srk&preity campain for congress

The Congress has said that Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta will canvass for the party in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
Union minister of state for home and Congress' third-time candidate from the city Sri Prakash Jaiswal said that filmstars Shah Rukh Khan, Priety Zinta, Govinda and Nagma will campaign for the party and participate in rallies and road shows.
He said though Govinda is a Congress leader, Nagma had been an active worker and campaigned for the party in earlier elections.
Asked if Khan and Preity will be able to campaign following the busy IPL schedule, Jaiswal said they will spare time for the purpose.
On party's alliance with SP in Uttar Pradesh, the leader said that he had met party general
secretary Amar Singh in this regard on High Command's order and the final decision will be taken by the party.
Jaiswal, however, said whether Congress reaches an alliance with SP or not will have no bearing on its relationship with the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party and the two parties will continue to support each other.

Congress says Jai Ho, BJP says not quite

After dominating Bollywood blogs and interviews, status messages on social media sites and many television discussions, Slumdog controversies have now spilt over to the political battlefield.

In a week since it launched, the Congress' take on AR Rahman's Jai Ho is playing all over. And Congressmen are smug in the belief that they have pulled off a minor coup in grabbing the song that the world is humming this year and in associating the resonant Jai Ho with the party.

The Congress version has an India-Bharat glory theme, with a liberal dose of Manmohan Singh and the Gandhis thrown in. Partymen say the song typifies the Congress spirit.

As Manish Tewari, a Congress spokesman, put it, "We decided to adopt Jai Ho for our election campaign because it typifies the spirit with which the Congress-led UPA government has ruled the country."

But other parties are not singing along. And in a case that may be a bit of sour grapes, BJP rushed to point out that the most abiding and graphic visual element of Jai Ho and the film Slumdog Millionaire are the slums and poverty in the country.

"What will people say Jai Ho for the Congress? Will it be Jai Ho corruption? Will it be Jai Ho inflation? Will it be Jai Ho Afzal? Will it be Jai Ho price rise? Will it be Jai Ho terrorism? Whenever people will listen to Congress' Jai Ho from the film Slumdog Millionaire, they will be reminded of the slums and poverty in India," says Prakash Javedekar of the BJP.

Varun Gandhi's communal remarks lands him in trouble

"All the Hindus stay on this side and send the others to Pakistan," says Varun Gandhi, Leader, BJP.

Varun Gandhi's language is not very poetic when it comes to Muslims. He also made some derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi. And the BJP candidate from Pilibhit is in trouble.

This outburst could cost him the Pilibhit seat, which his mother Maneka Gandhi had won five times.

The opposition is already gunning for Varun Gandhi. Commenting on the remarks made by Varun Gandhi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Spokesperson, Congress, said, "This is the ideology of the party that he belongs to and it is very shocking and condemnable."

Varun Gandhi has to reply to the Election Commission about violating the model code of conduct in two days.

US asks India to pull back troops from Pak border

Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon was categorically told by the US that India must lower troop levels on the border with Pakistan as a first step to restarting the peace process.

Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon was categorically told by the US that India must lower troop levels on the border with Pakistan as a first step to restarting the peace process.
What really took Menon by surprise was that the US State Department wanted India to pull back troops from the border with Pakistan.

India refused saying that it hadn't deployed extra troops after the Mumbai attacks. Rather it was Pakistan which has sent thousands of troops.

The reason is that President Barack Obama is gearing up to launch a bigger military offensive in Afghanistan.

For this, he needs more Pakistani troops to help along the volatile Afghan-Pakistan border, troops, which Islamabad moved to the Indian border.

The US move to pressurise India has outraged New Delhi, it told Washington that Pakistan is responsible for the tension and the troop build up.

But what India cannot ignore is the sub-text: That it is yet to establish a comfort level with the new Obama administration like it achieved with President George W Bush.

Regional Parties The New King Makers

Recently on a television channel the Congress and the BJP came on the same platform showing solidarity with each other and expressing the view that regional parties carry their regional aspirations and have little or no interest in national issues.


