By IANS,
New Delhi : Rival parties released their manifestoes long back. But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) waited till the time was perfect – Friday – the day observed as the birth anniversary of Hindu god Ram.
Ram Navami, as the festival is known, is considered a very auspicious day by many Hindus, especially the time after noon as priests and astrologers say that is when Lord Ram was born.
To highlight the fact, the BJP headquarters at 11 Ashoka Road had big posters, with photographs of Lord Ram. There were also two huge television screens, which continued to flash Ram Navami greetings.
Even its prime ministerial candidate, L.K. Advani, underlined the fact that they were releasing their manifesto on Ram Navami.
Maybe, it was a way to seek divine blessings to come back to power. Or it could have been plain “superstition”. Or they were simply trying to tell those who cared to listen that the party was serious about constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
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Camels for campaigning
It is called the ship of the desert but the camel makes for an equally good campaign vehicle, as many politicians in Jharkhand are discovering.
Seven camels that had travelled all the way from their desert home in Rajasthan were displayed at the Morabadi ground in Ranchi for party candidates to pick and choose from. And they were in great demand.
“We have brought camels to rent them out to political parties for election campaign purposes. The camels are very useful,” said Kishore Narayan Singh, the owner of two camels.
What attracts the candidates to the camels is simple. They can be draped with banners and move easily from one place to without any fuel costs.
For a day, a camel owner charges anywhere between Rs.500 to Rs.1,500 to lend his animal for campaigning.
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It’s a dog’s life for these canines
It’s not just policemen who find themselves overworked at the time of elections, but man’s best friend too. In Gujarat, most sniffer dogs are working day and night at political rallies.
Whenever there is a large rally or high-profile candidates like the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) L.K. Advani and Chief Minister Narendra Modi – who are on the hit list of terrorists – are addressing the crowds, the dogs are on call.
The canines can sniff out bombs as well as suspicious people at the same time.
Most of these sniffer dogs – belonging to breeds like the doberman, labrador and alsatian – are also working with police units investigating major crimes, especially bomb disposal squad.
Policemen feel sorry for the animals that have to perform such a high-pressure job. At present there are around 100 sniffer dogs in Gujarat, but police have requested for 100 more.
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This Mickkey is no mouse
For someone nicknamed Mickky, Goa Tourism Minister Francisco Pacheco is no mouse when it comes to a slugfest.
Mickky responded with a spectacular abuse for another hurled at him by the burly and brusque Urban Development Minister Joaquim Alemao at a joint meeting of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.
The meeting ended abruptly with abuses being traded by the two ministers, forcing Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to personally step in to soothe ruffled feathers.
Both Kamat and Alemao know better…Mickky was once booked after he punched a driver employed with the state transport corporation because the latter’s road sense apparently drove the minister wild.