Editorial: Changing Landscape

By M H Ahssan

Will the economic crisis affect the elections? Some sections of the electorate are in distress. They will vote in anger. However, the actual number of crisis victims is relatively small. They will affect outcomes mainly in some urban constituencies, hurting the BJP in some places like Surat and the Congress elsewhere. Hence, their net effect on electoral outcomes will be limited.

For the rest of the electorate, things are not too bad. Though the global economy is shrinking, India is still growing at over 6 per cent and inflation is very low. If anything, that should help the incumbent UPA government. However, the electoral value of economic performance is asymmetric in India. Incumbent governments are punished when economic conditions are bad, but electoral outcomes depend on other factors when there is low inflation and reasonable growth.

Typically, these other factors are driven by the divisive politics of identity. Parties have allocated seats based on the arithmetic of caste, religion and ethnicity, along with the candidate’s access to resources and muscle power in some cases. With neither the Congress nor the BJP likely to win a majority on its own, alliances will ultimately determine who will rule the country. However, the BJD has abandoned the BJP, and the latter is having a hard time attracting new partners. The Congress is having problems of its own. The Yadavs have dumped it and formed a separate coalition within the UPA. The pre-election alliance strategies of both the NDA and UPA having collapsed, a patchwork ruling coalition will emerge post-elections, based on electoral performance. Meanwhile, Mayawati and Jayalalithaa are competing to lead the Third Front.

Underlying this messy terrain, there are emerging symptoms of remarkable tectonic shifts that could permanently change the landscape of Indian democracy — if not in this election, then certainly by the next in 2014. The most important is the rise of regional parties. The era of coalition governments reflects the growing dependence of national parties like the Congress and the BJP, in their bid for power, on the vote banks of regional parties.

The Akalis in Punjab, Samajwadi Party in UP and the RJD, LJP or JD(U) in Bihar are all regional parties. Though the BSP now presents itself as a national party, its main base is still UP. Nor is this a specifically north Indian phenomenon. Politics in Assam, Orissa, Andhra, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu etc is now driven by regional parties. Even the CPM draws its strength not from its politburo members but from its regional political bases in Kerala,
Tripura and West Bengal.

One consequence is the emergence of regional factors and issues as drivers of national political trends. There is an interesting tension between centralised control of economic power on one hand, through the finance ministry, RBI, Planning Commission and central ministries, and increasing regional dispersal of political power on the other, a tension that the 13th Finance Commission may need to address.

Another consequence is the arrival of regional party leaders on the national stage. Unlike regional Congress bosses, always loyal to the ‘high command’, these regional leaders are people with political bases and ambitions of their own. Many of these new leaders are not the children of erstwhile royalty or scions of great political families. They have risen from the ‘aam aadmi’ ranks and honed their survival skills in the rough and tumble of politics from below. Scions of political families, raised in the belief that they were born to rule, may one day find themselves rudely pushed aside if the courtiers strategising for them fail to come to terms with these new realities. Sooner rather than later, ‘people like us’ in India may find that they are being ruled by ‘people like them’ from Bharat.

Another remarkable trend, though less visible, is the emergence of a new politics of performance challenging the old divisive politics of identity. In many conversations in the fields and mandi towns of Bharat, i have heard it said, ‘Is bar jo kaam karega usi ko vote milega’ — this time those who do the work will get the votes. I had not attached much significance to these remarks until a recent survey commissioned by the Times of India picked up exactly the same sentiment, though presumably from an urban sample in this case.

Initiatives launched by eminent persons in favour of elections for good governance, such as Messrs N R Narayana Murthy, E Sreedharan and others or Bimal Jalan and his associates, also reflect that sentiment. Perhaps below the surface there is a building voter revolt against the divisive politics of identity, vote buying and muscle power. It could fizzle out and come to nothing in the absence of a principal agent to nurture and channel this potentially earth-shaking force.

But, if properly channelled, such sentiments could gather momentum leading to a cathartic cleansing of Indian politics. Will it make a difference in these elections or perhaps in the next one? Much depends on the media. It has tremendous power that it can deploy to lead that cleansing process, especially television and the Indian language press that have the widest reach. Can we hope that the fourth estate will rise to play its historic role in changing the landscape of Indian politics? We shall just have to wait and see.

