Thursday, January 14, 2010

[ZESTCaste] BJP neglecting SC, ST welfare: JD(S)

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/01/14/stories/2010011452860300.htm

Karnataka - Shimoga

BJP neglecting SC, ST welfare: JD(S)

Special Correspondent

Strengthening party: President of the State SC, ST Cell of the Janata
Dal (Secular) K. Annadani addressing party workers in Shimoga on
Wednesday.

SHIMOGA: State president of the Janata Dal (Secular) SC/ST Cell K.
Annadani said here on Wednesday that the State Government, under the
leadership of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, had neglected the SC,ST
community people by not announcing any programme for the betterment of
the Dalits and people of the other oppressed classes.

Addressing presspersons after the Janata Dal(Secular) party workers'
meeting, he urged the Chief Minister to come out with programmes in
the State budget to protect the interests of Dalits and other SC/ST
communities.

He said that all previous governments had implemented their own
programmes for the welfare of the SC,ST communities. But the BJP
Government for the past one and a half years had not implemented any
programmes for the welfare of Dalits, he added.

He said that the State Government had overlooked the novel programme
of Ganga Kalyan scheme implemented by the former Prime Minister H.D.
Deve Gowda under his Chief Ministership.

He alleged that Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues had wasted
one and a half years in safeguarding their positions and power without
devoting attention to the welfare of people.

He suggested to the Chief Minister to utilise the remaining term of
the BJP Government in implementing meaningful programmes and
facilities to bring the SC,ST communities into the mainstream of
society.

Mr. Annadani said that the party was organising meetings throughout
the State to strengthen the party.

He said that he had asked the District president M. Srikant to appoint
a president for the District SC/ST Unit of Janata Dal (Secular).

On the BMIC row, he said that instead of concentrating on the
Bangalore-Mysore road work, the State Government was acquiring
additional land for some other purposes. He alleged that the
Government was deviating from the basic plan of the Bangalore Mysore
Infrastructure Corridor project.

District Janata Dal (Secular) president M. Srikant, the former
district president M.B. Shivanna, party leader Shamsunder and others
were present.


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[ZESTCaste] We can do without reservations in higher education - Kerala HC

 

http://www.indiaedunews.net/Kerala/We%5Fcan%5Fdo%5Fwithout%5Freservations%5Fin%5Fhigher%5Feducation%5F%2D%5FKerala%5FHC%5F10253/

We can do without reservations in higher education - Kerala HC

January 14, 2010

Thiruvananthapuram: Considering the change in the socio-economic
conditions of the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other
Backward Classes (OBC), the Kerala High Court came out with a
revolutionary decision to bring down their reservation criteria in
higher education and employment sector.

The court in its much sought after decision announced that the
reservations made in the government sector would only check their
growth and they would not be able to come out of it.

It further realized that time has come to bring them at par with the
general category by awakening them from their "nap of satiated
indifference."

The radical observation came while the court dismissed the Muslim
Jamaat Council's petition challenging the government order of
September 8, 2008 of granting 10% reservation in state-run colleges
and 7.5% in university departments for Below Poverty Line (BPL)
students from forward castes.

The Bench said it is the policy matter of the government and it could
not interfere with the issue.

"The reservations of these communities till now have created a
platform for them to exist sans quota. They should now try to improve
their lot and compete with the forward groups in the job sector. The
higher the competition the greater would be their chance to improve,"
the court said.

The Bench cleared its intention to uplift the BPL segment from among
the forward communities.

The poor among the forward community are the one who suffer the brunt
as the reservations are meant only for the SC/ ST and OBC segments
which is why the court does not find itself guilty of introducing such
reforms as it aims to provide relief to the poor belonging to the
upper class.

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati plans a pro-poor birthday bash

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_mayawati-plans-a-pro-poor-birthday-bash_1334532

Mayawati plans a pro-poor birthday bash

Deepak Gidwani / DNA
Thursday, January 14, 2010 0:04 IST

Lucknow: With her 54th birthday just two days away, Uttar Pradesh
chief minister Mayawati seems to be turning into a Good Samaritan.


The Dalit icon is preparing to dole out a lot of goodies to the poor
and needy on January 15.

