Cong’s third hat-trick CM

Imphal, March 6
After Sheila Dikshit (Delhi) and Tarun Gogoi (Assam), Okram Ibobi Singh became the third Congress CM to lead the party to three consecutive wins in Assembly elections.
Born to Okram Angoubi and Lukamani Devi on July 19, 1948 in Thoubal Athokpam, Singh, a graduate in arts, was first elected to fourth Manipur Legislative Assembly as an Independent candidate in 1984. He was chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Board from November 1985 to January 1988.
In 1990, he was re-elected to the fifth Manipur Legislative Assembly on Congress ticket and became Industries Minister. He was again elected to the Assembly in March 2002 and became the Chief Minister.
In the 2007 Assembly polls, the Congress had won 31 seats in the 60-member Assembly, but this time the tally improved further.







Thrice in a row for Cong in Manipur 
Guwahati, March 6
Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has once again proved that he is a hard nut to crack. The veteran Congressman had led the party to the third consecutive victory in Manipur, the most troubled state in the North-East belying speculation about a hung Assembly.
The Congress is all set to form the next government in the state on its own. It is no mean feat for Ibobi Singh considering the ground situation in insurgency infested Manipur where Naga rebels create trouble almost every next day in hill areas making governance a difficult task there.
The Congress victory is commendable in the sense that after so many life-sapping national highway blockades during the last regime of Ibobi Singh, the people of Manipur have chosen to opt for the “development and stability” plank of the Congress ignoring the rag-tag alliance of Opposition parties that failed to project one single formidable leader as the chief ministerial candidate.
The blanket boycott call given by a coordination committee of all the insurgent groups in the valley areas of Manipur had severely hampered electioneering of Congress candidates, but obviously voters were not impressed by the highhandedness of militants who tried to dictate terms to the voters through the gun.
The militants tried all the tricks available to them to create an atmosphere of terror to coerce the voters to reject the Congress but to no avail.
The insurgents in Manipur nurture a grudge against Ibobi Singh and his government for the hard stand taken by the party’s government against militants for ignoring the “popular” demand of withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. But it has paid dividends for the ruling Congress in the polls as people have voted for security and stability.
The Opposition parties in Manipur have cut a sorry figure despite the Congress facing charges of corruption and misrule.
The poll outcome indicates that the Trinamool Congress could impress some voters in the troubled state while the regional Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) failed to make new ground despite fielding more candidates in the elections this time.

PUNJAB POLLS 2012 RESULTS

Badal makes History IN PUNJAB, retains power

How the Akali-BJP combine bucked the anti-incumbency trend and routed the Congress despite the Manpreet factor

WHY THE AKALIS WON

n The SAD announced a populist manifesto that promised continuing subsidies through schemes like atta-dal, pensions, free electricity and watern Fearing that Manpreet would bite into their vote bank, SAD started preparing for the polls much before the Congress and reviewed its strengths and weaknessesn The Badal father-son duo remained accessible to the people. This was perhaps what also paid back. The combination of governance reforms agenda clubbed with availability of the Akali  leadership paid offn Badal Sr managed to keep his flock together. Giving a united fight, the SAD managed to get even "paratroopers" like Janmeja Singh Sekhon win from a constituency like Maur