Heart cells can regenerate, discovers Indian doc

By M H Ahssan

A broken heart can mend itself, literally. In a discovery that opens up possibilities of helping people with serious cardiac ailments, an international team of researchers that included a Canadian-born Indian neurosurgeon has found that the heart can regenerate itself.

Scientists hitherto believed that the heart never regenerates. “We have shown for the first time that the heart is capable of regeneration,” Dr Ratan Bhardwaj — who gave primary inputs for the research under lab supervision of Jonas Frisen at Stockholm’s Nobel Medical Research Institute — told TOI just after the research paper was published in the prestigious journal, Science.

Bhardwaj, now at the University of Toronto, said the cells that regenerate, called cardiomyocytes, comprise 20% of the total heart tissue. They are also responsible for the crucial pumping action. Calling the finding a “myth breaker and a paradigm shifter in science,” Bhardwaj said it opens doors to future stem cell therapeutics and regenerative strategies. “It would be great if researchers could understand this mechanism and possibly devise a pill to boost the regeneration of the organ especially after a heart attack or chronic heart failure,” he said.

The 35-year-old doctor said, “You are actually having your own body heal itself. It’s akin to the skin healing after a cut or the bones joining after a fracture. So wouldn’t it be great to find a way to heal your heart when it literally breaks, or fails? That’s the beauty of this experiment.” The research used carbon dating to track DNA molecules within heart cells to show that new cells were being produced. “For the first time, we were able to see and show that the heart actually is continuously making and replenishing new heart cells.”

Radio carbon dating is a technique used to determine the age of anything from the bust of the Mohenjodaro Priest to that of Queen Nefertiti. “But the body uses the same isotope, Carbon-14, in a very different way,” Bhardwaj explained.

During the Cold War, the nuketesting released huge amounts of radioactive C-14 in the atmosphere. This got mixed up with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that plants used up in photosynthesis. “Humans and animals ate the plants; so the C-14 went into our system. Could this somehow be tracked, we wondered? With that leap of logic, we zeroed in on the DNA molecule which ought to be fixed from the time when the cell was made, barring very negligible amounts of turnover, so if one could carbon date the DNA from a specific set of cells, one could find out how old that cell was,” Bhardwaj said.

Chinese mobiles to go dead in India soon

By M H Ahssan

Security Concerns Make Dept Of Telecom Write To All Cellular Operators To Block Services

Mobile handsets made in China that have flooded the grey market are to be phased out within the next 10 days. These handsets are seen as a security threat, prompting the move against them.

The department of telecommunication (DoT) has sent a communication to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) asking them to block services to handsets that have a 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. It is only the Chinese cellphones that have these 15 digit numbers. Other handsets come with 16-digit IMEIs.

The problem arises because on service providers’ computers, the Chinese handsets show up as having an endless list of digits as their IMEI number. Due to this, these handsets cannot be traced using their IMEI numbers. Also, it has been found that usually over 1,000 of these handsets share a single IMEI number. This has posed a big problem for the police. Whenever criminals changed their mobile numbers or in cases of mobile phone thefts, police used to track them through the IMEI numbers. These phones m a ke that virt u a l ly impossible.

Recently, the COAI made a representation to the government explaining the problem. The DoT, which took the issue seriously, issued direction to the COAI to stop mobile phone services to persons having Chinese mobile phone handsets. Already, some of these customers are receiving SMS from the mobile operators asking them to change the handset. Otherwise the service to their mobile phone would be disconnected.

Sources in a private mobile service provider said that they had received the communication a week ago. “It is a sensitive issue and we cannot make a hue and cry out of it. In some cases, where we find our customer using Chinese made handsets, we are calling them up and telling them. In some cases, SMS is being sent. In any case, within a week, we are planning to block services to the customers using Chinese mobile phone handsets,’’ he added.

China-made handsets are particularly popular with underworld operators and terrorists who were quick to take advantage of their IMEI problem. Concurrently cellular operators began to feel the heat. Whenever the police wanted to track some criminals who used mobile phones, the address proof was found to be fake. While tracking the criminals through IMEI numbers, the operators stumbled on multiple numbers being used at the same time,leading to security risks. Hence, the decision to cut service to such phones.

