Assam CM Tarun Gogoi As Next Vice President

By K.S. JAYASEELAN

New Delhi, Mar 5 : With polls for India's Presidency and Vice-Presidency due in a few months, Congress has reportedly started discussing the possibility of fielding three-time Assam Chief Minister Mr. Tarun Gogoi for the post of the Vice-President with the party's UPA allies.

Confirming the name of Tarun Gogoi did come up in the discussion with the Congress’ leadership, sources within the UPA revealed there is a strong possibility of Gogoi being fielded as a common UPA candidate, Deccan Chronicle has learnt.

When asked about the nominee for Presidency sources said: "They (Congress) haven’t come with any name or proposal so far. Perhaps they would do it after the results of the Uttar Pradesh elections."

If Gogoi gets elected to Vice-presidency, he would be the first person from the north-east to occupy the coveted post.

The incumbent Vice-President, Dr. Hamid Ansari’s term would be coming to an end on August 10. The Assam strongman, who has been associated with the Congress for decades, has been a member of the Lok Sabha a record six times.

He has also served in the union cabinet under former Prime Minister Mr. Narasimha Rao. Between 1991-93 he was minister of state for food with independent charge. And between 1993-95 he was heading the Food processing industry with independent charge.

He became Chief Minister of Assam for the first time in 2001. He also led the party to victory in 2006 and 2011.

In the last assembly polls he was credited with having secured an absolute majority for his party after a gap of 20 years. Congress had emerged triumphant in 78 seats for the126-member assembly.

Mr. Gogoi has also served in various capacities in the party hierarchy both in the state and also in the Centre.

Minor Disturbances During Manipur Repoll

By Iboyaima Laithangbam

A securityman stands guard during repolling at Lambung village in Chandel district of Imphal on Sunday.

Repoll in four stations to be held on Monday

Minor disturbances were reported during re-election in the five hill districts of Manipur on Sunday, which saw 80 per cent turnout.

Joint Chief Electoral Officer N. Parveen told journalists that polling officials could not reach four stations in Tamenglong district. Repoll in these stations would be held on Monday.

Besides, there were two incidents of firing in Senapati district. In the first incident, Naga People's Front candidate K. Raina wanted to enter some areas near polling stations and villagers objected to this. His guards opened fire in the air.

In the second incident, shots were fired from the hilltops at Saikul. The paramilitary personnel on election duty also opened fire. Voting was suspended during the incident.

Women stage protest

Meanwhile, women launched a sit-in on Sunday protesting the bomb attack on the house of MLA R.K. Anand, Congress candidate, on Saturday night.

On Saturday morning, the house of another Congress candidate, Elangbam Chand, was attacked. Police arrested two extremists and seized explosives while they were trying to bomb the house of MLA Bijoy Koijam, a Congress candidate.

11 non-Congress parties join hands in Manipur

Eleven non-Congress parties have formed a coalition in Manipur in an effort at forming a government after the Assembly election results are declared on Tuesday.

After several rounds of talks, the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) was formed on Saturday night.

PDA spokesperson and State CPI secretary Moirangthem Nara was confident that these parties would form the next Ministry, guided by a common minimum programme to be chalked out by a nine-member core committee.

On December 3 last year, five parties formed the People's Democratic Front.

But Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Gaikhangam said it was wishful thinking of these parties to form a government, since his party, having contested all 60 seats, would come to power for the third consecutive term. He pointed out that all parties of the PDA had pledged to protect Manipur's territorial integrity, but now they joined hands with the Naga People's Front (NPF), a Nagaland-based party, which wants to merge the “Naga areas” in Manipur with Nagaland.

However, PDA leaders snap back that there is nothing wrong in their joining hands with the NPF, arguing that the allies will not allow the NPF to go ahead with this agenda. They counter that it was the Congress that signed the merger agreement with the United Naga Integration Council on August 4, 1972.

Some PDA leaders admit in private that there will be problems in the sharing of the Cabinet slots. However, they are confident of overcoming them.

It is also possible that some allies will join hands with the Congress in the event of its emerging as the single largest party.

Nationalist Congress Party president Radhabinod Koijam, one of the architects of the PDA, says his party could readily back the Congress or the NPF for forming a stable government.

Bomb attacks

Meanwhile, the number of bomb attacks on the Congress candidates has increased, though they have been given protection by India Reserve Battalion guards.

