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| Vol. 28 | May 1st - 15th, 2009 | No. 9
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| Editorial | ||
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| Reports | ||
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UPA beats anti-incumbency factor, bounces back to power
Sri Lanka Claims Total Victory Over Rebels Imminent
"Results show people's crave for change in the state": Congress
Current Cricket Matches
MI 147/5(20) | CSK 151/3(19.1) (CSK won by 7 wickets) scorecard
Eng 569/6(dec) | WI 34/1 - Sarwan* 6(11), Gayle 19(22) scorecard
India Inc's business sentiments have improved, says CIIEconomic Times - May 14, 2009 NEW DELHI: India Inc's business confidence for the first half of this fiscal has improved 2.4 points to 58.7, though global economic instability and ... India's business confidence rises despite concerns Commodity Online India Inc's wish list: Stability, tax breaks, infrastructureBusiness Standard - May 14, 2009 And India Inc is hoping it stays that way this time, too. That's because industry is concerned that the fractured verdict predicted by various media ... Bumpy ride for India Inc's ITI adoption planBusiness Standard - May 11, 2009 India Inc's initiative to adopt Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country is facing problems because of low level of cooperation on the field ... India Inc's fund raising may prop up stock mkt in 2010Business Standard - May 8, 2009 PTI / New Delhi May 8, 2009, 15:28 IST The stock market is likely to climb substantially higher in 2010, if corporate India manages to raise up to $ 15 ... Slowdown could last 2 yrs, India Inc still optimistic: E&YBusiness Standard - May 5, 2009 PTI / New Delhi May 5, 2009, 15:32 IST India Inc expects the ongoing slowdown to continue for the next two years, but even then many corporate houses are ... India Inc's confident of meeting targets for 2010 Economic Times 'India Inc confident of weathering slowdown' Moneycontrol.com 'Cos see 10% biz growth in '09-10' Times of India India Inc's Q4 profits suggest faster recoveryHindustan Times - May 10, 2009 Against negative expectations of analysts in the previous quarter, the corporate profit growth for most leading companies has come out in the positive zone, ... FCCB redemption to strain India Inc's profit, net worth: CrisilBusiness Standard - May 1, 2009 PTI / New Delhi May 1, 2009, 17:32 IST Indian companies, which favoured the FCCB route to raise funds, are likely to feel an impact on their profitability ... India Inc reviews IFRS for fool-proof accouting standardsEconomic Times - May 4, 2009 KOLKATA: India Inc appears keen to respond to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (ICAI) call to implement globally accepted International ... India Inc's leading lights cast their votes in MumbaiBusiness Standard - Apr 30, 2009 PTI / Mumbai April 30, 2009, 15:18 IST Leading members of India Inc, including R-ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani, RPG Group Chairman, Harsh Goenka and HDFC ... Non-core earnings prop up India Inc's profitsEconomic Times - May 1, 2009 India Inc apparently has not done too badly for itself in the quarter ended March 2009. The fall in profits of most of the key companies across sectors has ... |
Left will have no role in government formationEconomic Times - 7 hours ago NEW DELHI: The Left will have no role in government formation at the centre, in a dramatic turnaround in the political situation, as till the start of ... Left bastion crumbles in Kerala, WB Business Standard Left in the lurch domain-B Left routed in Kerala; UDF wins 16 out of 20 seatsBusiness Standard - 5 hours ago The left rout in Kerala was largely attributed to prolonged feud between two factions in the CPI-M led by Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan and party state ... Result is not a verdict against Kerala govt: CM Economic Times Verdict 2009: Who said what? Hindustan Times UDF charts stunning victory in Kerala Kerala Online Less seats for Left won't make it drive hard bargain: CongHindu - May 15, 2009 New Delhi (PTI) Hoping to get support of Left parties, the Congress on Friday wished they get lesser number of seats this time so that they don't have much ... India Inc votes for non-Left govt Times of India Market players keep fingers crossed for stable govt Economic Times Left parties criticize US interference in Indian politicsKhabrein.info - May 15, 2009 New Delhi, May 15, IRNA -- Left parties on Thursday criticized the meetings of US envoy Peter Burleigh with BJP leader LK Advani, TDP chief N Chandrababu ... US and them Daily News & Analysis Advani and the diplomat Livemint US envoy calls on Advani, Naidu Calcutta Telegraph Left to decide on approach after resultsHindu - 18 hours ago NEW DELHI: The Left parties, unfazed by the hectic consultations between erstwhile opponents, will wait for the election results and decide on their ... Naidu rebuffs Left on TRS ousterTimes of India - 16 hours ago NEW DELHI: Angry over TRS's decision to go with NDA at the Centre, the Left parties asked TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu to dissociate the party from ... With Left out, the govt can push reforms easily: India IncPress Trust of India - 2 hours ago The Congress can clearly pursue its policies without the need to convince the Left". While the apex industry bodies -- FICCI, CII and Assocham -- hailed the ... Mandate for stability; govt must work for eco revival: Mallya Business Standard Ficci hails UPA's thumping victory mydigitalfc.com With Left not in sight, sensex jumps 301 pointsTimes of India - 20 hours ago MUMBAI: Growing ease among Dalal Street investors that the Left parties are unlikely to be in any position to influence the policies of the next government ... Cong supporters celebrate Maken's victory into Left citadelBusiness Standard - 7 hours ago ... fanfare for almost an hour, apparently adding insult to injury of the badly-bruised Left, which has been virtually left out after the election results. ... Left will have to support to stop 'communal' BJP: CongBusiness Standard - 11 hours ago PTI / New Delhi May 16, 2009, 9:20 IST Playing the secular card, Congress today said the Left parties will have to extend their support to it to form the ... |
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16 May 2009, 1908 hrs IST, IANS