Parties vie for minority votes in Hyderabad

By M H Ahssan

To win over nearly 60 lakh Muslim voters, eight major political parties in the state have created a sort of record this election by fielding community candidates from 41 assembly and 11 parliamentary constituencies.

Topping the list in allotting the largest number of assembly seats to Muslims is the Congress that has provided 12 berths to them. However, it has fielded only one candidate for Lok Sabha - Kasim Khan from Hindupur.

Prajarajyam has scored over Congress in putting up five minority candidates for Lok Sabha seats. But it has only 10 candidates for the assembly.

Khaleel Basha, vice president, minority affairs of Prajarajyam told TOI: “We still have to come up with one more list. Wait and watch for some more Muslim candidates from our party “.

A senior Congress leader said that the party had planned to give five more assembly seats to Muslims from constituencies like Kurnool, Mahboobnagar and Anantpur. But our plan couldn’t fructify. We had allotted the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha seat to Minister Fareeduddin but he shifted his base at the last minute to Ambarpet assembly segment. “That is the reason we have only Muslim candidates for Lok Sabha,” the leaders said.

Telugu Desam has fielded two candidates for Lok Sabha : Zahid Ali Khan from Hyderabad and N Md Farooq from Nandyal besides nine for assembly. A TDP source revealed: “We could not work out more numbers in the Muslim community because of the Grand Alliance. Had the TDP gone alone, you could have seen more aspirants from the community being selected”.

As expected MIM has fielded all its five sitting MLAs and added two more : Virasat Rasool Khan from Nampally and Ahmed Balala from Malakpet. The party president Asaduddin Owaisi is in the fray, as in the past election, from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat.

But TRS that has continually made tall promises to Muslims has disappointed them. It has fielded merely four Muslim candidates for the assembly. However, of its total nine Lok Sabha candidates two are Muslims : Syed Yousuf Ali from Zaheerabad and Mohammed Mahmood Ali, Secunderabad.

Will Telangana sentiment work in Sanatnagar?

By HNN Election Desk

It’s a battle between development plank and Telangana sentiment in the Sanathnagar assembly constituency.

The sitting MLA and current nominee from Sanathnagar Marri Shashidhar Reddy has won this seat twice, and is now harping on the development works he has undertaken, while TRS candidate T Padma Rao is hoping to cash in on the Telangana sentiment in this election.

The BJP has fielded former party floor leader in the municipal corporation Shyam Sunder from here. Interestingly, Begumpet ex-corporator and TDP leader G R Linga Murthy also filed his nomination, but as an independent. Murthy, however, withdrew his nomination later.

While M Shashidhar Reddy began his campaign 10 days ago, others hit the campaign trail on Saturday. Shashidhar Reddy, the son of former chief minister Marri Channa Reddy, has been undertaking a low-profile campaign in colonies without rallies and fanfare, choosing to seek votes on the basis of his past performance as legislator from the constituency.

“I never make any promises to voters whether they are from a posh colony or a slum. I just respond to my constituents whenever they bring any problem or issue to my notice,” Shashidhar Reddy told TOI while campaigning at Model colony near Sanathnagar. His wife Indira, sons Aditya and Pururava and daughter Hem are supporting him in the campaigning.

Shashidhar Reddy who has an MS from the US and is a member of the National Disaster Management Authority, tells a small gathering at Model Colony, “I have taken up several activities when you petitioned me in the past. Now, I have the right and liberty to seek your vote again.”

This Congress nominee claims to have a 20-year old association with this colony. “When my father and former chief minister Marri Channa Reddy contested from this assembly segment in 1989, I looked after his election campaign,” he states. Shashidhar Reddy had contested from Sanathnagar in the 1994, 1999 and 2004 assembly elections and lost only in 1999, to TDP’s S Rajeshwar.

“Recently, our colony was sanctioned a water pipeline of 6 mm in place of 4 mm thanks to the efforts of our MLA. When a file pertaining to modern lights went missing in the corporation, he sent his PA to the corporation and got the lights sanctioned,” S Sudhakar Reddy, a resident of Model Colony, told TOI.

