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Karnataka polls : Over 65 pc voters turn out in 2nd phase |
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Naxalite attacks in some districts figuring in the second phase of polling in the Karnataka Assembly elections did not deter voters on May 16, who turned out in large numbers. Re¬ports say that the voting percentage in the 66 constituencies was between 65 and 70 per cent, equaling or bettering 66 per cent voting in phase 1. Voting was peaceful except for isolated incidents.
Though primarily a fight between the Congress and the BJP, Janata Dal (Secular) is also trying to better its tally from the last election when it won 14 seats against the 37 secured by the BJP and 22 by the Congress.
The most keenly contested seat was Shimoga where two former Chief Ministers, Bangarappa of the Samajwadi Party and B.S. Yeddyurappa of the BJP were the main contestants.
During the election campaign, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, May 13, asked the voters to break out of what she called the “web of hatred” being created by some communal forces. She alleged that the state had regressed during the tenure of the BJP-JDS coalition.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi during his election tour on Monday, May 12, claimed that only the Congress could provide a stable government. Taking on the BJP for accusing the UPA Government of being soft on terrorism, Rahul Gandhi said the NDA government had bent on its knees to terrorists during the hijack of Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar.
Have not fallen out with Sonia Gandhi : Arjun Singh
Senior Congress leader and Human Resource Development Min¬ister Arjun Singh has said that he has not fallen out with Sonia Gandhi. In a series of television interviews on May 12, the Minister said he should not be treated like a terrorist after talk in party circles that some leaders wanted Sonia Gandhi to discipline him. Arjun Singh clarified that he was no sycophant.
Arjun Singh asserted that the Congress was very democratic and rejected suggestions that there was tension between him and the party high command. He said that he was a loyalist, but not a sycophant.
Despite Arjun Singh’s attempt to build ties with the high command again, strangely the Minister on Thursday, May 15, released a book by an old Lohiaite, condemning pro-reform po¬licies with which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is associated. The book in Hindi, Vicharth by Raghu Thakur criticises what it calls the attempt to create prototype American society in India. Observers say, what caught everyone with surprise was the fact that Arjun Singh heaped fulsome praise on the author who bitterly criticised the UPA Government’s policies.
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