Mayawati has announced that her birthday will be celebrated as "Jan
Kalyan Diwas" (public welfare day). Special camps would be organised
at all district headquarters. A senior official said the CM had
directed that the beneficiaries be chosen on the basis of economic
status, regardless of caste, though there are clear instructions that
50% of them should be from the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

On her birthday, Mayawati would be giving out possession letters of
low-cost houses totally free of cost to one lakh below poverty line
(BPL) families under the Kanshi Ram Housing Scheme for the urban poor
in 61 districts.

Then there are battery-operated auto-rickshaws to be given out to the
poor and unemployed. Other goodies in CM's benevolent hamper include
bicycles and financial assistance for young girls from poor families.

Besides, Mayawati would also be laying foundation stones of numerous
projects running into hundreds of crores of rupees.

These include 6,300 km of roads, more than a hundred bridges,
bypass-building projects in towns with over one lakh population,
several flyovers and an Arabic-Persian university in Lucknow. State
government employees are also expecting the CM to release their
pending dearness allowance installment on her birthday.

Mayawati's previous birthdays have been marred by controversies over
collection of huge amounts of money and expensive gifts including
diamond-studded tiaras and gold and silver jewellery.


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[ZESTCaste] Centre working under influence of capitalists: Mayawati

 

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Centre-working-under-influence-of-capitalists--Mayawati/567352

Centre working under influence of capitalists: Mayawati

Agencies Posted online: Thursday , Jan 14, 2010 at 1603 hrs

Lucknow : Hitting back at the Centre for blaming the states for price
rise, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Thursday charged the
government with working under the influence of capitalists and
threatened a nation- wide campaign if no steps were taken to curb
inflation.
"It is clear that the Centre is working under the influence and
pressure of capitalists and if it fails to take effective measures
against price hike immediately, my party will be forced to launch a
nation-wide agitation," she told a press conference here.

She alleged that the Centre's "faulty" economic, import and export
policies and its "tendency to benefit capitalists and big businessman"
resulted in skyrocketing prices.

Mayawati said the Centre failed to take timely action to control
prices of foodgrains, pulses and sugar and alleged that by making
irresponsible statements, central ministers encouraged hoarders and
blackmarketeers.

"A statement given by Union Agriculture Minister that sugar prices
will rise further gave hoarders and blackmarketeers a chance to
increase the rates," she said.

She alleged that just before Lok Sabha polls, petrol and diesel prices
were slashed for political gains.

"After elections were over, the government with a clear intention of
benefiting capitalists, effected a hefty hike in petrol and diesel
prices resulting in price hike," she alleged.

"The Centre should have imposed a ban on export of rice, keeping in
mind the requirement of wheat in the country. But it allowed
large-scale exports resulting in inflation," Mayawati alleged.

She said rather than blaming the states, the Centre should change its policies.

"Instead of framing capitalist-oriented policies, the Centre should
frame policies keeping in mind the common people," she said.

"Kendra ka haath poonjipati ke saath hai, aam aadmi ke saath nahi
(Centre's backs capitalists and not the common people)," she alleged.

Mayawati said measures taken by the Centre to introduce additional
stock of foodgrains and exempt sugar from duty was a "delayed and
ineffective" decision.

"Releasing additional stock and exempting sugar from duty will not
give relief to the people," she said.

Mayawati said the Centre was now mulling increasing petrol and diesel
prices. "It is crystal clear that such decisions are being taken under
the influence of capitalists," she alleged.

She said her government was making all efforts to provide relief to
the people from price hike.

"District magistrates have been asked to act against hoarders and
blackmarketeers under Essential Commodities Act," she added.

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati offers Rs.5 crore to Indian hockey team

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/sports/mayawati-offers-rs5-crore-to-indian-hockey-team_100303654.html

Mayawati offers Rs.5 crore to Indian hockey team

January 14th, 2010 - 3:35 pm ICT by IANS -
Lucknow, Jan 14 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Thursday
offered Rs.5 crore to the Indian hockey team, along with a sponsorship
for the next two years, a day after the crisis between the players and
Hockey India ended.
The players had marched out of the preparatory camp in Pune for this
year's World Cup over non payment of dues.

"Besides giving a sum of Rs.5 crore to the Indian hockey team, we are
also ready to take care of the sponsorship of the team for the next
two years," Mayawati said here.

"I am doing it for my love for sports and I cannot see our national
team losing their morale simply for want of finances, when they should
be preparing for the World Cup to make the nation proud," she added.


