84 per cent voter turnout in Kovur

                                                                                   

High voter turnout of 84 per cent in Kovur marked peaceful polling in the by-elections to seven Assembly constituencies in the State on Sunday.

The average polling percentage in the seven constituencies was 71 per cent, while it was 68 per cent in the six segments of Telangana – Adilabad, Kamareddy, Station Ghanpur, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool and Kollapur. The by-elections were necessitated following the resignation by six MLAs and the death of another.

Stray incidents

Reports from the districts said barring stray incidents of clashes between party workers, protests by voters whose names were missing from the electoral list and a half-day boycott of polling by villagers for non-fulfilment of promises in Kovur, polling was by and large peaceful. 

He said the lowest turnout of 61 per cent was reported from Adilabad, while the highest was 84 per cent in Kovur. The constituency-wise break-up is Adilabad (61 per cent), Station Ghanpur (64), Kamareddy (68), Kollapur (75), Nagarkurnool and Mahabubnagar (70 each). There has been no request for re-poll from anywhere and counting of votes would be taken up on March 21.

All 480 voters of Sri Purandhapuram village in Kovur consituency abstained from voting till afternoon when poll officials convinced them to exercise their franchise. In Kamareddy, TRS candidate Gampa Goverdhan picked up a quarrel with the DSP for allowing the TDP candidate's vehicle till a polling booth. In Nagarkurnool, TDP and Congress workers clashed.

Police used mild force near a booth in Kovur to disperse two clashing groups.

Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwarlal told reporters that about Rs. 10 crore in cash was seized across the seven constituencies now, against Rs. 38 crore in 294 Assembly and 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the general elections in 2009.

Serpentine queue

The heavy turnout in Kovur could be gauged from the fact that at Isukapalem booth polling continued till 6.45 p.m. as the voters were in a serpentine queue till 5 p.m., the scheduled closing time. Mr. Bhanwarlal said the voters were allowed in tune with the Election Commission guidelines. Youth and women turned up in large numbers at several places in this constituency.

RS list: Congress springs surprises

                                                                     

The Congress' central leadership sprang a surprise by nominating senior Telangana leader Palvai Goverdhan Reddy and APCC general secretary Rapolu Anand Bhaskar as the party candidates, who were not at all in the reckoning.

Former Union Minister Renuka Chowdary and erstwhile Praja Rajyam chief K. Chiranjeevi are the other two nominees. Loyalty to AICC president, Sonia Gandhi appeared to have played key role in finalisation of these candidates.

Mr. Chiranjeevi was named as the nominee as part of the agreement he had with the high command after merging his party.

Mr. Anand Bhaskar, a BC leader from Padmasali community is a close aide of former PCC chief D. Srinivas and a key figure at Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress party headquarters. Ms. Chowdary's proximity to Ms. Gandhi and demand that representation be given to the Kamma community seems to have led to her selection.

Party leaders maintained that the high command had the final say in the selection while the Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and APCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana had little role.

TDP nominees

Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) finalised the names of C.M. Ramesh and T. Devender Goud as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections.

EC reprimands Cong MPs in Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi: The Election Commission has held two Congress MPs and the party candidate from Andhra Pradesh's Ghanpur Assembly seat guilty of violating the model code of conduct by addressing election meetings inside a church during bypolls in the state.


The Commission, in its order, reprimanded the two Congress MPs, Balaram Naik and Rajaiah Siricilla, and the party's nominee from Ghanpur seat Rajarapu Prathap for violation of the model code and has issued a mild warning to them.

The EC has also directed Prathap to comply with the directions of the Returning Officer to account for the expenses made in arranging the political rally in the church during filing of nomination.

Naik, Siricilla and Prathap were found addressing a meeting of party workers at Ghanpur church.

The Commission had earlier served a notice to them on March 12, asking them to explain why action should not be taken against them for alleged violation of the model code, for which they replied on March 13, claiming they had gone to the church to seek blessings and not to campaign.

However, the Commission cited Para I of the Model Code of Conduct, which states that "Mosques, Churches, Temples or other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda", and held the three guilty of violating the Code.

The EC based its order on the report of the District Election Officer and a video tape of the proceedings at Ghanpur church.

The Commission found that a speech of political nature was made in the church and all three leaders and party workers were seen sporting party scarves, caps and flags.

Opposition may attack UPA government in Parliament

The government is expected to face a tough time in the parliament on Monday as it convenes for the first time after the union budget. Though railway minister Dinesh Trivedi resigned from the Union Cabinet yesterday to end the standoff, the Opposition is expected attack the weakened government over the issue. The government is also expected to announce Trivedi's resignation in the parliament.
The Prime Minister is expected to reply to the president's address in the the Parliament today. The opposition BJP has moved a number of amendments on her speech, including over the NCTC issue. Opposition may create uproar during the PM's reply in the Parliament.
After railways minister Dinesh Trivedi resignation, junior minister for shipping Mukul Roy is expected to replace him. Trivedi had insisted he would resign only after he gets a formal communication from Banerjee. He backed down on Sunday evening after a call from minister of state in PMO, V Narayanasamy, signalled the government couldn't antagonise Banerjee for his sake. Government sources however hope that Trivedi's exit would ensure the Trinamool doesn't embarrass the UPA by supporting the BJP's amendments to the President's address over the National Counter Terrorism Centre in Parliament today.
Meanwhile, Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi today said that he would attend the TMC meeting as he had been invited by the Trinamool Congress of which he is a member.

Yeddyurappa at it again, fresh trouble in saffron party

The ruling BJP in Karnataka plunged into a crisis on Sunday with former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa intensifying his power struggle by claiming support of over half of the party MLAs and demanding that the central leadership convene a legislature party meet within 48 hours.

“Wait for 48 hours. It is not a deadline. I am sure the party leadership will take a decision,” he said, apparently indicating that the BJP leadership will have to take a call on his demand for reinstating him as Chief Minister before his successor D V Sadananda Gowda presents his maiden Budget in the Assembly on March 21. He was talking to reporters after holding a meeting with his supporters at his residence here. 

“Fifty-five legislators are here today. Fifteen more will join tomorrow. I am confident that the BJP central leadership will take note of all these developments and take an appropriate decision as soon as possible,” said Yeddyurappa, who is making a renewed bid to get the party to reinstate him as Chief Minister.
The BJP has a strength of 120 legislators, including the Speaker, in the 224-member Assembly.

At the meeting, Yeddyurappa loyalists decided to submit a memorandum to BJP president Nitin Gadkari seeking a legislature party meeting. The BJP Karnataka strongman, who is keen on presenting the Budget himself, has set the new deadline hoping to regain the lost chair, even as the state unit party president K S Eswarappa firmly ruled out change of guard.
Amid the crisis, Chief Minister Gowda celebrated his 59th birthday on a low key and declared he would present the Budget. Gowda ducked a query on the leadership change demand by Yeddyurappa faction, saying, “It will be decided by central leadership.”