How much ever the Congress and the BJP may decry the emergence of the regional parties today they are a great political Indian reality and they would continue to rule the roost and be the new king makers in India.

However this view is increasingly being contested by the regional parties and now parties like the Telugu Desam and Biju Janta Dal feel that they can provide a strong political alternative to the Congress and the BJP, in fact they claim that they have a better understanding of the regional ground realities and so can provide better issue based governance at the center.

The general opinion is that the regional parties have a strong reason to be powerful and sure they carry the aspirations of the people better, and if in the process they become powerful to be king makers what’s the problem!!

Pranab won't allow YSR to have his way

Pranab Mukherjee is proving to be a tough nut to crack for Y S Rajasekhara Reddy who wants to rewrite the Congress story in Andhra Pradesh by packing his own men in the Lok Sabha. This even by not renominating sitting party MPs for the forthcoming elections.
The 74-year-old leader who looked after the Prime Minister's job when Manmohan Singh was recently in hospital told Reddy in no uncertain terms that there can be no wholesale replacement of sitting MPs and bringing in new faces ostensibly to beat the antiincumbency factor. Mukherjee is the chairman of the AICC screening committee for candidates in AP.

Govt asks IPL for new schedule

Taking into account all the factors, the home ministry has advised the IPL organizers that it may not be feasible to hold the matches as
per the revised schedule submitted by them on March 7.

The home ministry said that IPL organizers have been advised to accommodate the concerns of the various state governments and draw up a revised schedule and submit it to the ministry.

For Bangalore, Karnataka has expressed its inability to provide security on two match days but has agreed to provide security on the remaining four match days.

For Chennai, Tamil Nadu has agreed to provide security because the matches are scheduled after the elections.

For Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh has expressed its inability to provide security during the election period.

Delhi said it cannot provide security and asked for the matches to be rescheduled after the elections on May 7.

Punjab and West Bengal have agreed to provide security for the matches at Mohali and Kolkata if they are not required to release state police personnel for election duty.

For Mumbai and Nagpur, Maharashtra made it clear that it would be able to provide security only if additional companies of central paramilitary forces are provided to them on match days. The state has also said that it can provide security for the matches scheduled after April 30, when the elections in state would be over.

Rajasthan has taken the same line for Jaipur.

Earlier, the Union home ministry held a video conference with senior officials of the states where IPL matches are scheduled to be played next month. Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta held consultations with seven states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal during which he was apprised of the security problems for hosting the mega event.

The states are understood to have again told the home ministry during the 90-minute video conference that it was not possible to hold the Twenty20 matches without additional security personnel from the central grid.

After the states expressed their views, Gupta held a meeting with home minister P Chidambaram which was attended by the security top brass and National Security Advisor M K Narayanan.

Concerned over availability of paramilitary forces in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Home Ministry had sent a revised schedule to the states concerned on March seven avoiding the polling dates.

Barring Tamil Nadu, all other states have agreed to host the matches with a rider that at least five to six companies (500-600 personnel) of paramilitary forces are kept at the disposal of the state police for security related issues, official sources said. Reports suggest that only Delhi is willing to host the league and the elections simultaneously.

On Thursday, the West Bengal government said it would request the Centre for an additional 30 companies of paramilitary forces to hold the IPL match in Kolkata on May 4 as the date was close to the Lok Sabha polls in the state scheduled on May 7.

Mr.Naidu’s Dreams

''he Third Front will emerge as a real alternative to the NDA and UPA after the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections'' –TDP supremo Mr.N.Chandra Babu Naidu, speaking to reporters yesterday in Bangalore.


It is the foremost duty of a Politician to be positive to inspire and instill confidence in his supporters. However, there is always a very fine line between confidence and overconfidence –the former, a much needed personality trait while the latter is the cause of all miseries the world has ever faced. Isn’t it exaggerating the Third Front’s chances when Mr.Naidu issued that statement? Let us face the reality, the Third Front is a proposed alliance whose sole purpose is to provide an alternative to the NDA and UPA. Will that premise alone make the voters form a beeline? Never. The most important thing for a political party is its ideology and no matter what, if a party cannot differentiate itself from other parties, what is in it for the voters anyway?