On Saturday midnight, a bomb exploded at the well-guarded house of R.K. Anand, Congress candidate from Naoriya Pakhanglakpa. On Friday, the house of Elangbam Chand, candidate for Yaiskul, came under attack.

Police fear more such attacks. The extremists, targeting the Congress members say no party should form a post-poll alliance with the Congress.

Congress Set To Retain Manipur

New Delhi: Manipur looks set to return the Congress to power yet again, according to the post-election survey by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in association with The Week and CNN-IBN. The ruling party may win 24-32 seats in the 60-member Assembly. The anti-Congress alliance, the People's Democratic Front, is expected to fare poorly with 5-11 seats. The surprise in the state could be the debutant All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) garnering around 7-13 seats. Independents and smaller parties like CPI, the Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP) and Naga People's Front are expected to win between 10 to 18 seats.
In Manipur a divided opposition seems to be the incumbent Congress party's best hope for retaining power for a third consecutive term. This is the main finding of the Post Election survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) among 1200 respondents across 20 randomly selected Assembly constituencies of Manipur in the second and third week of February 2012. In a State where no party has ever managed to cross the majority mark in the 60-member Assembly, the Congress led by two terms Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh is projected to emerge on top once again with 30 percent of the votes.
While Congress party is down 4 percent compared to last time, its main opponent - the People's Demoractic Front (PDF), the grand anti-Congress alliance of five parties led by Manipur People's Party (MPP) - is expected to secure only 13 percent of the votes. Although the PDF did not exist in 2007, but if we were to add up the vote share secured by all the PDF constituents (MPP, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Janata Dal United and Communist Party of India Marxist) five years ago, then the PDF is down by a huge 18 percent this time. Mamata Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), a new entrant on the election scene of Manipur is set to make an impressive debut with a projected vote share of 14 percent. Other parties, which include the Communist Party of India (CPI), Naga People's Front (NPF), Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Independents, are likely to corner 43 percent of the votes, a gain of 8 percent since last time.

If we analyse the regional pattern of voting, then the nature of contest varies from region to region. In the rural parts of the Valley which has the highest number of seats (33), the Congress leads a badly divided opposition. However, in the urban areas of the Valley it is AITC which is likely to be ahead. In the Hills area dominated by the Nagas, the Congress is ahead but is facing a tough fight from both the NPF and the MSCP. In the Hills area dominated by the Kuki tribes, the main fight appears to be between the PDF constituents and the Congress, with the former in the lead.
While the PDF constituents seem to doing well in the Hills, what is interesting is that nearly half the voters who were interviewed during the survey had not heard of the PDF alliance. Awareness levels about PDF were particularly low in the Hills. While very few who had heard about the alliance thought that the PDF would stay intact after elections, the opinion in Hills dominated by Kuki tribes on PDF's survival was more optimistic.
An analysis of how different communities and tribes of Manipur are voting reveals that Meiteis, the dominant community of Manipur and the community to which Chief Minister Ibobi Singh belongs, mostly voted for the Congress (28 percent) followed by the Trinamool Congress (18 percent). The main fight for the Naga votes seems to be between the Congress, NPF and MSCP with the Congress cornering the largest share of 36 percent. Among Kukis however the Congress is trailing the PDF by 17 percentage points.
Chief Minister Ibobi Singh who is aiming for a hattrick this time is the most preferred choice for chief minister among most Manipuris and leads other CM hopefuls by a wide margin. 25 percent of the voters said they want him to be Manipur's next chief minister. His popularity is the highest in the Hills dominated by Kukis (43 percent) and lowest in the Hills dominated by Nagas (7 percent).
When asked to compare the performances of Ibobi Singh-led Congress government's first and second terms, most respondents (33 percent) said the second term had been better. The assessment of the second term was best in the rural areas of the Valley (41 percent) and worst in Hills dominated by Nagas (14 percent).
Despite, his second term being rated better than his first term, Ibobi Singh's government is rated very poorly by voters on almost all issues of governance. For instance, 80 percent of the respondents said the supply of electricity had deteriorated and 67 percent said the supply of drinking water had worsened. Only on the issue of development of Manipur was Ibobi Singh's government rated positively.
However what is interesting is that despite low satisfaction levels with the Congress government, more people (33 percent) said they wanted the government to continue in office than go (27 percent). The only region where the mood was opposite was the Naga dominated Hills where only 20 percent said that the Congress government should be given another chance and 44 percent were against bringing the government back.
The CSDS survey also reveals that in Manipur people seem to have voted more for individual candidates and not so much for the parties to which they belong. When asked what mattered more to them while voting, party or candidate, nearly two-thirds of the people said they went by the candidate and only one-fifth said party.
The Congress seems to be getting the advantage of being the ruling party at the Centre. 75 percent of the respondents agreed with the statement that 'It is good to have the same party ruling in Manipur as the one ruling at the Centre in Delhi'. In fact this is much higher compared to those who agreed with the statement that 'Regional parties are better than national parties for solving Manipur's problems'.
On the crucial issue of Manipur's territorial integrity, a huge 70 percent of all respondents said that Manipur should remain undivided and stay the way it is, and only 9 percent were of the opinion that Naga dominated areas should be merged with Nagaland. However if we break it down in terms of regions, then the opinion in the Naga dominated Hills on the issue was very different with 92 percent of respondents there either opting for merger or for giving greater autonomy for Naga areas within Manipur.
While there is no regional unanimity on the question of Manipur's territorial integrity, there seems to be a broader consensus on the issue of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which has been used almost uninterruptedly in the state since 1980. Nearly two-thirds of voters are of the opinion that it should not continue and this sentiment was found to be consistent across regions. Moreover, over three-fourths are of the opinion that Iron Sharmila's 11-year long fast against AFSPA is justified.