LONDON  "This is just wonderful," said Barry Gardiner, an MP belonging to the ruling Labour Party and a former minister. "India's democracy is, quite simply, the greatest expression of Common Will that we have on the planet. Time after time after time, the Indian electorate has astounded us and proved us wrong. "But it really shouldn't surprise us any longer - because India is not only the world's largest democracy, but also one of the world's most mature," Gardiner told IANS. In the run-up to the elections, many British MPs were convinced - along with most Indian experts - that the electorate would return a fractured parliament and feared India was in for a prolonged spell of instability. "This is an election that no one could call. And every pundit has been confounded - no one had the faintest idea," said Stephen Pound, chairman of Labour Friends of India, a parliamentary lobby group. "It shows that one thing you can never do is count on people to deliver what the experts say they will deliver. This almost makes me believe Labour can win the next election in Britain," Pound added. India under the leadership of the Congress Party is now well-placed to engage the world while simultaneously improving the lives of people at home, two Indian-origin MPs of Britain's ruling party said. "It's a new age for India," said Keith Vaz, Britain's senior Indian-origin MP, who represents Leicester East, a constituency known as Little India for its large numbers of people from India. "Now is the time for India to take leadership on the world stage. There are so many conflicts around the world that desperately need India's urgent engagement. "India needs to reach out and be on the top table along with America, Russia and the UK," the MP told IANS, pointing out that the Labour Party is the sister party of the Congress. Vaz said he hoped Congress would be able to capture enough seats to enable it to implement "all the economic reforms programmes that were begun by (the late prime minster) Rajiv Gandhi, and which it hasn't been able to do because of pressures." Vaz's colleague Virender Sharma, whose Southall constituency is possibly the best-known Indian diaspora neighbourhood in the West, said the vote for Congress was primarily an endorsement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's clean image. "It is also the people's rejection of divisive forces and signals they want to move India simultaneously towards both secular unity and national unity," said Sharma. "This strong victory will give Congress the encouragement to work hard in the constituencies. "They just have to work together and give younger members positions of responsibility." Sharma said the people of India had also voted for "eliminating poverty, helping farmers and bringing the basic necessities to the ordinary person." "That was the message from Congress, and the people of India have trusted that." |
India's baton of power may soon pass to Rahul Gandhi
While 76-year-old Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to stay in office, it is the 38-year-old bachelor who is being talked about as Congress's leader-in-waiting, bringing the same draw to Indian politics as a young Kennedy does in the United States.
"Voices are already there. It's a question of time," senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh told local television when asked about Gandhi's future as leader.
Gandhi, whose father, grandmother and great grandfather were all prime ministers, was not the party's main candidate but he had become the most visible campaigner of Congress to win over Indian youth as well as millions of poor villagers.
Like the Bhuttos of Pakistan and the Bandaranaike family of Sri Lanka, dynasties that have dominated South Asian politics since independence from Britain, Gandhi's name brought crowds and publicity.
"You cannot keep the Gandhi family away from Indian politics," said Congress supporter Avinash Chaturvedi as crowds let off firecrackers and played drums outside the party's headquarters.
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"Rahul Gandhi has surprised everyone and this result proves his huge popularity ... The party is now reaping the reward."
In this election, the Congress party youth leader had put his reputation on the line, criss-crossing India by helicopter.
His refusal to allow Congress to ally with many regional parties in northern India despite pressure from senior party officials appears to have paid dividends. He insisted Congress should fight alone, free of compromises with regional chieftains.
Gandhi sees himself as a democratic reformer among the elderly politicians, using tech-savvy blogging and texting to win over the 100 million first-time voters aged between 18 and 24.
His boyish looks may have won over many voters in an election in which the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was led by the 81-year-old L K Advani.
Over the last year, Gandhi has made well-publicised visits to poor villagers, often staying the night in farmers' homes under the glare of camera lights.
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PM invites support for 'secular' government, Sonia thanks people! Euphoric that a stable government is set to take office, India Inc on Saturday gave a thumbs up to the UPA and wished it would speed up
reforms and spur the economy through policies as the Left is not there to block them.
Bihari Power BROKER Duo Lalu Yadav and Ram Bilas Paswan also Misread north India Reality as their Marxists friends do! Paswan loses as NDA takes rapid strides in Bihar
Ramsunder Das, the octogenarian former chief minister, who was pulled out of political oblivion to be fielded against Paswan in the dalit leader's pocket borough, humbled his towering adversary by a margin of ove 37,000 votes.
Prasad lost the Patliputra seat to his friend-turned-foe and ruling JD(U) nominee Ranjan Prasad Yadav by a margin of 23,541 votes.
The RJD leader polled 2,45,757 votes against Ranjan Prasad Yadav's 2,69,298 votes.
In the Saran parliamentary constituency, the RJD chief defeated his nearest BJP rival Rajiv Pratap Rudy by over 52,500 votes.
Prasad retained the seat won by him in 1977 and 2004 general elections.
formation at the centre, in a dramatic turnaround in the political situation, as till the start
But as voting trends came in on Saturday, the Left leaders sat at their headquarters in Delhi watching in dismay and disbelief the collapse of their strongholds - West Bengal and Kerala.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat, who had come to see the election as a referendum on the Left's ideological stance as opposed to that of the Congress, acknowledged that the results were a "major setback" for them.
He agreed that the people all over the country had voted "on the basis of the platform put forward" by the Congress and its allies.
He said the root cause for the Left parties' dismal performance in Kerala and West Bengal would be discussed in its politburo and the central committee meetings May 18-19.
Looking crestfallenm Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan conceded defeat. "No denial that the Congress has won. We will continue to sit in the opposition, as we always have," Bardhan told reporters.
"It is the tragedy of a sectarian political line," said senior CPI leader C.K. Chandrappan, in a Communist leader's first open criticism of CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat's anti-Congress stand.
"We contributed a lot to the UPA government's pro-people programmes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). But we withdrew our support to the UPA government for adopting imperialist policies, a subject that the people are not much concerned about," Chandrappan, who is the deputy leader of the party in the outgoing Lok Sabha, told IANS.
The Left had withdrawn its support to the UPA government July 2008 over the India-US nuclear deal. Chandrappan said the Left must do an overall review of its policies. "An overall review of its policies is needed," he said.
Karat had pompously ruled out any truck with the Congress post-poll and was confident that the Left would play a critical role in the formation of the new government. He had even suggested that the Congress should support a Third Front government where the Communists would play a dominant role.