A union of power hungry political parties from different states trying to force upon the voters of this country an idea that there should be an alternative to the present system without really explaining the “why” part of it is utter nonsense and they would save themselves a lot of energy trying to work on getting their basics right in their own states before venturing out into the realm of national politics.

The official top ten of power people of india today

1.SONIA GANDHI, 62, CONGRESS PRESIDENT
THE SUPREME HAND
Sonia GandhiBecause she is the most powerful player in the world’s biggest democracy and it is she who runs the Government, as was obvious when the Cabinet announced a fuel price cut two days after she hinted at it during a Rae Bareli rally in January.
2.RAHUL GANDHI, 38, CONGRESS GENERAL SECRETARY
CROWNED PRINCE
Rahul GandhiBecause he will one day be the Congress party’s candidate for prime minister—it is for him to decide when—and the Congress president takes no decision without him.
3.MANMOHAN SINGH 76, PRIME MINISTER
SECOND TO ONE
Manmohan SinghBecause he believed in the Indo-US nuclear deal and staked his Government on it, winning the trust vote.

Because the professorial economist turned out to be the most pragmatic politician of all, wooing persona non grata Amar Singh to support the UPA after the Left withdrew support over the nuclear deal.

Because while the rest of the Congress wants Rahul Gandhi to be the prime minister, Rahul wants Manmohan.
4.LAL KRISHNA ADVANI, 81, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
THE RIGHT CHOICE

L. K. AdvaniBecause he controls nine NDA chief ministers and six other allies.

Because he is the NDA’S prime ministerial candidate and the RSS that once forced him to step down, now consults him routinely.
Because when he calls a meeting to discuss the economy, all corporate honchos, from Mukesh and Anil Ambani to Ratan Tata, attend.
5.PRANAB MUKHERJEE, 73, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND FINANCE MINISTER
MAN FOR ALL REASONS
Pranab MukherjeeBecause he is the UPA’s Mr Fix-It-All, chairing Cabinet meetings in the prime minister’s absence, presiding over 60 Groups of Ministers, heading the Congress manifesto committee, and acting as the first port of call in case of trouble for both the prime minister and Congress president.
Because he is the key communicator with unpredictable allies like the Samajwadi Party and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
6.SHARAD PAWAR, 68, AGRICULTURE MINISTER
GRAND MARATHA
Sharad PawarBecause he has emerged as a potential prime ministerial candidate without throwing his hat in the ring and has supporters both within the Government and the Opposition even though he has only nine MPs.

Because he is one of Manmohan Singh’s chief troubleshooters, helping him build consensus with allies on issues such as the nuclear deal.

Because he can take credit for a record foodgrain production of over 230 million tonnes and of 28 million tonnes of oilseeds this year.

Because by 2010, he will become the king of cricket when he takes over as president of the ICC.
7.MAYAWATI, 53, CHIEF MINISTER, UTTAR PRADESH
CASTE IRON
MayawatiBecause she is a serious contender for the prime ministership after E-2009, emerging as the new political nucleus for an anti-Congress as well as anti-BJP front with the Left’s support, and may win over 40 Lok Sabha seats this time even though her party won only 19 in the last elections.
8.NARENDRA MODI, 58, CHIEF MINISTER, GUJARAT
THE ROLLER COASTER
Narendra ModiBecause he will be the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate one day, having become the party’s star campaigner and mascot for its pin-up issue, the anti-terror plank.

Because not just the BJP but even India Inc wants him as the prime minister.