Vote share (%) (2012 Estimates)

Seat projection

Party/Alliance	2012 (Projected)
Congress	24-32
PDF	5-11
AITC	7-13
Others	10-18

(Others include CPI, MSCP, NPF, NPP)

Vote-share - Congress leads yet again, Trinamool makes an impressive debut

Party	2007(Actual)	2012 (Estimate)	Change
Congress	34	30	-4
PDF	31	13	-18
AITC	-	14	+14
Others	35	43	+8

PDF includes MPP, NCP, RJD, JDU and CPM; PDF did not contest as an alliance in 2007, so the vote share secured by all its constituents last time has been added up in the 2007 column. AITC did not contest in 2007.

Congress gaining from a divided opposition in two key regions, Trinamool makes an impressive debut.

The regional picture
Valley Rural (33)	Congress leads badly divided opposition
Valley Urban (7)	Trinamool leads Congress
Hills Naga (11)	Congress ahead, main contest with NPF and MSCP
Hills Kuki (9)	PDF leads Congress; Trinamool also doing well

Figure in bracket is number of seats in the classified region

Nearly half the voters have not heard of PDF, the grand alliance against the Congress 

Those who…	All	Hills Naga	Hills Kuki
Have heard of PDF	52	42	31
Think PDF will stay intact after the elections  (among those who have heard)	12	7	42

All figures are in percent, rest had not heard or felt that the PDF constituents will go their separate ways or had no opinion

Nearly two-thirds go by the Candidate and not the Party  

People who voted for…	%
Party	21
Candidate	64

Rest had no opinion

 

Who did the Meiteis vote for: Mostly Congress, followed by Trinamool

Meiteis voted for…	%
Congress	28
AITC	18
PDF	14

Rest voted for others

Who did the Nagas vote for: Mostly Congress, followed by NPF and MSCP

Nagas voted for…	%
Congress	36
NPF	20
MSCP	19

Rest voted for others

Freida Pinto Starring in the upcoming film "Tess of the Durbevilles"

Freida Pinto is starring in the upcoming film “Tess of the Durbevilles,” but says the racy flick may not even make it into the highly censored theaters in her native India.

“Even if it doesn’t, the people who want to see it will find a way to get an uncensored copy,” she told Esquire UK.

More Rice Quota For Mizoram

Aizawl, Mar 3 : Union minister of State for consumer affairs, Food and Public Distribution K V Thomas today assured to fulfill the Mizoram's request for additional quota of rice at lower cost.

"We have been allocating to Mizoram an additional 8000 tons of rice per month, at the request of the state government, at economic cost at the rate of Rs 21-22 per kilogram.

Now the state government's request is that we supply the rice at APL rate of Rs 11-12 instead of the economic cost which we will take as positive decision as possible," he told reporters here today before he left for New Delhi after a one night stay.

As the minimal rice production of Mizoram was far from meeting the state's requirement, the Central government has been supply two lakh tons of rice to Mizoram per year, against the actual entitlement of 91,644 tons of rice as per universal allocation of 35 kg per family per month.