"If it is a minority government issue, then the Congress should support a Third Front government," Karat had said.
Prime Minister said he would try to persuade Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Gandhi family, to join the cabinet after the ruling Congress-led coalition's win in a general election.
"It is my wish that he should be in the cabinet. But I will have to persuade him," PM told reporters.
The PM said, "People of India have expressed their faith in the Congress and in the visionary leadership of Sonia Gandhi and hard work put in by youth leader Rahul Gandhi."
"I would expect all secular parties, forgetting past disputes, to come together to give this country a stable strong purposive government in this spirit of comraderie," Singh, 76, told reporters.
"We invite all the opposition parties to use this moment to convey to the world that in the time that world is faced with difficulty that we stand one as a nation," he added.
Sonia Gandhi speaking to journalists assembled at her house said Manmohan Singh will be the Prime Minister of India.
"First of all I would like to thank the people for reposing faith in the Congress party once again. The people of India know what is good for them and they always make the right choice," she added.
Four hours after the millions of votes polled in the April-May election
Congress spokesperson and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said: "This is a vote for (party president) Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh's leadership. People have voted for a stable government, they want a prime minister
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar summed up the UPA mood saying: "There will be a stable government now. And the country needs that stability. It is an excellent verdict."
The worst sufferer was the Third Front, made up primarily of the Communists and regional groups who had sought to topple the Manmohan Singh government last year over the India-US nuclear deal. The Third Front, which had expected to play a kingmaker's role, would win just 84 seats.
UB Group head MP Vijay Mallya said the victory of the UPA "is a vote for stability ... The UPA need not worry about hotch-potch partners. The Congress can clearly pursue its policies without the need to convince the Left".
While the apex industry bodies - FICCI, CII and Assocham - hailed the election results saying this is a mandate for stability and continuity of economic policies, investors are expecting a buoyant bourse on Monday, and the Sensex could go up by around 700 points.
The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman, Suresh Tendulkar, said, "Economic reforms would certainly be on top of the agenda of the government..."
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Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Virmani said for returning to nine per cent economic growth, "we need to come out with additional fiscal reform measures..."
"The verdict of the people is clear ... The Left is left out. The UPA has a clearer mandate than (it) had during the last elections," Kejriwal Research and Investment Services Head Arun Kejriwal said.
Infosys Co-Chairman Nandan Nilekani said the UPA got a chance to do 'bold' things including reforms in pension, insurance and disinvestment.
"We need to expand reforms to revive private sector growth in the country," he said, adding that the UPA win was a "triumph of hope over fear ... (when) the global economy has not yet come out of the crisis".
Happy that stability and continuity have been ensured by the outcome of elections, FICCI President Harsh Pati Singhania said, "We have a verdict which is clear and not fractured... This will help the government take quick and decisive action."
Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej said now that Left was out of its way, the government can move forward on reforms. Seeking bold measures, he said there is no need to worry about the rising fiscal deficit.
"This is a stable coalition which does not depend on one or more minority parties for stability," he said.
Bajaj Group Chairman Rahul Bajaj expressed confidence that the pending insurance and the pensions reforms would go through with a "decisive, honest and efficient government" coming to power.
Considered as the pioneer of the budget airlines, Deccan Cargo & Express Logistics Chairman G R Gopinath said the government should ensure cheaper jet fuel and cheaper aviation facilities. "Aviation infrastructure must become an integral part of economic growth," he said.
"Let the government be formed first. The counting process is still on. Our role will be constructive. We want a stable and secular government which will ensure progress in the country," she said.
Asked whether the result was a thumbs down against the Buddhadeb government's industrialisation policy, she said, "By industrialisation, CPI(M) means state-sponsored terrorism, not industry. We want both agriculture and industry to co-exist in the state."
"Land grabbing in the name of industrialisation should not be pardoned," she said, adding that a wind of change was blowing in the state.
"People have voted for a change. If there was no rigging in the first phase, we would have won all the 42 seats," she claimed.
She said the Left Front government had been reduced to a minority and the result was a no-confidence against it, when asked whether her party would seek dismissal of the state government.
"Our expectations have not been fulfilled, we admit. ... Congress is in a position to form government. Let it form. We will sit in the opposition," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan told reporters in New Delhi.
The four parties--CPI-M, CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc-- had a total tally of 60 in the 2004 elections
In Kerala where the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front had got 19 of the 20 seats in 2004, this time got only four.
A major factor, according to analysts, was the serious factional fight amongst top CPI(M) leaders—Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan and party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.
In West Bengal where the Left had fought Trinamool Congress on issues relating to industrialisation and land acquisition, the Mamata Banerjee-led party and Congress gave them a drubbing, bringing down the Left tally to its lowest level.
The Trinamool Congress-Congress combine increased its lead in 24 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal while its electoral ally SUCI was ahead in one seat trends of which were available till 1300 hrs.
Of the 42 seats, CPI-M-led ruling Left Front was leading in 16 constituencies.
Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh has established a lead of more than 2.40 lakh votes in Darjeeling constituency.
Trinamool Congress alone established a lead in 18 seats while its poll partner Congress was ahead in six constituencies.
Of the 16 seats, the LF candidates were leading the CPI-M was ahead in 10, RSP-2, CPI-2 and Forward Bloc- 2.
Prominent among those leading were External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee (Jangipur), Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee (Kolkata South) and Deepa Dasmunshi, wife of Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi in Raigunj constituency and Basudeb Acharya (CPI-M). P
In their attack against the Congress-led UPA government, the Left parties had raised a major hue and cry over the Indo-US nuclear deal and later withdrew support with less than a year to go before their UPA term came to an end.
"I can't advise him because I am no longer in the party, but if his conscience permits he should consider," he told reporters when asked whether Karat should resign owning responsibility for the party's bad performance.
"We don't talk of resignations because Left parties say there is a joint leadership
"In West Bengal such a serious situation for the party has never arisen before" he said, adding that in 1984 elections after Indira Gandhi's assassination, the situation was not so bad.