Among Shashidhar Reddy’s opponents for the seat is the former municipal corporator and Greater Hyderabad TRS president T Padma Rao, who was MLA from Secunderabad in 2004. “There is a strong Telangana sentiment in the city. TDP and communist parties are also strong in this constituency,” said Padma Rao, exuding confidence.

“Also, there are several slums in areas like Bansilalpet, Ambedkar Nagar and Balkampet where TRS and TDP have a strong base,” the TRS candidate added.

Then there is the BJP candidate and former corporator from Ameerpet Shyam Sunder, who hopes that the development activities he took up during his tenure as corporator in Ameerpet area and the strong party cadre in the constituency will help him win.

CONSTITUENCY PROFILE SANATNAGAR
Total no. of voters: 1,83,015 |
Male voters: 94,069 |
Female voters: 88,946 |

The main areas: SP Road, Mahankali Street, Patigadda, Park Lane, RP Road, Subash Road, Monda Market, Balkampet, Bansilalpet, Ameerpet, Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar, Patigadda, Begumpet, Old Ghasmandi and other areas. Delimitation had some impact on this constituency. While Bhoiguda, Padmaraonagar and Bansilalpet areas were added in Sanatnagar, some areas like Fatehnagar, parts of Begumpet and parts of Sanatnagar were included in the newly-created Kukatpally assembly constituency.

Will Karwan become Afsar’s bastion again?

By Ayaan Khan

Afsar Khan’s reputation of a hooligan and troublemaker is not not borne out during a ‘padayatra’ as he shakes hands and flashes his best smile when moving around parts of Karwan assembly constituency with a band of supporters.

The 58-year-old sitting MIM MLA walks through Muslim-dominated Moti Darwaza and Toli Chowki areas, misses a step on the potholed roads, but promises better infrastructure if he wins another term.

His opponent from BJP, D Karunakar, who was earlier a corporater, believes that Afsar Khan’s image has taken a beating with his acts of hooliganism. “Educated Muslims have decided to vote against him,” he claims.

Small wonder then that MIM workers knock the doors and ‘summon’ residents to shake hands with ‘their’ MLA, who is contesting for the third term. “Dekho Afsar Khan aayen hain aap se milne (See, Afsar Khan has come to meet you)” they announce. This time, it is the house of a 26-year-old businessman Mohammed Parvez, who rushes out, holding his son. As the sitting MLA requests him to vote for MIM, Parvez assures him “zaroor zaroor,’’ (sure) and a confident Khan moves ahead.

BJP’s D Karunakar, 45, too is undertaking a similar ‘padayatra’, in the Hindu-dominated Jiyaguda area. BJP had had a consecutive three-term run in this constituency before MIM established its supremacy.

Karwan has a mix of posh neighbourhoods and slums. Strangely, the area does not have a single government junior college. The only government school here is in a pathetic state. “I have been living in this area for over five decades, but haven’t not seen any change. Pothole-ridden roads, no sewer lines, inadequate water and power supply,” says 59-year-old M Shankaraiah, a bangle store owner in Karwan, listing problems here. Shankaraiah is a Congress supporter.

Karwan was a communally sensitive constituency till the 1990s. Though the situation has changed now, women still fear venturing out after 8 pm. “With no street lights, the roads wear a deserted look after 9 pm. And there is no transportation,” B Usha, 28, who works in a store in Secunderabad, said. The APSRTC operates just one service to the area, which also does not stick to the schedule forcing many to depend on auto rickshaws.

Ashraf Begum, a 35-year-old homemaker from Tallagadda, seeks better government healthcare services here. “Due to contamination of drinking water, children are falling sick frequently. Civic officials do not sweep the area. Piling garbage dumpsalso cause health problems,” Ashraf, a supporter of MIM said.

A first-time candidate for another party, R Manik Prabhu, 55, who is also the secretary of the Twin Cities Vegetable Market Welfare Association, said, “There is only one government hospital in Golconda, hardly functioning properly. Same is the case with the only school. If voted to power, I will change the face of Karwan,” Prabhu said.

Congress has fielded T Roop Singh, CPM K Srinivas Reddy and BSP M Kalidhar from this constituency.