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[ZESTCaste] Dalit youth alleges he was forced to eat human excreta

 

http://www.ptinews.com/news/467718_Dalit-youth-alleges-he-was-forced-to-eat-human-excreta

Dalit youth alleges he was forced to eat human excreta

STAFF WRITER 13:0 HRS IST
Dindigul (TN), Jan 14 (PTI) In a shocking case of caste
discrimination, a dalit has alleged that he was forced to eat human
faeces by a group of 'high caste Christians' for walking with chappals
in their street in the district.

The dalit youth, in his complaint to Batalagundu police inspector,
said "a group of high caste Christians forced human faeces into my
mouth after beating me for walking with chappals in their street".

Sadayandi, who is from Indhira Nagar in Meikovilpatti in Dindigul
district, claimed the incident occurred on January 7 when a group of
more than 10 'caste christians' stopped him and asked if he was not
aware of the "order" that dalits should not walk with chappals in
their street. Then they asked him to remove his chappals and slapped
him with it, he said.

"One of them suggested that I should be fed human excreta.

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati comes to the resucue of Hockey India

 

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-29784.html

Mayawati comes to the resucue of Hockey India

Lucknow, Jan 13 : In a rare political gesture, Uttar Pradesh chief
minister Mayawati today announced to give Hockey India(HI) a financial
assistance of Rupees 5 crore to sort out the differences between the
players and the organisation.

This is said to be a gift to the hockey players by the UP CM on her
54th birthday this January 15.

According to official sources, Ms Mayawati has proposed to give Rs 5
crore in next two years to help the hockey players who are in a tossle
with the HI over their pending dues.

Sources said that UP government has also offered to hand over the
money as a sponsor for next two years.

The announcement from Mayawati should come as a great help to warring
sporting authorities over payment to players.

It came immediately after the junior hockey players, currently camping
here at Sports Authority of India (SAI) sub-centre, announced to join
the seniors in their cause. Some of the juniors are being in the
recknoning to replace some of the seniors if the matter remained
unresolved.

--UNI

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[ZESTCaste] Mayawati willing to sponsor hockey team

 

http://sports.rediff.com/report/2010/jan/14/mayawati-offers-rs-5-crore-to-hockey-team-willing-to-sponsor-for-2-years.htm

Mayawati willing to sponsor hockey team
January 14, 2010 10:11 IST

Chief Minister, Mayawati [ Images ], on Wednesday announced a
financial assistance of Rs 5 crore for the national hockey players and
also offered to sponsor the team for the next two years.

Annoyed by the official apathy, the hockey players had pulled out of
the World Cup preparatory camp before reaching an agreement with the
Hockey India [ Images ] on Wednesday.

"The state government is also ready to sponsor the hockey team for the
next two years with an objective of supporting the team and its
players," Mayawati said in a statement in Lucknow [ Images ].

She said that her government was committed to promote sports and sportsmen.

"I hope that the step taken by the state would help the Indian team to
perform well at the World Cup and do the country proud," she said
while extending her best wishes to the team for their World Cup
campaign, starting next month in New Delhi.

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[ZESTCaste] Jamia seeks time for OBC quota, tests govt

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100114/jsp/nation/story_11982091.jsp

Jamia seeks time for OBC quota, tests govt
CHARU SUDAN KASTURI
New Delhi, Jan. 13: Jamia Millia Islamia has asked the Centre for
three more years to implement OBC quotas in a controversial demand
that will test both the law and the government's ability to balance
backward class and minority pressures.

The central university has asked the human resource development
ministry for time till the 2013 academic session, for the first time
giving a time frame within which it will implement OBC quotas, The
Telegraph has learnt.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal is learnt to be averse to upsetting large and
influential sections of Muslims opposed to OBC reservations at Jamia,
where a parallel tussle is on over whether it should receive minority
university status. Jamia, at present, is not a minority institution.

But accepting the Jamia demand would require legal juggling by the
government that some officials warned would not prove easy.

The central educational institutions (reservations in admissions) act
implemented from the 2008 academic session mandated that all centrally
funded higher educational institutions must complete 27 per cent OBC
reservations in three years.

The 2010 academic session is the third and final year of the mandated
time period within which Jamia, like all other central higher
educational institutions, had to implement the quotas.

But unlike most other central institutions, which decided to implement
the quotas in phases over three years, Jamia did not introduce the
reservations in 2008 or 2009.

This, however, is the first time they have said that they do not plan
to implement the quotas in 2010 either.

The Jamia demand is also controversial because if it is accepted,
other central universities, the IITs and the IIMs may also make
copycat demands that would not be easy to turn down.