To repeated questions on whether Karat should quit, he said "the party is not stronger under him" and added that "narcissistic leadership will not help".
Chatterjee also suggested the party leadership to introspect into its governance and the widening gap between people and party leaders.
The NEHRU GANDHI Dynasty is all set to take over as RAHUL GANDHI is being projected as the NEXT Prime minister after Dr Manmohan Singh as he emerged as the Leading campaigner!
"It is just the beginning", he said and predicted the end of communal and castist parties in the future.
"First of all I would like to thank the people for reposing faith in the Congress party once again," Gandhi said in a joint news conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"The people of India know what is good for them and they always make the right choice," she said.
Results still coming in from the Election Commission show the Congress-led alliance has crushed its Hindu nationalist rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Till Friday he was just another political scion. But, Rahul Gandhi has on Saturday emerged a leader in his own right, helping add precious numbers to the Congress tally in Uttar Pradesh and across the country.
Many were quick to write off Rahul, a spitting image of his father late Rajiv Gandhi, as a political force after the Congress received a drubbing in the 2007 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
But Gandhi, 39, went ahead with his mission of reaching out to the state's youth.
During the thick of Lok Sabha elections this year, his sister Priyanka Vadra had said that her brother was someone who was "ready to sacrifice the today for the future".
His gritty resolve has put the Congress ahead in 20 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, a gain of 11 seats - no mean achievement in a state dominated by regional and caste based political parties.
A report in portal pressbrief.in, set up by Rahul's camp, acknowledged that the huge success of the party can be attributed to the its pro-development ideology, but Rahul's contribution remains undisputed.
Rahul addressed 122 rallies across the country in 35 days, repeatedly reminding the need for young people to participate in the political system.
"This is a turnaround and credit for this goes to Rahul... his tour has been extensive and this is a result of his hard work," said senior party leader Motilal Vohra.
Rahul has been credited with injecting fresh enthusiasm in the party, galvanising the strengths of seniors like Vohra and rising leaders like Sachin Pilot.
The 31-year-old Pilot shared similar views, saying Rahul's leadership infused the much needed boost in the election campaign and goaded first time voters to exercise their franchise.
Rahul, the Congress' candidate from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, focussed his campaign on UP with as he wanted to restore the lost glory to the party which considered the state as its favourite hunting ground.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who shared the dias with Rahul at two poll rallies in the state, feels that his campaigning did wonders. "It played a magic not only for Congress but also for all UPA allies," he said.
Having covered nearly 87,000 km on the campaign trail, Rahul, however, says that he was just fulfilling the unfinished dream of his father.
"There is a work that my father had started, a dream he had dreamt. I come to you today saying allow me to turn that dream into reality," he had said while kicking off his election campaign at Amethi.
With the Congress' commendable performance seen as a victory for Rahul, party leaders see a bigger role for him in the days to come.
"The youth of the country would definitely like to see a fresh face in the Congress and Rahul fits the bill," says Pilot.
Those associated with Rahul say that he is the "Unique Selling Proposition", or the USP, of the party in a country where 65 per cent of population is below the age of 38.
"The Congress is now on the threshold of 3-G technology; we have stood for third generation leaders who are progressive and dynamic and who can provide good governance," a senior party leader said.
Rahul was inducted as General Secretary of the AICC in September 2007 and made in-charge of the frontal organisations of NSUI and the IYC, and set about the process of democratising their functioning.
"We missed the presence of Vajpayee," BJP president Rajnath Singh said.
“There’s something for us to learn and unlearn,” said party spokesperson Balbir Punj, conceding defeat around 11 am. The BJP parliamentary board will now meet in the evening to discuss the debacle.
The early trends of Verdict 2009, suggesting a Congress surge in the southern states, thereby helping it establish a comfortable lead over the BJP, have come as a huge disappointment to the BJP.
A section of party leaders was already convinced that the trend was unlikely to be reversed in the North, even if the BJP, as per projected estimates, was said to be doing well in Uttar Pradesh.
“The BJP may catch up with the Congress, when the results from Northern states start coming in, but it appears that the ruling party has an upper edge in the government formation exercise,” said a senior BJP leader, after initial results. “We had not expected the complete badgering that the Left got in Kerala, thereby, ensuring a very good show by the Congress there,” was the comment of another leader.
Nilekani welcomes 'decisive' verdict of people
Commenting on the likelihood of the UPA returning to power, Nilekani said "these people (UPA) are sincere and therefore they deserve a second chance".
"It is a very decisive verdict. Also the message here is get on with bold steps, with bold reforms," he said in his first comments on the trends that the counting of votes has thrown up.
"Let's call it more of a national thing ... At the end of the day, at the national level there is vote for stability, of vote for decisive government," Nilekani said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his first term, may have been cowed down by the Left presence but in his second term he would have a free hand, he said.
"This is the first time you have the advantage," Nilekani said. "Also I think this time (for) the government there is no ideological barrier. In other words all the supporting allies have no ideological dispute with the Congress," he added.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said the UPA retaining power would see the stock markets reacting positively.
"(The) stock market is going to look at a responsible government under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh... The PM (Singh) knows the economy," he said.
The clear verdict for the pre-poll UPA alliance would mean little hang-up on key policy issues, Nilekani said. "I think that advantage means they can really decide the agenda very quickly," he added.
Nath said the Manmohan Singh government in the second term would have its task cut out for the economy in the context of the global situation.
"We are going to look at the economy in the context of the global economic situation ... in the context of the Indian economic situation. About reforms, I think we have reformed...
We are seeing how integrated the economies are ...," he said.