Because even L.K. Advani needs his help to become the prime minister.
9.AHMED PATEL, 59, POLITICAL ADVISER TO THE CONGRESS CHIEF
BACKROOM BOY
Ahmed PatelBecause he is the one man whose advice Congress President Sonia Gandhi trusts implicitly and is politically savvy enough to keep a firm footing on the slippery grounds of coterie politics.

Because he is the brain behind every political deal struck by the Congress, from cobbling the UPA to winning the trust vote.
10.LALU PRASAD YADAV, 60, RAILWAYS MINISTER
RIGHT ON TRACK
Lalu Prasad YadavBecause he is at the helm of affairs of the most successful ministry in the UPA Government, leaving the Railways with its highest ever cash surplus of Rs 90,000 crore.

Because even though he is at a political crossroads in Bihar and may not be able to better his current record of 24 MPs in the next elections, he will still be Sonia Gandhi’s first choice as an ally.

Because he never fails to captivate, whether he is in a village in Bihar or on YouTube.

IPL will be responsible for players' security: Modi

In a press conference, IPL chief Lalit Modi has made it clear that the IPL is on and said that the IPL schedule is being fine-tuned every minute. It will continue to be the mega-event it has been billed to be.

He also said that IPL opening ceremony in Mumbai will take place on April 10 and tickets are likely to go on sale from next week.

Tournament will now move to new venues of Ahmedabad and Vishakapatnam. IPL is still trying to get a confirmation from Dharamsala to host matches, he said.

As far as player security is concerned during the tournament, Modi said IPL will be responsible for security of Indian and foreign players till the end of the tournament. He said foreign players would be given security from the moment they land in India to the moment they leave the country. He also clarified that not a single player has contacted IPL over tournament security.

IPl will be coordinating with state governments for security and 90 per cent of states have approved IPL's new schedule.

Modi announced that IPL has a contracted revenue of Rs 10,970 crore this year.

Earlier, the Home Ministry received the revised schedule which has since been forwarded to the police establishments of the 8 states that will be hosting matches.

However, there still seems to be considerable confusion with the IPL saying the government clearance is on track and the ministry saying they're yet to give a final clearance.

Most of the states also continue to have reservations about hosting matches scheduled close to the polling dates.

The involved in the IPL are Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharshtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

The IPL chief may be gung-ho about the mega cricket event, but the government is far from it. The Home Ministry has said paramilitary forces can be spared in April, but it will be a problem in May.

IPL on, but no T20 matches on day of counting

Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner Lalit Modi on Friday assured that there would be no matches in any city on the day of counting of votes.

Modi said the IPL was on with the duration of the tournament remaining the same but a revised schedule would be released soon. "We are making a new schedule for IPL matches," he said."It's a cumbersome process, because there are blackout dates in several cities due to elections," the former RCA President said.

However, the venue for the opening game of the tournament has been shifted from Jaipur to Mumbai.

Rejecting speculations that the event may be held in another country, Modi said there was no question of moving to another country.

He said that he was looking for alternate venues to allocate IPL matches other than the fixed eight cities.

"We currently have over 14 cities that are available to stage matches, we now have to reduce that list to eight," Modi said.

The IPL organizers tried to avoid a delay to the event by earlier saying they would not need national paramilitaries to provide security, and could get by with local police forces in the host cities.

Modi said he was thankful to the Home Minister for receiving assurances on security.

"We're extremely grateful and thankful to the Home Minister for his clarification that security will be provided for IPL matches," Modi said.

"There's no reservation about security, we have our security experts in and holding discussions with them," he added.

Earlier in the day, Home Minister P Chidambaram had said that Cricket was safe in India but IPL dates needed to be reworked.

80% voters use photo I-cards in elections.

The Election Commission on Thursday said more than 80 percent electors would use photo identity cards to cast their votes in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. "More than Eighty percent electors have photo identity cards issued by the Election Commission across the country. Over 90 percent electors have been issued voters cards with photographs in fourteen states and 90 percent electors have their photographs printed in the electoral rolls in 13 states," the Election Commission said in a release.

