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STATES: ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS
2001
Dream Campaign
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Nambiar
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Chennai: It is the ultimate
tribute to any leader. The late Rangarajan Kumaramangalam lives on in
Tiruchirapalli as the two main rivals for the Lok Sabha seat-Sukumaran
Nambiar of the BJP and Dalit Ezhimalai of the aiadmk-vie with each other
to "carry forward and fulfil the dreams" of the former Union
power minister. While it is only natural for the BJP to bank on the Ranga
factor, the AIADMK realises the expediency of endorsing the late minister's
policies rather than opposing them. So Tiruchirapalli is awash with posters
of Kumaramangalam, with both Nambiar and Ezhimalai promising to complete
his unfinished task and turn the town into the second capital of Tamil
Nadu.
Mind Your Tongue
 Kolkata:
In the morning hours, the most sought after person on the executive
floor of the CPI(M) state headquarters on Alimuddin Street is Sitaram
Yechuri, the party's Politburo member. Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya
seeks him out every morning, but before that the affable ideologue gets
himself stationed in the chamber of State Secretary Anil Biswas. The next
moment, you may find Yechuri with Politburo member Biman Bose discussing
a point in the day's communications from the party or with the staff of
Ganashakti, the party organ. Yechuri is in hot demand as he is not only
adept at explaining the party line on current affairs but is also the
in-house intellectual with a reasonable command
of Bengali. In a party loaded with Bengali or Malayali communists with
limited knowledge of languages other than their own, Yechuri had positioned
himself as an indispensable guide to structuring the day's speeches for
whosoever has to utter them.
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Election Snippets
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Chennai: Mylapore constituency
in the heart of Chennai has a peculiar significance. The AIADMK's
candidate is its chief spokesman V. Maithreyan, a defector from
the BJP, who is pitted against his former boss, K.N. Lakshmanan.
The constituency is perhaps a rare one where no candidates with
a Dravidian background are in the fray. What's more interesting
is the fact that it was Lakshmanan who as BJP president inducted
Maitreyan, a professional doctor, into the party and politics. So
is the shishya taking on the guru? Maithreyan feels otherwise. "Chennai
is considered a DMK stronghold and the party had admitted its defeat
by allotting a key constituency to the BJP which in turn has done
me a favour by fielding an outsider against me."
Guwahati: When elections
are around the corner, politicians fight their opponents. But in
Assam it doesn't always happen that way. Congressmen are so busy
fighting among themselves that Rajiv Bhavan, the Assam Congress
headquarters, resembles a war zone. Irked by the distribution of
tickets, partymen went on the rampage last month, hurling stones,
breaking furniture and tearing down posters.
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Fighting For Survival
Kolkata: For the CPI, the bypoll battle
for the Midnapore Lok Sabha seat is truly a do or die one. The seat fell
vacant following the death of veteran MP Indrajit Gupta. This time, the
fight is tough, to say the least. The CPI is fielding Midnapore district
council chief Prabodh Panda while the Trinamool Congress has again put
up Manoranjan Dutta. In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Dutta had contested
on a BJP ticket and lost to Gupta by a 28,773-vote margin. The polls this
time puts at stake the very existence of the CPI in the state. Last year,
the Trinamool Congress won the Panskura seat that fell vacant following
the death of CPI veteran Geeta Mukherjee. And the CPI's loser? Former
Rajya Sabha member Gurudas Dasgupta. Will the Trinamool snatch a victory
again? If that happens, the CPI may be a step closer to decimation.
Winning Them Quietly
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| Kanta Prasada files nomination |
Lucknow: The Congress party is known to
spare no expenses during election time but in the Shahjahanpur Lok Sabha
byelection, caused by the death of senior leader Jitendra Prasada, the
campaign style is different. No raucous processions, no high-profile leaders.
The campaign is silent with most speakers invoking the name of Prasada
and asking for votes as a last tribute to the departed soul. The strategy
seems to be working. At every meeting, the crowds get bigger and Prasada's
widow Kanta is seemingly overwhelmed by the response. The BJP candidate
Satyapal Singh Yadav, who lost to Prasada last time, has an even tougher
task this time because he is fighting more opponents within his own party
than outside.
 Framing
Amma
Chennai: This is one photographer who
thinks no frame without Jayalalitha is worth a click. So K. Ruben, a freelancer,
trails her throughout the state. "Amma makes for great pictures,"
says Ruben who has both MGR and Amma tattooed on his chest.
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| OUT OF THE WORLD: An AIADMK hoarding in Chennai
expounds on one of the many qualities of party supremo Jayalalitha |
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