Mamata, Congress breach Left citadel in West BengalHindu - 9 hours ago Kolkata (IANS): West Bengal's ruling Left Front seemed headed for serious reverses as the main opposition Trinamool Congress made spectacular gains, ... Trinamool Congress takes early lead in two Bengal seats Economic Times Trinamool-Congress alliance ahead of Left in West Bengal Business Standard Violence fears on judgment day Times of India Nayachar hub deal enters final lapCalcutta Telegraph - 17 hours ago Calcutta, May 15: The Bengal government will soon sign a memorandum of agreement with the Centre for the proposed chemical hub at Nayachar-Haldia. ... Nayachar, Haldia MoU soon The Statesman Santosh Trophy Team Profile: West BengalGoal.com - 19 hours ago Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal explores the West Bengal football team as they prepare for the upcoming Santosh Trophy..... West Bengal have got a bye to the ... Santosh Trophy Team Profile: Sikkim Goal.com West Bengal votes amid sporadic clashesHindu - May 13, 2009 Kolkata (IANS) Sporadic political clashes left two persons injured in the final phase of Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal on Wednesday even as people ... Poll in West Bengal ends with news of violence Economic Times Brisk polling in Bengal, one killed in clash IBNLive.com 70% polling in West Bengal Business Standard Monsoon onset likely on May 26Hindu Business Line - May 14, 2009 The IMD said the normal date of advance of monsoon over the Andaman Sea (the Bay of Bengal arm) is May 20 (not May 15 as stated in these columns). ... IMD forecasts monsoon onset over Kerala on May 26 Press Trust of India Monsoon may hit southern coast on May 26 Business Standard Deep, Rohan apply for NOC from ICLHindu - 19 hours ago KOLKATA: Two prominent Bengal cricketers, Deep Dasgupta and Rohan Gavaskar, who joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL) two years back, applied for a no ... Dasgupta to decide today Calcutta Telegraph Kapil launches attack on ICC GulfNews 3 killed in West BengalHindu - May 13, 2009 Kolkata: Three persons were killed in the final phase of polling in West Bengal on Wednesday. State chief electoral officer Debasis Sen said the polling was ... Poll panel to probe EVM malfunctioning in West Bengal Thaindian.com Damaged EVMs: Polls today in 101 Mathurapur booths Times of India Counting-eve bandh hits Siliguri lifeCalcutta Telegraph - 17 hours ago The North Bengal State Transport Corporation operated some buses. In Alipurduar, the bandh was partial in Falakata, Birpara and Madarihat. ... All's well that ends well The Statesman Siliguri Bengalis oppose Gorkhaland Thaindian.com Girl dies as teacher hurls dusterTimes of India - 17 hours ago ANDAL (West Bengal): Within weeks of the death of 11-year-old Delhi school girl Shanno due to the alleged cruelty of a teacher, a 10-year-old girl student ... Girl dies after being hit by teacher with duster Newstrack India Girl hit by duster dies, teacher on the run Expressindia.com Girl student dies after being hit on head with duster Press Trust of India CPM reels from Opp terrorTimes of India - May 13, 2009 Political terror has a new name in Bengal and nowhere was it more apparent on voting day than in Bhangar (South 24-Parganas) and east Canning - areas that ... Rahul Wooing Left Upsets TC, Congress Mollifies Mamata India Journal More violence in Phase-III, two dead Expressindia.com |
Is this the end of Advani?
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Posted: May 16, 2009 at 1344 hrs ISTNew Delhi L K Advani, the man who used mobilisation politics to galvanise BJP into a force to reckon with, failed to put the party back in the portals of power – a job A B Vajpayee did in two elections with his liberal image.
The 81-year-old leader's dreams of becoming Prime Minister came crashing down as the Congress-led UPA was all set to form the next government at the Centre.
Although BJP tasted power in 1998 and 1999, Advani had to wait in the wings of Vajpayee and it was only in this election that his party projected him as its PM candidate after the former prime minister stood down from active politics.
A second chance appears unlikely for the BJP's aging 'Iron Man' as during the campaign the saffron party started projecting Narendra Modi as future prime minister, a strategy that is being rued by some leaders in the wake of defeat.
It was Advani who had catapulted the BJP into the national stage with his Hindu nationalist pitch in the 1990s when he emerged as the leader of the Ayodhya movement.
For half-a-decade, Advani played second fiddle to Vajpayee in the party and also as Deputy Prime Minister in the NDA government, but when the time came for him to lead, he failed to find his feet.
In fact, the 'tallest' leader of BJP also had a knack of getting into controversies. His fall from grace with the Sangh Parivar began after NDA lost power in 2004 and more so after his visit to Pakistan in 2005 when he described Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah as a "secular" leader.
Advani was forced to resign as BJP President on December 31, 2005 over his remarks on Jinnah.
A five-time Lok Sabha member, Advani had way back in 1995 projected Vajpayee as the party's prime ministerial candidate, although he had full control of the organisation at that time.
He had then told Vajpayee, as also party officials, that only Vajpayee was best suited for taking the party's cause forward. A year later BJP came to power for the first time but the government lasted for just 13 days.
In 2005, Vajpayee returned Advani's compliment, calling the 'Iron Man' his 'Ram', virtually anointing Advani his successor. This was followed by his projection as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, even though elections were almost a year away.
In the 1990s, Advani ushered in a new form of campaigning by undertaking a series of journeys across the country on a mini-bus that he called 'Rath' (chariot).
His first such journey - the Somnath-Ayodhdya Rath yatra – changed the course of politics of the country as it whipped up Hindu nationalist sentiments, contributing to the fall of V P Singh Government.
The exit polls gave the UPA 185 to 205 seats and the NDA 142 to 198 while predicting as many as 110 to 130 seats for the Third Front, which, as trends reveal, may not cross even half of that.
The predictions for the UPA did not include the projections for the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), of 25 to 35 seats. The trends show that they can add up to 24.
The RJD and LJP have been saying they are part of the UPA coalition but contested independently of the Congress, while the Samajwadi Party joined them in what was termed the Fourth Front.
The surveys gave 110-130 seats to the Third Front that is led by the Left parties.
The Left parties, which supported Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government until July last year, were projected by exit polls to get 38 seats.
But according to trends, the Left parties are expected to get around 28, a huge fall from their existing tally of 59.
The remaining seats were credited to smaller and regional parties, including the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
The exit polls had been wide off the mark even in the 2004 elections. Nearly all of them predicted an NDA victory by a wide margin, but the Bharatiya Janata Party-led grouping lost to a rejuvenated Congress.