"This will facilitate easy identification and prevent impersonation," the poll panel said. For the first time, photo electoral rolls will be used for polling in the entire country except the three states of Assam, Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir in forthcoming general election.

Home Minister P Chidambaram has told NDTV that the Indian Premier League should be postponed until the General Elections are over.

BCCI on Tuesday expressed its sorrow and anguish over the dastardly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, where six players were injured.

"We pray for the speedy recovery of the injured cricketers, and sympathise with their families and compatriots," BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement issued here.

"The BCCI stands alongside Sri Lanka Cricket in this hour of crisis," he said.

At least six Sri Lankan cricketers were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at them killing five police personnel escorting the team to the Gaddafi stadium for the third day of the second Test.

The injured cricketers include Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis and Thilan Samaraweera.

Postpone IPL till after polls, says P Chidambaram

Home Minister P Chidambaram has told that the Indian Premier League should be postponed until the General Elections are over.

The minster thinks that sharing security between polls and IPL is a matter of concern and has asked the Union Home Secretary to discuss new possible dates with the IPL organisers.

Commenting on the Lahore attack, the minister told , that it came as a result of Pakistan's policy on terror. "We are concerned it could spill over to India," he added.

PTI adds: P Chidambaram expressed shock over the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan.

"We condemn the incident. We are sorry for the Sri Lankan team. We hope that the players, I read two three names - Samarveera, Mendis, I hope they are safe and will recover. We are shocked by that incident," he said in New Delhi.

1 lakh Indians will return from US in next 3-5 yrs: Study

As many as 100,000 Indians and an equal number of Chinese will return to their native countries in the next three to five years, a move that will greatly boost their economies and undermine technological innovation in America, a new US study warns.

The study on immigration by a team at Duke, Harvard and Berkeley universities led by Vivek Wadhwa, an Indian-American technology entrepreneur turned academic, says "America's loss is the world's gain".

There are no hard numbers available on how many have returned, but anecdotal evidence shows that this is in the tens of thousands, says Wadhwa, executive-in-residence for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and fellow at the Labour and Worklife Programme at Harvard Law School.

"With the economic downturn, my guess is that we'll have over 100,000 Indians and as many Chinese return home over the next three-five years," says Wadhwa. "This flood of western educated and skilled talent will greatly boost the economies of India and China and strengthen their competitiveness.

At a glance: Elections 2009 complete schedule

The term of the 14th Lok Sabha will expire in the normal course on June 1, 2009. In terms of the constitutional provisions, a new Lok Sabha is required to be constituted before the June 2, 2009.

The following is the polling schedule for states announced by Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami today:


Phase 1

April 16 - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andaman and Nicobar Island, Lakshadweep.


Phase 2
April 23 - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.


Phase 3
April 30 - Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.


Phase 4

May 7 - Bihar, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi.


Phase 5

May 13 - Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Chandigargh and Puducherry.

Lok Sabha elections from April 16; counting on May 16

Lok Sabha polls will be held in five phases from April 16 to May 13, the Election Commission announced today.

The five phased polls will be held in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh while Bihar will have four-phased elections, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami told a press conference.

Maharashtra and West Bengal will witness three phased polls while Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Punjab will have elections in two phases.

Remaining 15 states and seven union territories will have one-day polling.

The counting of votes will take place on May 16 and the 15th Lok Sabha will be constituted by June 2.

In the first phase, 124 constituencies will go to polls on April 16. 141 constituencies will witness balloting in the second phase on April 23, 107 seats in third phase on April 30, 85 seats in fourth phase on May 7 and 86 constituencies in the last phase on May 13.

Elections to Assemblies in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

Photo electoral rolls will be used for the first time in 522 out of the 543 constituencies, Gopalaswami said.

499 constituencies have been redrawn in the delimitation exercise. Delimitation could not be undertaken in Andhra, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland, Gopalaswami said.

At least 71.4 crore will be the number of eligible voters, an increase of 4.3 crore over the 2004 figure of 67.1 crore.

