Change for what???

2006 is sure proving to be the most difficult and frustrating year for a certain LK Advani. With advancing age and a diminishing chance of getting the post of PM, he is getting caught offgaurd by speaking his mind.

Just a day after the first phase of elections were over here in West Bengal, he said the "CPIM is unhappy with 70% turnout." His pointer being --- the areas in the first phase previously witnessed around 75% polling. Not very refined --- but an acceptable poilitical statement considering his party's non-existence in the state.

But the very next day --- The EC itself 'pani fekh diya re'...-- it reported that well over 80% polling has taken place in the first phase and moreover it has not found any evidence of violence, rigging booth jam ---- just not anything!!!!! so surprising --- lady Mamata might now well be searching for another word --- because her so-called 'scientific rigging' is holding no turf here!!! So sad!!! One Left MP-..in a TV interview even suggested that---perhaps the Opposition will tell that the Central Forces colluded with the Left to help in rigging!!

Now with the so-called 'clean elections' as certified by the EC, leaves us a picture where we find that the vote share of the BJP-Trinamool combination has gone down --- may we think that rigging was practised by them only!!! Anyway...that would be too far fetched, because the respective opposition parties just dont have any proper plan or whatever so that voters can look as them as alternative!!! You go to any election meeting of them...the only thing you will hear -- is Change CPIM -- well people might change them...but FOR WHAT????

Anik Ghosal
Senior research executive
Kolkata

Kerala

Dirty politics

This time around no body is sure of the result in the Kerala elections. The LDF lead by Achutanandan is about to receive something they have not experienced in the past. Their attitude to development and the tendency to oppose anything they find will bring development to the state will spoil their chances in the elections.

Achutanandan alone is responsible for the pathetic state of the Smart City Project. Achutanandan will support only the development where his CITU will have access. CITU will not have access to any of the IT projects and will only bell the death of it. He is against thousands of malayalees staying in Bangloore, Hydrabad, and other parts of India and world. He is against seeing Kerala in the world IT map. He is ignorant of what IT can bring to Kerala what it has brought to Bangloore.

• Complete coverage: Citizen Election Reports

No body is asking Kerala to ignore agriculture, but IT should be allowed to develop where it has scope, where agriculture has no scope in a place like Kakkanad - barren land. The educated people, who wish development will not stay with LDF in this election.

The dirty politics Karunakaran and Muraleedharan has played is forgotten. While announcing the arrival of the DIC both Karunakaran and his son Muraleedharan had ridiculed the Umman Chandi led congress in Kerala. The words these two leads used to describe the Chief Minister are not worth mentioning. Now they are playing true politics, knowing well that they could not do anything alone in the elections.

The people who have taken them in should also not be forgiven. The dirty politics that is going to unfold after the elections in the congress party should be anybody's guess. Though Karunakaran has categorically denied the report that DIC will not merge with Congress after the elections, many of Karunakaran supporters who believed his words while forming the new party, strongly believe the vile leader will do anything for his son and power.

He will even ditch the ardent of supporters for his son, who is worthy to be in politics only if we change meaning of the term politics is not to serve the people. In his dictionary, as in the case of many now in politics, politics is a means to swell his bank account with people's money. People with common sense will not stay with the dirty politics that congress is playing.

Congress on its part is in favor of development - their development not the state's development. The so called Smart City Project and Express Highway will certainly bring them money, but one cannot overlook the overall development aspect of it.

The LDF on its part is ignorant of these. They are against their own development and the state's development. There is less corruption, but they are dead against development. I still remember one American doctor's words coming back to Kerala ?. No way !!!. I once came back to Kerala after 10 years stay in USA. It is not moving forward, it is going back. With your leader Achutanandan in power it could be even worse. Just guess where we are heading for ???

Ligith CD
Computers
Kochi

Tamil Nadu

DMK will sweep

DMK will have a clear lead over the ruling front in case of a hung verdict. DMK will sweep all the seats in chennai city.

Final tally is likely to be:

DMK+: 130
ADMK+: 104

Srinath
Reporter
Madurai

Election stunts

How people change their colour and tone was best displayed by Sarath Kumar and his wife Radhika recently when they joined AIADMK.

Everyone knows it was Amma who groomed up Sarath as a competitor to Rajini (It was an absolute mismatch and big mistake)in the late '90s. But he very cleverly left the ADMK stating that they showed his film in JJ TV without his permission (Why should an actor's permission required to show his film in TV. I think it is the producer discretion rather than actor's).

He joined DMK as soon as they won the election and was their mouthpiece all along. He in fact contested the lok sabha election in 1998 and lost from Tirunelveli. He did not contest again and was given the Rajya Sabha seat and was a sitting member.

Now he has joined AIADMK again citing he was ignored in DMK (Do not know what he did to gain attention!!).

By going and joining ADMK he has done a great mistake. All the politicians/actors think people forget things easily and always tend to play on that end. What they do not know is the same people can teach them a good lesson.

What all the actors think is that the fan following would end up in votes (Not all of them are MGR or NTR to do such miracles). What they fail to understand is it took nearly a decade for MGR and NTR to establish themselves and they did not become politicians overnight.

• Complete coverage: Assembly Election 2006

MGR stood in his first election after being in politics for more than 10-12 years and all along doing the basic ground work. This is applicable even to Vijaykanth. Even though he was doing all sort of philanthrophy he did not establish himself as a political personality and he was always an actor.

The Big mistake Vijayakanth committed in this election is by standing in all the seats (which he will end up in a loosing cause). What he should have done is go one step a time. He is most likely to loose the hard-earned money.

Sarath kumar during his intial days always called Vijayakanth as his mentor and the person who gave him new lease of life in cinema (Through Pulan Visaranai). Probably he could have aligned with Vijayakanth during this election. In that way alteast he would have saved some face.

I think Sarath is also heading for the same fate as Vijaya, T Rajender, Pandiyan and Ramarajan.

Jai Ganesh
Consultant

AIADMK will scrape through