve him of the post. Dasmunshi, who has been eyeing the post of the state Congress president for quite some time, intends to woo Ms Banerjee in order to prevent a split in the anti-CPI(M) votes in the Assembly polls. Unlike Mukherjee, Dasmunshi has not been insisting on Trinamul Congress' dissociation from the NDA as a precondition for seat adjustments. There has also been a subtle change in Ms Banerjee's attitude towards the BJP. While she has no intention to quit the NDA right now, she does not seem to very enthusiastic to strengthen her party's ties with the BJP in view of the steady erosion in the latter's support base in different states. Her independent political line has prompted her to put up party nominees in a few Assembly seats in the neighbouring Jharkhand against BJP candidates.

     All this shows Ms Banerjee's intention to maintain links with individual NDA partners without compromising on her party's political ideology and interest. The immediate concern of both the Congress and Trinamul Congress is to achieve some kind of tacit and unofficial understanding at the lower levels to ensure the CPI(M)'s defeat in the municipal polls in May and Calcutta Municipal Corporation elections in June. However, PCC chief Mukherjee, who was instrumental yesterday in effecting a split in the Birbhum district unit of Trinamul Congress to capture the Bolpur municipal board, does not seem to be interested in an electoral understanding with Ms Banerjee. Things may, however, change if Dasmunshi succeeds in replacing him as the state Congress president during the party's organisational polls in April.