UP CM Mayawati greets supporters on her arrival at an election rally. (AFP Photo) |
Congress strategists feel a shot at power may boil down to how many seats Mayawati wins on her turf of UP. AICC estimates of how the dalit outfit would perform at the hustings are moderate, pegged below what was estimated at the peak of its glory in 2007. But party leadership is apprehensive that a big tally for BSP could alter the power play in two significant ways.
While it would boost the Left-initiated Third Front by giving it a numerical muscle to demand a non-Congress secular government, it could also prop up the dalit leader for leadership. Both the scenarios would complicate how Congress strategises for keeping the lead role of the secular camp.
The fears were boosted in the afternoon when Mayawati's emissary to CPM, Satish Mishra, insisted that Congress should support the formation of a Third Front government.
The worries about Maya apart, a day ahead of results, the Congress camp was optimistic of its chances, with all the estimates pointing to it pipping BJP as the single-largest party.
The Congress gameplan, however, hinges on the future of Third Front once the numbers are known. Of course, in public, the party maintained the confidence which it exuded all through the campaigning. Its spokesman Kapil Sibal told reporters, "Before the elections, Third Front was only an idea and after polls, it will not be a reality."
Sources, however, were quick to admit that strength of the group would determine its future. While the Left is said to be shedding numbers in West Bengal and Kerala, big groups like AIADMK and BSP will ultimately decide its fate.
This is where BSP comes into play. According to scenario-gazing among leaders, Congress's own numbers would be a great buffer from outside pressures. A tally of 160 seats and a good lead over BJP would make things smooth in which other allies would gravitate towards it in normal process. The Left, in such situation, it is felt, will also have to take a call.
But a drastic fall in Congress tally, along with a bigger boost to BSP, could be an invitation for the Left Front to demand a non-Congress dispensation. This, however, would complicate the situation as it would look to exclude Samajwadi Party, which the Congress has identified as its first choice.
Sources feared that a drop in its estimated tally will also make it hard to negotiate with allies and definitely make tough demands in return of their support.
In a state that sends the largest number of 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the party's top leadership had resigned itself to a subordinate status to the two regional parties - Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) - after being kept out of power for two decades.
"We will not go below nine" - that was the common refrain of not only Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders but even that of the party's UP in-charge Digvijay Singh that had led everyone to believe that the party's revival was still a distant cry and that it would not move ahead of its 2004 tally of nine seats.
However, an extensive ground survey of large parts of the state had convinced this reporter about a strong Congress undercurrent (IANS was the first to report about two weeks ago about the straws in the wind pointing to a Congress revival).
What was amply evident was the clear shift in the Muslim vote from the Samajwadi Party (SP) to the Congress. Ironically, the realisation of a Congress undercurrent dawned on its own leaders only after the second and third round of polling in the state.
SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's much-debated bonhomie with BJP renegade Kalyan Singh, who was better known as the Babri Masjid "demolition man", was largely responsible for this shift in the Muslim vote. BSP Chief Minister Mayawati, who moved heaven and earth to get what she thought was a captive Muslim vote, apparently did not succeed in her mission.
What made the difference was the refusal of the young Muslim voter to get guided by any diktat or 'fatwa' of the maulana. In Lucknow, barely hours before the polling, some Muslims circulated handbills urging people not to get guided by the clergy, who were alleged to have been "bought off" by a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader.
The preference for the Congress also rose on account of its confirmed secular credentials as also because a large section of the voters had had enough of the regional political satraps who believed in pursuing their personal agenda at the cost of the larger interests of the state and its 180 million people, whose sheer numbers could rank Uttar Pradesh as the sixth largest country in the world.
What seemed to have done wonders for the Congress was the loan waiver scheme for farmers, that drew much flak from leading economists and captains of the industry.
"I was truly indebted to the Congress for having got me a loan waiver of Rs.40,000, which I would not have been able to repay on account of the onslaughts of both flood and drought" said Mata Deen, a Dalit farmer in Barabanki reserved constituency, where many others also felt the same way.
According to former Lucknow University vice chancellor Roop Rekha Verma: "The urban lower and upper middle-class clearly went for the Congress as they were apparently sick of the regional outfits that had failed to rise beyond their agenda of extracting their own pound of flesh; so Congress became their natural choice as they did not wish to opt for a communal BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)."
"Apparently, the pro-Congress drift was a godsent and there was a definite shift towards the party that had hardly made any effort to garner votes, perhaps because its leadership presumed it to be out of the race in the state," Verma told IANS.
Congress star campaigner Sonia Gandhi, her charismatic daughter Priyanka and well-intentioned son Rahul had rarely moved out of their pocket boroughs in Rae Bareli and Amethi to campaign elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh. It was only very close to the elections that Sonia and Rahul chose to pay fleeting visits to places other than Amethi and Rae Bareli, even though Priyanka largely remained confined to the family bastions.
Mainstream, Vol XLVI No 32
On CPM Leadership and Somnath Chatterjee
by Chandra Sen, 30 July 2008
By taking summary action against Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, a 10-term party MP who was elected the presiding officer of the Lower House of Parliament in June 2004, the CPM has once again exposed its undemocratic functioning. On the face of it what party General Secretary Prakash Karat has said is unexceptionable. A Speaker cannot be from the Opposition, and the CPM and its three Left partners became part of the Opposition once they communicated to the President, on July 9, their decision to withdraw support to the UPA Government. Somnath was asked by the party through different means to step down from the Speaker’s post after that development but he chose to ignore the directives. However, a face-to-face meeting with the party General Secretary would have helped to sort out the matter. But that did not happen; for that both were responsible no doubt, but given Somnath’s age, stature and experience, it was incumbent on the part of Prakash Karat to take the initiative. (After all, what is Prakash’s record in the party apart from having won the JNU Students’ Union elections and assumed the post of Union President from the SFI—a feat equalled by the AISA leaders in recent years?)