While accepting the demand may help the government pacify Muslim
leaders opposed to the quotas, any spread of this demand to other
institutions could upset OBC leaders, government sources fear.

Jamia's demand — conveyed by vice-chancellor Najeeb Jung to HRD
minister Kapil Sibal during a recent meeting — is closely linked to
the debate in the university over seeking minority status. Minority
institutions are not required to enforce OBC reservations under law.

Voluble sections of the Muslim community demanded minority status for
the university during previous VC Mushirul Hasan's time.

Hasan, however, opposed the demand for minority status — a stand that
earned him support from some but plenty of brickbats too.

Jung has not openly articulated his position on the demand for
minority status —currently being considered by the National Commission
for Minority Education Institutions, India's apex minority education
watchdog.

But a 2009 letter from the HRD ministry to Jamia seeking
implementation of the quotas drew angry reactions from the Muslim
community.

The Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, the All India
Muslim Personal Law Board and other community organisations opposed
the HRD ministry, labelling the letter to Jamia a threat.

A large chunk of government funds for each central higher education
institution is at present allocated for the implementation of OBC
quotas.

The HRD ministry, in its letter, had said Jamia's funds for
implementing OBC quotas would not be released unless it implemented
the quotas.


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[ZESTCaste] Tatas lead India Inc in hiring SC/STs

http://www.neytri.com/tatas-lead-india-inc-in-hiring-scsts/?wpmp_tp=1

Tatas lead India Inc in hiring SC/STs


J J Irani What social revolutionary Babasaheb Ambedkar and late prime
minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh could not see during their lifetime
may be quitely getting underway in corporate India with the largest
group, the Tatas, leading the way.

The Tatas were the first to bring many material things to India —
power, star hotels and steel, to name a few. The $71-billion group
with interests from tea-to-telecom is also now probably the first to
introduce a hiring policy that emphasises 'positive discrimination'
for its scores of enterprises located across the country from the
seashores to deserts to mountain tops.

"What we have said is if everything is equal in merit and so on,
please select somebody from the SC/ST communities. This is positive
discrimination towards Dalits while hiring," says JJ Irani, a director
at Tata Sons. "We now have a Tata (recruitment) policy where our group
chairman personally made the corrections in his own handwriting when
we presented it to him."

A Tata Sons spokesperson said the policy had been in place for some
time, and has been most successful in newer companies which were in
the process of building up their workforce.

"Tata group companies have been following a recruitment policy over
the past few years where they have been encouraged to step up hiring
from disadvantaged sections, particularly the Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe communities, without sacrificing merit — in the spirit
of positive discrimination. This policy has seen most traction in Tata
companies which are in the process of building or renewing their
workforce, including Trent, Tata Business Support Services, Tata
Teleservices, Tata Capital, Tata Consulting Engineers, Tata Power and
NDPL. In one or more of these companies, there have been significant
additions at the entry levels, both at the worker and the officer
levels, and some of these companies are also endeavouring to increase
numbers at intermediate levels," the spokesperson said.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are communities which feature in
a specific schedule of the Indian Constitution. This makes them
eligible for various privileges provided by the state, including
reservations in education and government jobs. Scheduled Castes are
also widely referred to as Dalits.

Indian corporates, which are ringing in thousands of crores of profits
year-after-year, are coming to grips with their obligation to give
back to a society where people are deprived of essentials such as
food, schools and medical attention.

About three years ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed the need
for affirmative action, a policy which traces its origin to attempts
in the US to increase representation of African-Americans in various
spheres of life.

Meira Kumar, the current speaker of the Lok Sabha and the social
justice minister in the first UPA government (2004-09), had suggested
a number of times that reservation of jobs, as practised in the
government, could be considered in the private sector too.

But industrialists of all hues, such as Wipro chairman Azim Premji and
Ashok Leyland's R Seshasayee, said mandatory reservations, without
considering merit, would cripple the corporate sector that was just
emerging from the clutches of the Licence Raj. Hence, the lobby group,
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), constituted a panel under
Irani on Affirmative Action.

"Companies are being encouraged to provide for more executive
positions from the SC/ST groups," according to CII senior director
Indrani Kar. "Industry is stepping in to create capabilities through
scholarships, coaching programmes and funding entrepreneurs."

