Sunday, April 19, 2009

PM, Advani address rallies in Assam as campaigning picks up for 2nd phase

Campaign hots up for the second phase of polling scheduled on Thursday in 13 states for 141 constituencies while repoll in one polling booth in Jammu and Kashmir will be held on Sunday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh campaigned in Assam on Sunday while Congress President Sonia Gandhi addressed rallies in Lucknow, Faizabad and Allahabad.

AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is on an election tour to Maharashtra.

In West Bengal, Trinamool leader Mamta Banerjee, Congress veteran Pranab Mukharjee and state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee are campaigning extensively.

BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani and Rajnath Singh also held public rallies in UP and Maharashtra.

Repoll held

The election commission had ordered re-polling in 46 polling booths spread across seven states.

Repolling in 37 polling booths took place in 29 polling stations in Andhra Pradesh, five in Assam, two in Kerala and one in Uttar Pradesh.

Repoll in one polling booth in Jammu and Kashmir will be held on Sunday.

Five polling stations in Arunachal Pradesh and three in Nagaland will go to polls again on April 20th.

On Thursday, a total of 124 constituencies spread across 15 states and two union territories went to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Girija Vyas, Maneka Gandhi, J P Agrawal file nomination

Congress leader Girija Vyas filed her nominations for the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan to be held on 7th May. Vyas submitted her papers from Chittorgarh Lok Sabha seat. Saturday was the last day of filing nomination for the fourth phase of elections.

BJP candidate Maneka Gandhi also filed her nomination papers from Aonla parliamentary constituency. Maneka filed her papers before the Bareilly District Magistrate at the collectorate office.

Congress candidate from North East Delhi constituency J P Agrawal also submitted his nomination papers.

BSP Chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has said that her government doesn't provide shelter to any criminals. She was addressing an election rally in Balrampur.

The Communist Party of India Marxist, has said that the Mauritius route remains the largest conduit for the evasion of capital gains tax and corporate tax, and the BJP by raising the Swiss bank issue was trying to cover up the misdeeds of the NDA rule.

PM to cast his vote in Assam


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who did not cast his vote in 2004 parliamentary elections and also skipped the Assembly polls two years later, would exercise his franchise in Assam on 23rd April for the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency.


"Yes, I will be coming here for voting on April 23. My wife (Gursharan Kaur) will also vote with me," Singh, who represents Assam in Rajya Sabha, told reporters in Guwahati today while replying to a query.


Singh has his name in the Dispur area voters' list that comes under the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency and his residential address is of Sorumataria.

The constituency goes to polls on 23rd April in the second phase of elections.


The Prime Minister has rented a flat on the premises of former chief minister Hiteswar Saikia's residence.


Singh had not caste his vote here during the 2004 polls.

Elected four times in a row to Rajya Sabha from Assam since 1991, the Prime Minister and his wife had left Assam just a day before Assembly polls in 2006.


According to election rules, the Prime Minister is not eligible for postal ballot, since the facility is only for officials on poll duty and men from the services

Congress can tackle terror: PM


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asserted that only Congress can provide a strong government in "difficult times" when the country is facing threats like terrorism.


Addressing an election rally at Amingaon in North Guwahati, Singh voiced concern over the growing acts of terrorism which posed a threat to the country.


"The Congress party can only give you a strong government in this hour by having all the apparatus to face difficult times," he said.


Stating that "terrorism has no place in our society", the Prime Minister condemned the recent acts of violence in India and Assam in particular where the common man, women and children were the victims.


"I have my sympathy for the victims of this senseless attacks and want to assure the people that we want to stop such acts of violence," Singh said.


After the Mumbai terror strike, the UPA government had strongly dealt with the emerging situation and was in contrast to what the BJP did when similar attacks took place during their rule, he said.


"There is a difference between what they (BJP) promise and what they do. That is for you to know," Singh said.


This was the prime minister's first election rally in Guwahati parliamentary constituency of Assam after he had to cancel his poll campaign in Dibrugarh on April seven due to bad weather.

The prime minister claimed that Sonia Gandhi-led party had fulfilled its promise and worked hard to ensure that the "fruits of development" reach to the poor.


"Our job is not fully done. We have a lot to do to remove poverty. The Congress should get five more years to carry on with the process of development," he said.


The Congress, he said, had taken care of the minorities and had set up a separate ministry.

"Nine minority dominated districts in Assam have been identified where special schemes will be taken to improve their plight," the Rajya Sabha MP from Assam said.


The Prime Minister also referred to the mid-day meal scheme and said under the Rashtriya Gramin Mission, 23,000 primary health centres and 1, 46,000 sub centres would be opened.


Health insurance scheme had been launched and loans of small farmers were also waived off, he said.


The prime minister also announced that three new medical colleges and a world class university would be set up in Assam.


"I appeal you to strengthen the hands of Congress and Sonia Gandhi and help in hastening development in both urban and rural areas," he said.

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