By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
ELECTION ANALYSIS Heavy turnout was recorded in the second phase of polling in 11 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, with especially high turnout in Rampur, Moradabad, Nagina and Sambhal. Incidentally, Rampur, Moradabad and Sambhal are Muslim-dominated constituencies.
Election Commission figures put the turnout in Rampur at 69.32 percent, which is more than 14 per cent higher than 2009. Nagina witnessed 61.98 per cent polling while Moradabad recorded 61.22 per cent and Sambhal recorded 56.8 per cent polling.
By Suhrith Parthasarathy (Guest Writer)
There is unquestionable value in a general policy of reservation because it attacks caste-based inequities that have proved so damaging to our society; but through an ever-expanding scheme of reservation, we have lost sight of what our aims were in the first place.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s election manifesto, released on April 7, 2014, and its opponents’ reaction to the proposal, exemplifies the level of political debate in India today. In spite of an element of truth in claims that the manifesto is an impressionist’s version, the document nonetheless departs on certain crucial, philosophical issues.
By Umesh Kumar | INNLIVE
ELECTION REPORT Youth angry poll is reduced to Hindu vs. Muslim contest. “This is the power loom, fast and money-making like your big city, and that is the handloom, slow and poor like this city,” Mohammed Arshad, a young weaver, strikes a pithy comparison.
The looms that churn out Banarasi saris hum constantly in the maze of lanes and bylanes of Lallapura, a congested, Muslim-majority area here. Only that sound stands out even in this election time. No campaign frenzy, very few posters.
The older generation has become cynical. The younger voters are angry that the election has been reduced to a “Hindu versus Muslim” contest.
By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE
ELECTION REPORT Damned if they do, damned if they don’t. The polarisation tactics of other parties has caught the Congress leadership in a bind in Uttar Pradesh. The party’s grandstanding on secularism doesn’t allow it to openly canvas for votes on communal lines, yet if does not do so, it cedes crucial Muslim votes to other parties. The party may claim it is against divisive politics, but the reality is it’s the very division of votes along religious lines that can help it win elections.
By Sudha Rani | INNLIVE
KARNATAKA ELECTIONS Until a few years ago voters even in urban constituencies by and large preferred known devils to unknown angels. They were unwilling to take chances and opt for new faces. But things have changed. As far as Bangalore is concerned, the General Elections 2014 are unusual in many aspects. People in the city, particularly the professional class, are determined to fight bad governance and corruption.
By Manas Sahu | INNLIVE
ODISHA ELECTIONS The signs are ominous for Naveen Patnaik. As if the 75% polling in the first phase of elections on 10 April was not enough, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is now staring at another bumper polling in the second phase on Thursday. If anything, the turnout in the second round appears to be even bigger than the first.
While giving out the figure of 70% on Thursday evening, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mona Sharma was at pains to emphasise that it was based on reports that had come in with an hour or so still to go for voting and thus was subject to upward revision.
By Sanjay Rawat | INNLIVE
IN FOCUS Cashing in on the Lok Sabha elections season, consulting firms managing the election campaign strategy of political parties are likely to rake in moolah of over Rs 700 to 800 crore, according to estimates by an Assocham study.
The study says emergence of new tools like social media for reaching out to voters have also led to political parties hiring specialised agencies to handle their poll campaign.
By Likha Veer | INNLIVE
Varun Gandhi has time and again said that he will not speak a word against his extended Gandhi family for electoral gains. He had kept his words till now. When he inadvertently spoke about Rahul Gandhi, it was to appreciate the work that was being done with NGOs in Amethi. He has studiously refrained from making derogatory personal remarks against Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka and even Robert Vadra. But it seems his was a one sided commitment to decency.
For, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has thrown all norms of decency to the winds by first saying that Varun has gone astray and then labeling him a traitor to the family. These are strong words and would have immediately invoked equally strong retaliatory words in this super charged atmosphere.