In response to the state government's request, the Union Minister also agreed to allocate 3000 tons of rice at OMSS price for APL families and 5000 tons of rice at BPL prices for BPL families.

Regarding the state's request for allocation of rice for additional beneficiaries under the Annapurna Scheme, Mr Thomas said that since the said scheme was under the ministry of rural development, the request was being considered in consultation with the ministry.

The Union minister also announced that the Central government has sanctioned Rs 9.6 crore for construction of 17 godowns in Mizoram with a total capacity of 9,500 metric tons of rice. He also said that the public distribution system in Mizoram would be computerised soon.

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Mizo Youths Rocking Music Charts

Aizawl, Mar 3 : Music is a way of life in the northeast. Over the years it has been used as an effective tool to promote unity in the region. Young Mizo boys and girls too dream of making it big in the world of rock music.

They spend hours jamming together, honing their skills in pursuit of their dreams. Today several bands from Mizoram are enthralling the audiences and round the country.

"Bands in Mizoram are real good. They are going to many places all across the country to perform. Scavengers, Boomerang and other bands are real good and we hope to become like them," said Joseph, band member, Drop Doubt.

The love for music and the popularity of the bands is clearly visible. Over the years these bands have used music to promote unity among the states of the northeast. Many of them have performed in different parts of the country helping raise awareness about the region.

"Music will bond all the communities and races of northeast. It will bring all the northeast states together," said M S Sailo, band member, Drop Doubt.

Music in the norheast, is also being used to promote social issues. Recently a rock concert under the banner of "Youths are the Solution not the Problem" was organized in Arunachal Pradesh to raise awareness about HIV-AIDS.

The concert was a part of the Red Rock fest that was organized under the aegis of National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) and the State AIDS Control Societies. Large crowds thronged the venue making it a successful event.

"Through rock festival we want to catch hold of youths coming to witness the rock music as well as learn and pledge themselves to fight against HIV and AIDS and to do so they have learnt lots of things," said Emi Rumi, project director, Arunachal Pradesh State Aids Control Society.

"Specially, for young people, I think, this message about HIV AIDS is extremely important. many countries face the problem including the US. It is a problem still in India and it needs to be addressed. So, if consciousness is raised, then that is a very good thing and we support it 110 percent," said Peter Burleigh, a visitor from USA.

The music and musicians of the northeast are gaining popularity and in the process bridging the gap between the region and the rest of the country.

Is Ibobi Singh No More The Congress’ Favourite?

By Deepak Nagpal

Imphal/New Delhi, Mar 3 : Is Congress’ Okram Ibobi Singh no more the ‘favourite’ to become the chief minister of Manipur in case the party comes back to power? This is the question that the local media in Imphal has been speculating.

In 2002 and 2007, O Ibobi Singh had single-handedly brought the Congress to power. While this time around too, the party is likely to retain majority in the Manipur Assembly, there are murmurs that Ibobi Singh might not return as the CM.

As per reports, incumbent Commerce and Industry Minister Yumkham Erabot Singh has emerged as a strong contender to incumbent CM Ibobi Singh. Both of them have been lobbying hard in New Delhi to stake their claim to the post of Congress Legislature Party leader in Manipur.

In fact, Y Erabot is reported to have paid a visit to New Delhi after being called by the AICC. Some reports even say Sonia Gandhi had asked for Y Erabot’s resume.

There is another angle to the leadership battle that is fast emerging in Manipur Congress. G Gainkhangam, the current president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee, is another contender to the post, say party sources in the state.

Is it really media speculation or is the Congress high command in New Delhi really thinking about a leadership change? Local reports say Ibobi Singh may have to go as part of the measure to revamp the face of the government, especially in the wake of the anti-corruption wave sweeping the country.

The high command is also believed to be upset with Ibobi Singh’s handling of the 121-day long state blockade last year, during the course of which the CM had even planned to go on a tour to Europe but later cancelled it due to widespread criticism.

And these factors make the case of Y Erabot strong. He is a man who has been known to be a no-nonsense politician with a clean image.

Another factor which will decide who becomes the CM, is the number of MLAs supporting each candidates. And in case no party gets a clear majority and a coalition government has to be formed, the candidate who is accepted by coalition partners will surely have an upper hand.

In the end, the media can only speculate and it’s the time that will tell who emerges as the favourite of the Congress leadership in New Delhi and becomes the CM.