By IANS,
New Delhi : Deteriorating law and order situation is one of the campaign issues the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been vociferous about in Goa. And one leader at least has a genuine reason to complain.
A smart thief conned the BJP candidate from South Goa, Narendra Savoikar, using the oldest trick in the book.
Savoikar was campaigning in the chief minister’s constituency of Marago when someone tapped him on his shoulder and said he had dropped some money on the ground.
When Savoikar turned around to look at the spot where the money was supposed to have fallen, another pair of deft hands flicked the laptop from his car and dashed off even before the BJP leader could react.
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Donate for Recession Party!
If the economy is in a slump and the polls are about to begin, can the Recession Party be far behind? The man behind the new outfit is comedian Jaspal Bhatti.
After successfully launching it in Chandigarh, Bhatti has now launched the party in Mumbai. “We shall put up candidates in all the six Mumbai Lok Sabha constituencies. They will all be comedians from the Indian entertainment industry,” he said.
In view of recession, the party will depend on the generosity of donors for funds. Bhatti is Recession Party’s chief.
And like others clamouring to be prime minister, he too has announced his party’s candidate for the post – himself.
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Whose cycle is it anyway?
A candidate of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Sukhlal Kushwaha, who is contesting from Satna constituency in Madhya Pradesh is riding a cycle to campaign. Never mind if the poor man’s vehicle is a rival party’s symbol.
His supporters too are going from village to village seeking votes for the BSP – on bicycles. They seem quite unmindful of the fact that the bicycle is the party symbol of the Samajwadi Party.
BSP state coordinator Gendalal said: “We have defeated political stalwart like Arjun Singh of the Congress in 1996 riding bicycles and we will do it again this time.”
He, however, evaded queries on whether using a cycle might end up giving publicity to the Samajwadi Party.
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BJP gets vocal on local issues
A local leader speaking on local issues wins much applause from local residents, but the crowds dwindle when national leaders take centrestage. Having witnessed this at several election meetings in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has wizened up.
The state unit of the BJP has appealed to the party’s top leadership to touch upon local issues during their public speeches and not just national ones.
“We have already asked our workers in various districts to compile a list of local issues. We will then forward such lists to our central committee so that national leaders also speak on such issues during their public meetings,” said BJP state unit spokesperson H.N. Dixit.