Fidelity fills in on Satyam stake

Fidelity Management Research (FMR) and its various arms together have increased their stake in Satyam 8.89%. This was done through the purchase of another 30 lac shares in the open market.
Fidelity is now the second largest shareholder in Satyam, only behind the Infrastructure conglomerate L&T. It now owns 5.99 crores shares of the embattled software major. The break up of various Fidelity subsidiaries in Satyam are, Fid Funds Mauritius has 3.89 crore shares (5.78%), Fidelity Diversified International with 2 crore shares and 1,641 crore are held by Fid Asia Ex-Japan Tech Pilot. Meanwhile, the IT company’s government-appointed board on Thursday met to discuss various issues, including the criteria to shortlist strategic investors. As reported earlier, Fidelity had acquired 6.7% stake in Satyam through open market transactions in January this year.

Obama dose to hit 200 firms

The US President, Mr Barack Obama’s decision not to give tax breaks to US companies which outsource jobs will adversely affect around 200 firms in the state.
Across the country, around 1,000 firms in various sectors including IT and pharma will be in trouble.
“Around 90 per cent of the BPO companies in Andhra Pradesh are dependent on the US,” said CS.Rao, IT advisor to the state government. “Definitely Obama’s decision will have a major impact.”
There are around four lakh persons working in BPO firms in the state and it was expected to cross five lakh by next year. But now with this US decision, job losses are imminent. It will also lead to a revenue slump in the state, particularly in the ITES sector.
“Major firms would survive the tax burden but it would be tough for smaller firms,” said an official at the Software Technology Park of Hyderabad. “It will affect 30 per cent of the BPO industry and create layoffs.” A spokesperson of Satyam BPO services said the impact could not be ascertained at present.
Experts said Mr Obama’s decision was against the guidelines of World Trade Organisation. They wanted the Indian government to approach the WTO for remedial measures.
“It spells trouble for Hyderabad-based firms which are already reeling under slowdown,” said Mr S. P. Agarwal, president of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Sharad Pawar's Clock Ticking For Chiru.

Nationalist Congress Party led by Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has offered its ‘clock’ symbol to the Prajarajyam Party of Chiranjeevi to contest the elections in Andhra Pradesh.
If accepted by Prajarajyam, Pawar’s NCP will take on its UPA ally, the Congress, in the coming elections in the state.
NCP is a registered national party with the Election Commission of India and was allotted the ‘clock’ symbol way back in 2000 after its electoral performance in Maharashtra and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This offer to lend its symbol to Chiranjeevi’s party was made by Y P Trivedi, NCP treasurer and close confidant of Pawar, when he met the Prajarajyam president here a few days ago.
The offer comes as a welcome relief for Prajarajyam as the Election Commission has rejected its plea for a common symbol on the ground that the new party does not meet the required criteria, but PRP is in the process of weighing the option of accepting NCP’s proposal.
Chiranjeevi is inclined to take up the ‘clock’ symbol. “His initial concern was whether by using the NCP symbol, would the party still be able to qualify for being recognised as a regional party by the EC for the next elections. After being told by EC that Prajarajyam will qualify provided it meets the criteria, the NCP offer is likely to be accepted,” the sources said.
NCP too stands to gain from the arrangement. “While the party’s stature as a national party will grow by the usage of the clock symbol in Andhra Pradesh, it is also seen as a direct challenge to Congress president Sonia Gandhi as the ‘clock’ would be pitted against the ‘hand’ symbol of the Congress. There is a clear message to the Congress that the NCP cannot be taken for granted by the Congress in the post-election scenario,” one leader said.
According to Prajarajyam sources, Chiranjeevi feels that lack of a common symbol might greatly mar the performance of the party in the elections. “Chiranjeevi has a huge following in rural areas and many of these voters are either illiterate or semiliterate and therefore, rely on the symbol to cast their votes. The lack of a common symbol is bound to confuse the rural voter,” the sources said. Hence, the likelihood of Prajarajyam taking up the NCP’s offer, they added.