The sitting MLA spins a development story to justify his claim for the third term. “Works worth Rs 130 crores have been taken up during my term. A Rs 3.5-crore water line was laid and an electric sub-station was set up. An outlet for draining storm water was created for the convenience of Nadeem Colony residents,” Khan added.

Due to delimitation, three divisions were shifted to the newly-created Assembly constituencies. The voters elected MIM in 1999 and 2004.

FACT SHEET: KARWAN
Total electorate | 2,19,663
Male voters | 1,13,556,
Female voters | 1,06,107

Main Areas: Toli Chowki, Badabanda, Imampura, Jiyaguda, Sabzimandi, Karwan, Tappachabutra, Lodhshetriya Nagar, Tallagadda, Joshiwadi, Jaffarguda, Bapughat, Langer Houz, Hasimnagar, Prabhatnagar, Pensionpura, Bapunagar, MD Lines, Mehraj Colony, Hakeempet, Kakatiya Nagar, Ibrahimbagh, Ramdevguda, Salehnagar, Bada Bazar, Chota Bazar, Risala Bazar, Khazigalli, Jinsi Bazar, Rethi Galli, Takhat Bowli and Heer Khana

TDP, TRS maha fight for many in Hyderabad

By M H Ahssan

Grand alliance partners — TDP, TRS and the Left parties — are set to fight one another in at least 15 assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies as most of the candidates fielded from there by the respective parties remained in the fray as the last date for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase of polling on April 16 ended on Thursday evening.

While Secunderabad and Warangal are the Lok Sabha seats in which both TDP and TRS candidates are in the fray, the assembly seats where they are clashing include Karwan, Kukatpally, Uppal, Patancheru, Maheshwaram, Suryapet, Sangareddy, Dornakal, Warangal (East), Huzurnagar, Mahbubnagar, Sircilla, Parakala, Bhoopalapalli, Mancherial, Yellareddy, Nizamabad (Urban), Peddapalli, Manthani and Chennur.

In Secunderabad LS constituency, which has been allotted to the TRS, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu painted TRS candidate M D Mohammed Mahmood Ali as a weak one and roped in Srinivasa Sudish Rambhotla as his nominee.

Rambhotla told TOI on Thursday evening that there were no instructions from the TDP president to withdraw. The TDP and the TRS are also set to clash in the city assembly constituencies like Karwan, Kukatpally, Uppal and Maheshwaram. In Maheshwaram, which has been allotted to the TRS, the TDP has put up T Krishna Reddy against K Prabhakar Reddy.

However, TDP’s Kukatpally nominee P L Srinivas withdrew from the contest on Thursday.

Rebel candidate P Vijaya, daughter of former Congress MLA P Janardhan Reddy, was initially said to have backed out of the race from Serilingampally assembly segment, but Rangareddy district officials clarified on Thursday night that she is still in the contest.

Mana Party’s Kasani Gyaneshwar, who has an alliance with the Prajarajyam Party, is in the fray from Chevella Lok Sabha constituency as well as for the Qutubullapur assembly seat where he would clash with PRP’s Jeevender Reddy. Similarly, PRP’s Rajpal Reddy and Mana Party’s Md Umar Ali Arshad Shafi are set to take on one another in the Rajendernagar assembly segment.

Among the other withdrawals, TDP nominee M N Srinivasa Rao pulled out from Musheerabad assembly constituency where TRS’ Nayani Narasimha Reddy is the official alliance candidate. The TRS withdrew its candidate, Shobhan Babu Mothe, from Secunderabad in favour of TDP’s T Srinivas Yadav and from Yakutpura, it pulled out Md Abdul Salam Sharafan, again in favour of the TDP. In the Congress, rebel candidate V Narayana Reddy pulled out of the race from Malakpet assembly segment.

Alliance partners TDP and CPM are clashing in Patancheru and Dornakal assembly constituencies allotted to the CPM while the TRS and CPI are set to clash in Husnabad which has been given to the latter. On its part, the CPM has not pulled out its candidates from Station Ghanpur and Sattenpally which have been given to the TDP.

At least 10 rebel TRS candidates remained in the fray including from Manakondur, Alair, Sircilla, Qutubullapur, Wardhannapet, Warangal (West), Parkal, Bhoopalapalli, Manakondur and Ramagundum assembly constituencies. The only TRS rebel candidate who withdrew is M Varalaxmi from Sangareddy.