Social discrimination has been a vexing issue. A huge section of
society was once termed 'untouchables' — whom the father of the
nation, Mahatma Gandhi, called "Harijans", people of god, in an
attempt to erase the taboo. Many reformers such as Ambedkar from
Maharashtra and EV Ramasamy Naicker, also known as Periyar, from Tamil
Nadu, have fought for the rights of these deprived sections of
society.

COMPANIES DOING THEIR BIT

The onset of liberalisation after 1991 has meant that most of hiring
is now taking place in the private sector, leading to demands from
politicians and social activists for affirmative action and even
reservation.

"We are making conscious efforts to widen the canvas of people we
employ and make certain we are not leaving specific groups of people
out," says Surinder Kapoor MD of Sona Steering, an auto parts maker.
"We are not just looking at it from an employability point of view,
but from a grassroot level in terms of training and education."

Some of the experiments in hiring people from specific castes have
also proven successful.

"Noel Tata, the MD of Trent, is convinced that once candidates from
Dalit and tribal communities are trained, their performance is far
better than others…they show more commitment and don't migrate easily.
Over 50% of the hiring in Trent is from the SC/ST communities," says
Dr Irani.

"I had told the PM that we have to build a reservoir of talent,
instead of just getting people employed," says Irani. "Our job is to
(increase the talent base) through employability, education and
training."

Some companies have discreetly begun caste profiling of employees
through voluntary disclosures, after the union ministry of minority
affairs crafted a 'diversity index', which measure the diversity of
workforces.

Companies such as those in the Godrej Group, Thermax, Crompton
Greaves, Sona Steering, HSBC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Crompton Greaves,
Cummins India, Godrej and Boyce, Bharti Airtel among several others
are actively pursuing the policy of affirmative action to create
better job opportunities for Dalits, tribals and OBCs. OBCs, or other
backward classes, refer to another set of communities, different from
the SC/STs, who also benefit from reservations in government jobs and
state-owned educational institutions.

"Godrej Industries and associated companies are committed to inclusive
policies that strive to provide equal opportunities for socially or
otherwise disadvantaged but meritorious individuals. Companies are
encouraged to create an enabling environment for such individuals."
Visty Banaji, executive director and president, (Group Corporate
Affairs), Godrej Industries, said. The Godrej companies have a
scorecard that includes inclusive hiring as a parameter of
performance.

INCLUSIVE HIRING

Salman Khurshid, the minister in charge of corporate affairs, who is
also in charge of minority welfare says that companies must widen
their efforts to encompass all sections of Indian society. "CII has
been regularly updating on inclusive hiring details. But so far, the
only concrete outcome has been in the SC/ST area. Corporates need to
widen the scope of inclusion. Our ministry is looking at a proposal of
financing the training cost for those from underprivileged groups who
might be given employment," he added.

Inclusive hiring referred to by Mr Khurshid, would mean more
recruitment not only of Dalits and tribals, but also from the OBC and
Muslim communities, who many say are also underrepresented in
corporate India, particularly in the top echelons.

The government is also actively looking at bringing an equal
opportunity legislation "It is awaiting clearance by the law ministry
before Cabinet approval," Mr Khurshid told Neytri.

Business houses such as M&M and Godrej are also funding entrepreneurs
from deprived communities and are offering training facilities through
ITIs to workers to create employability.

"We are looking at ways of helping employability of individuals from
such groups and also educating children through the Mahindra Pride
School in Pune where after finishing school, the children are ensured
jobs at retail outlets such as Cafe Coffee Day, BPOs and KPOs," said
Rajeev Dube of M&M group.

Industry officials hasten to add that they are not sacrificing merit.
"For us, capabilities are important and we do not compromise on that,"
said Krish Shankar, HR head at Bharti Airtel. "In that sense, if the
candidate is meritorious, we hire them irrespective of his or her
background in terms of caste. We are trying to make a difference, but
not at the cost of capability."

A LONG WAY TO GO

Some say that these efforts merely scratch the surface. "Ninety-nine
percent of the corporate sector is still controlled by very small
strata of the very rich and influential, and they continue to promote
talent from a small group," says Surinder S Jodhka, professor of
sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University and director of the Indian
Institute of Dalit Studies. "The rest still do not have access to
either capital or the opportunity to be a part of the growth
happening."

Social problems in vast swathes of the country such as Maoist
violence, kidnapping of corporate executives and agitations against
land acquisition are partly blamed on the centuries-old injustices.