As far as the Speaker was concerned, the Left’s withdrawal of support to the UPA dispensation led to an unprecedented situation which is why a Somnath-Karat meeting was imperative. But then Somnath, a senior Communist MP, assuming the Lok Sabha Speakership was in itself an unprecedented development. Following his elevation to the Speaker’s chair, it was editorially written in this journal:
(this) is yet another evidence of the imprint the Communists have left on the success of our parliamentary democracy they had once, barely 55 years ago, derided and tried to subvert before utilising the parliamentary forum for people’s benefit. There have been excellent parliamentarians among Communists and Socialists—S.A. Dange, Bhupesh Gupta, Hiren Mukherjee, Nath Pai, A.K. Gopalan, Madhu Limaye, Madhu Dandavate, Indrajit Gupta, Renu Chakravartty, Parvathi Krishnan, Pramila Dandavate, Rabi Ray, Jyotirmoy Bosu, Somnath Chatterjee, not to speak of the unmatched Rammanohar Lohia, and their contribution to parliamentary democracy has been exceptional, to say the least. Now Somnath becoming the Speaker of the Lok Sabha adds a new dimension to that contribution somewhat similar to Rabi Ray’s assumption to the post in the seventies.
And on assuming his new post, Somnath said: “The perception that Members of Parliament use the forum for personal aggrandisement must be changed.” Unfortunately and tragically, that perception, instead of getting changed, has been steadily reinforced, especially as a consequence of the events of the last few days in the Lok Sabha, events (like the attempts to purchase MPs) that would lead any average citizen of this country to hang one’s head in shame. He also said the aspirations of the people at large for a better, fuller life must be effectively articulated in Parliament. Regardless of how much that has been done (though Rahul Gandhi’s earnest speech bringing out the plight of women in Vidarbha must rank in that category), Somnath’s words at that time sounded refreshingly new from the Speaker’s seat and, as former Kerala CM and CPI leader P.K. Vasudevan Nair, while felicitating Somnath on his elevation to the Speaker’s office, pointed out, the Speaker’s post going to a Communist was the harbinger of things to come.
However, the CPM leadership’s decision to expel Somnath has put paid to all such expectations. Whatever the merits, the sword of disciplinary action smacks of a bureaucratic blow to suppress dissent. At least before taking such a step of expelling him, a show-cause notice should have been served on him to explain his position. By resorting to the summary procedure spelt out in Article 19 (13) of the party Constitution, the leadership (that is, the party Polit-Bureau) has short-circuited that democratic course. In other words, what Somnath did was not to toe the party line; why and how should that be tantamount to anti-party activity? Moreover, when he was elected Speaker, he was the seniormost member in the House; so even if technically he belonged to the Opposition after the CPM withdrew support to the UPA Government, he commanded the support of all sections of the House—hence the technical point of his belonging to the Opposition did not come as an obstacle to his continuing in the post whose dignity he had sought to preserve and enhance during his tenure. In the light of this fact, wasn’t the step taken against him too harsh and mechanical? These and similar questions need to be raised in the party fora if the party is to be rescued from the iron-grip of diehard Stalinists for whom democracy is only a means to strengthen their hold on the party apparatus. Unless the party is able to rid itself of such party apparatchiks, it cannot possibly hope to grow in the complex, diverse, multicultural, multiethnic, multireligious land of India that is Bharat.
While defending Somnath one should not, however, become a victim of subjectivism. He has been a forthright and impartial Speaker, a stickler for norms, sometimes behaving like a headmaster but never vindictive; however, neither was he exceptional in the discharge of his duties nor was he an outstanding presiding officer of the House, since there have been many others like or more brilliant than him since the days of Anantha-sayanam Iyyengar. But in the ultimate analysis what mattered was his enjoying the confidence of all sides of the Lok Sabha. That in itself was striking, noteworthy and laudable. By taking disciplinary action against such a personality the CPM leadership has tried to club him with those expelled from other parties on grounds of violating the party whip in the trust vote. And to say that he “seriously compromised” the position of the party is a total misreading of the situation; on the contrary by taking the step to expel him the party leadership itself has compromised the party’s standing in the national arena. What it has done is most regrettable as it only seeks to vindicate the party opponents’ charge against the CPM that its leaders suffer from both myopia and jaundiced vision.
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In the same section
- Nation Bruised, Democracy in Peril
- On CPM Leadership and Somnath Chatterjee
- Judge the Nuclear Deal on Facts, not Convictions
- Who is Worried about the National Interest?
- Nuclear Deal—Another Client State of USA
- India’s Roughshod Ruling Class
- Globalisation and India’s Economic Identity : An Overview
- Indo-US Nuclear Deal: India Backtracks on Disarmament
- Pasmanda Movement and the Question of Secularism
- India-Specific Safeguards Agreement
16 May 2009, 1944 hrs IST, ET Bureau
Apart from being assured political stability with the support of the Congress, the win will also help finalise the long-awaited succession plan for a party that is gaining importance at the national level.
In the 2006 assembly elections, though DMK retained the seven party rainbow alliance that it forged for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, it could not secure absolute majority. Ultimately, in the 234-house, DMK won 95 seats and leaned on Congress support to form the state government.
At the same time, J Jayalalithaa's AIADMK, which won 60 seats has for long been labelling DMK as a minority government, predicting its imminent downfall. Among others, PMK has 18 seats, CPI (M) has nine, CPI has six and parties such as MDMK, VCK and DMDK hold the rest.
DMK's problems began after PMK exited from the DMK front and joined rival camp AIADMK for the LS election. PMK founder S Ramadoss intensified his attack on DMK and said the LS poll outcome would be reflected on the state assembly.
But, there is no reason for the DMK to feel threatened now. The party's win has dashed AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa's hopes of pulling the plug on the DMK-Congress coalition in the state.
The DMK alliance had already lost allies such as MDMK, PMK and the Left to Jayalalithaa. In the run-up to the elections, it was widely believed that if Jayalalithaa made strong gains this time, it would lead to a scenario where she might support Congress at the Centre. It would precipitate a situation where Congress will be forced to withdraw its support to DMK, thus de-stabilising the three-year-old government. That attempt stands truly foiled.
DMK's convincing victory has also laid the ground for effective delegation of powers among various members of Karunanidhi's family. While Karunanidhi's son Stalin is rooted in state politics, his daughter Kanimozhi became a Rajya Sabha MP soon after the feud with his grandnephews, the Maran brothers.