In all, there were 71 withdrawals for the 22 Lok Sabha seats and 660 withdrawals for 154 assembly seats going for the polls in the first phase, leaving 305 LS candidates and 1833 assembly candidates in the fray.

With the nomination phase having been over, leaders of the various parties have now embarked on their gruelling campaigns.

PEOPLE ARE BEING DENIED DROUGHT RELIEF IN THE NAME OF MODEL CODE CURSE OF THE POLL CODE

Officials Fear That Any Relief Measure May Violate Code; Observers Blame Lack Of Sincerity On Part Of Both Politicians & Administration

The general elections has come as a bane for almost two-thirds of Maharashtra, with the summer setting in early and the poll code making it difficult for the administration to take speedy action.

The mercury has already touched 42 degree Celsius in many parts of the state, the land wears a parched look, and the livestock are underfed. Yet the government machinery is unable (or claim their inability) to act as they need the Election Commission’s permission to undertake any relief measure.

In normal times, the government machinery makes water tankers available and releases fodder for the livestock. This year, however, the model code of conduct has paralysed the government.

Government officials now think twice before taking any decision that can be perceived as wooing or influencing the voters. They even defer routine decisions such as releasing water tankers or fodder, which normally do not need any approval from higher authorities.

“The government machinery cites model code of conduct to defend its inaction. Political parties are busy cashing in on farmers’ plight. But no one is sincere in addressing them,” said Vijay Javandia, a Vidarbha-based farm activist.

With water scarcity becoming an issue that can’t be wished away, local politicians, who are busy campaigning, too are demanding that drought relief measures be exempted from the model code of conduct.

“The situation is grim. We have written to the EC asking it to review the situation and relax the code of conduct,” BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari told ET. “Local level officers avoid taking any decision fearing the EC’s wrath,” he said.

“Though the government is aware of the situation, it’s not in a position to handle it on a war footing. There are certain restrictions,” said an official from the state’s relief and rehabilitation ministry. According to him, they (the officials) need the EC’s permission before undertaking any relief measures. “The process to get the EC nod for these measures has already been initiated. But it takes time to get every decision scrutinised,” the official said.

However, Mr Bhandari is not ready to buy the administration’s argument at face value. “Water and fodder supply to drought-hit areas has been kept out of the EC’s purview,” Mr Bhandari said referring to the precedent set by former chief election commissioner TN Sheshan.

He said Mr Sheshan had kept drought-relief measures out of the purview of the model code of conduct. “The code of conduct will be in force till May 16, the day votes will be counted. By then, the summer would be in its last leg. Does this mean the government will keep ignoring the drought-hit areas till then?” asked Mr Bhandari.

HNN had reported on Monday that many parts of Maharashtra were already witnessing severe water shortage, early into the summer. Many regions of the state, which received only about 30% of the total average rainfall last year, are facing severe water scarcity.

Regions like Darwha tehsil in Vidarbha’s Yavatmal district have demanded that the state government declare the tehsil as drought-hit and initiate measures to deal with it.

The district has a sugarcane cultivation of over 13,000 hectares along the banks of Adan river. It has been severely hit by scarcity of rainfall. Other crops like tur, cotton and vegetables are also under threat, and there is an urgent need for declaring the tehsil as drought-hit, they say.

“Many districts in Vidarbha have lost their entire soya bean crop. Theywere not given any relief earlier and now it’s not possible because of the elections. These farmers are left to fend for themselves,” Mr Javandia said.

Poll code doesn’t bar humanitarian, emergency relief measures: EC
The Election Commission has taken a serious view of the incidents in Maharashtra, wherein government officials tasked with drought relief work have cited election model code of conduct to put relief measures on hold. Reacting to a complaint made by the BJP that drought relief measures are not being carried out in parts of the state by government officials on the pretext that the code of conduct was in force, Election commissioner SY Qureshi made it clear that the poll code did not interfere with “humanitarian and emergency relief measures”. “This has been made clear umpteen times. Humanitarian work has to be carried out irrespective of the election code of conduct. We will pull up officials concerned if such cases are brought to our notice,” he said.