"If the corporate sector does not become inclusive, it will face
resistance which will in the long run lead to civil wars," says social
activist Dr Kancha Illaiah, professor of the department of political
science, Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Industry is willing to do its bit to the society voluntarily, rather
than being pushed to do so through legislation. But many consider
industry actions may be too little to have any significant impact.
Some even say that the industry's attempts in affirmative action may
be a public relations exercise.

"The initiatives taken by them are just a showcase programme and part
of some corporate social responsibility (CSR) moves," says professor
Jodhka. "That is not talent development. The issue will soon become a
political issue. If some of the top industrial houses invest in good
colleges in the tribal areas, most certainly there will be good
candidates coming out of such places."

The government and society, may have to rely on what corporates
voluntarily do, as any legislation may be challenged.

"A legislation can be challenged by the corporate sector, which has an
obvious right to hire according to its requirements and policies,"
says Zia Mody, senior partner at law firm AZB & Partners. "There are
going to be very strong pulls and tugs, which may force the government
to look at some half-way discriminatory policy. What is the rationale
and the percentage of hiring is something that won't be easy and very
difficult to sustain."


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[ZESTCaste] BSP sweeps Legislative Council elections in UP

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/BSP-sweeps-Legislative-Council-elections-in-UP/articleshow/5441476.cms

BSP sweeps Legislative Council elections in UP


13 Jan 2010, 1933 hrs IST, Man Mohan Rai, ET Bureau


LUCKNOW: In a major blow to the crisis ridden Samajwadi Party and the
much talked about 'resurgent' Congress, the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party
managed
a clean sweep of the Legislative Council elections in the state.

Though the ruling party of the day has in the past also managed to
emerge as the winner in MLC elections, the BSP has managed an
impressive birthday gift for its czarina Mayawati, sweeping seats
across the state.

Biennial elections to 36 MLC seats were held last week with results of
33 being declared on Wednesday (counting of the three remaining seats
will be held on Thursday as per Election Commission directives).

BSP which did not hold any of these seats, bagged 31 of the 33 results
declared, while the Congress and the Samajwadi Party only managing to
open their account on one seat each.

The Congress failed to win in its recently discovered 'strongholds'
and adding to the ignominy was the defeat in the Sultanpur-Amethi
seat, which falls under the Gandhi bastion. Amethi parliamentary seat
is represented by the Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, but the
party candidate was relegated to the fourth position on the
Sultanpur-Amethi council seat with BSP's Ashok Singh emerging
victorious by defeating SP's Sahilendra Singh by 608 votes.

The Congress, which fielded 21 candidates, could only win in Rae
Bareli, represented by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the
parliament, losing out on all the other seats. Congress candidate
Dinesh Pratap Singh defeated BSP's Rakesh Pratap Singh to emerge as
the sole Congress winner in this election.

The Samajwadi Party which fielded 32 candidates could only win from
the Pratapgarh seat which is the stronghold of SP MLA Raghuraj Pratap
Singh "Raja Bhaiyya". Singh's cousin, former MP Akshay Pratap Singh
emerged victorious from the seat.

The Bhartiya Janta Party which had fielded 23 seats failed to open its account.

Mayawati's BSP did not hold any of the 36 seats, which went to polls
last week. Infact it was the opposition Samajwadi Party which
dominated the council, posing several legislative problems for the
ruling party of the state.

Of the 36 seats which went to polls the SP held 22, BJP 6, RLD 2 seats
with the Congress and SJP of late Prime Minister Chandrashekhar
holding one each. Four seats had fallen vacant due to resignations and
death of a BJP MLC.

The sweeping victory would help the BSP establish its dominance in the
100 member legislative council also.
The opposition parties said that the results were rigged by strong arm
tactics of the ruling party. Opposition leaders said that the BSP
leaders along with government and police officials pressurised their
voters to ensure the victory of BSP candidates.

The near rout of the Samajwadi Party in the council elections comes
immediately after it failed to win any of the 11 assembly seats for
which by-elections were held in November. It had also suffered the
ignominy of losing the Firozabad parliamentary by-election from were
SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter in law Dimple was contesting.
The defeat in Firozabad had led to fissures within the top leadership
of the SP coming forth.

The then SP general secretary Amar Singh had blamed the overconfidence
of the Yadav family which resulted in a war of words between Singh and
Yadav family members leading to Singh's resignation from all party
posts just a day before the polling for council elections.

For Mayawati though, who would be celebrating her much talked about
birthday on January 15, in a low key fashion this year, the BSP clean
sweep would be a fitting present.


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