After both families patched up, Dayanidhi Maran was given a ticket to contest again from Central Chennai. Karunanidhi's elder son Azhagiri was made organising secretary for the party's southern districts and Stalin became treasurer. The party also fielded Azhagiri for the first time in the LS polls from Madurai.
So, after the polls, it is believed that the DMK will bargain hard to get cabinet positions for Dayanidhi Maran, Kanimozhi and Azhagiri. With these three leaders holding power at the national level, the decks will be cleared for the smooth transfer of power from Karunanidhi to Stalin at the state level.
The poll outcome is also rated as a big victory for M K Stalin, who was the star campaigner of the front. It is not clear if Karunanidhi will immediately shed power in favour of Stalin or wait till the next assembly elections. But the victory has quashed concerns about family politics overshadowing the party's performance.
16 May 2009, 1856 hrs IST, ET Bureau
However, an attempt to find a correlation between the key achievements of the state government and the election results bring out interesting insights.
The VS government came to power after the series of farmer suicides in Wayanad tarnished the image of the previous Congress government. The new government directed its efforts to arrest farmer suicides through a series of measures including farm debt waiver.
VS's policies may have had its desired effect, but the LDF has suffered one of its worst defeats in the Wayanad parliamentary constituency. UDF's M I Shanavas, who has the dubious distinction of losing all the elections that he had contested in the past, claimed his maiden victory today in Wayanad with the highest margin of 1.5 lakh votes.
The demolition of unauthorized constructions in Munnar and reclamation of revenue land was an operation that boosted the government's image and Achuthanandan's personal brand equity. However, in Idukki, the constituency in which Munnar falls, UDF's P T Thomas was elected with a majority of 74,000 votes.
Another feather was added on the CM's cap when the IT department which he heads successfully negotiated with SmartCity Dubai to launch an IT park in Kochi. The government even acquired around 230 acres for the SmartCity Kochi project. However, the Ernakulam constituency returned the Congress candidate K V Thomas with a majority of 11,700 votes.
The other major achievement, as touted by the government, is the Vizhinjam port project which falls in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. The project, once implemented, is expected to change the profile of the capital city. Despite this, the LDF failed to retain the seat and conceded it to the former UN under secretary general Sashi Tharoor who won with a margin of nearly one lakh votes.
In the run up to the election, the state budget announced a project to provide rice to the BPL families at a subsidised rate of Rs 2 per kg. However, the shock-defeat that the LDF suffered shows Left government failed to attract any support for their work.
Not going with Congress was a mistake: Lalu
16 May 2009, 1640 hrs IST, TIMESOFINDIA.COM
NEW DELHI: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday admitted that it was a mistake of not going with the Congress party.
"It’s the mandate for the people,” Lalu said, adding that he has no grudges against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.
The RJD supremo has lost from Pataliputra parliamentary constituency against his nearest JD(U) rival Ranjan Prasad Yadav, while he won a cliffhanger at Saran against BJP rival Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
With the NDA registering major electoral gains in Bihar, Nitish Kumar said it was a positive vote for his government. ''The lantern (RJD's election symbol) has broken and the oil that was spilt set on fire the bungalow (LJP's symbol) as the arrow (symbol of JD-U) was right on target,'' he told reporters.
Stating that the Lok Sabha results should be seen as being in continuity of the mandate that the NDA got in the last assembly polls, Kumar said ''The people of Bihar have the rejected negative politics pursued by RJD president Lalu Prasad and LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan and have given a positive vote to my government which has been successful in bringing about peace, communal harmony and development.
According to latest trends, the JD(U) was leading in 32 of 40 seats. Also Read → Sena blames MNS for splitting Marathi votes → Star charisma doesn't work in Karnataka, poll results show → Left will have no role in government formation
Paswan happy that secular parties have emerged victorious
Taking his defeat in polls in stride, Lok Janashakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan today said he is happy that secular parties have emerged victorious ending the prospects of communal forces to come into power.
"It is pleasant that secular parties under the banner of UPA have won all across the country and the prospects of NDA which has been trying to come into power have ended," Paswan told reporters here.
Reacting to his defeat in Hajipur to JD(U)'s Ram Sunder Das, the Union minister said that winning and losing are parts of the game and he would continue to serve the people of Hajipur.
"As far as Bihar is concerned, you have your wins and misses. I have served people. Nobody can say that Paswan has not worked for Hajipur. I had done for the development of the constituency whatever I could have done. Despite all these works you lose, it is just the wish of the people. I will continue to serve them," he said.
The northern region of Kerala, which has a significant Muslim population, appeared to have rallied behind the Indian Union Muslim League, while in central Kerala which has a large Christian population, the series of pastoral letters from the church hitting out at the Left, seemed to have nudged Christians into the Congress camp.
The IUML had won the lone seat for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls when the Congress itself had drawn a blank. IUML bettered that effort this time, and reaffirmed its grip over the Muslim population in the north of the state, retaining Ponnani and winning Malappuram this time.
Both the seats were won with convincing margins and in the process IUML also proved that it had nullified whatever advantage the CPM had hoped to score by tying up with the People’s Democratic Party of Abdul Nasser Madani who is accused of having terror links.
IUML’s E T Mohammed Basheer trounced CPM-backed independent Hussein Randathani in Ponnani by over 82,000 votes, while Basheer’s colleague and minister of state for external affairs E Ahmed defeated CPM’s T K Hamza by over one lakh votes in Malappuram.
The central Kerala constituencies of Thrissur, Chalakkudy, Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam that feature a significant Christian population, also disappointed the CPM. In the run-up to the polls, the church and the CPM had been at loggerheads on different issues, including a number of education sector-related matters. One of these was the depiction of a bishop in poor light in a video meant as a manual for teacher training. The UDF bagged all of those five constituencies.
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Making yourself financially aware
Everyone is obsessed with fitness, physical and mental. However, there is another type of fitness which is equally important - financial fitness. When you talk about financial awareness what are we actually talking about? » More
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The Associated Press 
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