Chandigarh, March 6
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP alliance made history by overcoming anti-incumbency to retain power  for the second consecutive term, thus creating history in the Punjab electoral politics. By winning 56 seats on its own and with its alliance partner BJP winning 12 seats, this will be the first time in Punjab’s history that a ruling party has been voted back to power.
By wrestling 68 of the 117 Assembly sets, the Akali BJP combine has got a formidable lead over its main rival, Congress, which has won 46 seats. While three independents have won at the hustings, the Third Front under the banner of “Sanjha Morcha” has failed to get any seat.
The People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) which was part of the third front failed to open its account and its president Manpreet Singh Badal lost both Gidderbaha and Maur seats. In fact he was third on both these two seats. The SAD-BJP alliance won the contest, but several of its heavyweights fell. This includes Vidhan Sabha Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon and ministers, Hira  Singh Gabria, Sucha Singh Langha, Tikshan Sud, Ranjit Singh Brahampura, Satpal Gosain. Arunesh Kumar, Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Upinderjit Kaur, besides others.
It was only a one per cent swing in votes that gave the SAD - BJP alliance a gain of 22 seats. The SAD-BJP alliance polled 42 per cent votes with the Congress getting 41 per cent of the vote share. The PPP got six per cent votes that damaged the Congress more than it could harm the Akali Dal. Independents and others according to initial reports secured 11 percent votes that upset many poll calculations.
With a clear verdict in his party’s favour, SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal is all set to be the Chief Minister of Punjab for the fifth time.
On the other hand, his bete noire and Punjab Congress President Capt Amarinder Singh, while conceding defeat for his party, accepted that the presence of 22 rebels against official party nominees was one of the major reasons for the setback.
Though the elections for the 117 seats were held on January 30, the people of Punjab have had to wait for nearly five weeks to know the outcome. The Model Code of Conduct remains in place till March 9 after which the swearing in of the chief minister and his cabinet would take place.
Chief Minister Badal said that his party was voted back to power because the SAD-BJP alliance lived up to every promise it made to the people. Besides, the alliance was successful in maintaining peace and communal harmony, besides ushering development - which translated into a victory for us, he said.
The SAD - BJP emerged victorious due to several reasons. It announced populist manifesto that promised continuing subsidies through schemes like atta-dal, pensions, free electricity and water, etc. In contrast, the PPP that was opposed to withdrawal of subsidies was completely voted out.
The split in the SAD in October 2010 with the then finance minister Manpreet Badal breaking away has proved advantageous to the Akalis. Fearing that Manpreet would bite into their vote bank, they started preparing for the current elections much ahead of the Congress and braced up their cadres and reviewed the party’s strengths and weaknesses.
The failure of the Congress to involve prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the election campaign also proved costly. In the 2009 Parliamentary elections the Congress got a lot of votes in his name. But fearing that the scams faced by the Manmohan Singh Government may turn into major issues, the Congress let its President Sonia Gandhi and her family become the star campaigners. This did not click with Punjabis. Further the bigger scams at the centre overshadowed the smaller issues in Punjab.
Both the Badals - father-son duo - remained accessible to the people. This was perhaps what also paid back. The combination of governance reforms agenda clubbed with availability of the Akali leadership paid off.
Punjab like Haryana has an important lesson for the region. Alternating government every five years is now a thing of the past, reasonable governance with welfare measure for the people can ensure a repeat mandate. It has happened in Gujarat, Bihar and now people have started evaluating performance.
But what is true for the Akalis is not really the case for its alliance partner the BJP. The BJP has come down from 19 seats it held in 2007 to 12 this time. But it has done better than most people had expected. The most important reason for BJP doing well is that the SAD has helped the BJP come up higher than it would have done on its own. Further, the BJP managed to curb the rot in its ranks by completely eliminating dissidence. Lastly, the BJP replaced many of its candidates brining freshness into its campaign leading to a fair performance.
The Congress was jubilant and was expecting a lot from these polls simply on the presumption that was its turn to form the next government. But with the central Congress leadership faltering in giving any direction to the state leadership and then failing to identify and give tickets to the right candidates led it to its current state. The Congress leaders in Delhi got tickets for their cronies in Punjab with a view to have a proxy base in the state. This did not work for either the candidates or the party whose official nominees were faced by 22 rebels.
Badal on the other hand managed to keep his flock together. Giving a united fight, the SAD managed to get even “paratroopers” like Janmeja Singh Sekhon win from a constituency like Maur. For the Congress factors like Dera Sacha Sauda also did not work.
Sukhbir Badal who is getting all the credit for leading his party to victory has mastered the art of winning elections. He summed up the success of his party by saying, “The art of contesting elections has changed and one must adapt to the trends to be successful”.

Poll Result 2012 Statewide

Punjab (seats 117) SAD+BJP: 68, Cong: 46, others 3


Uttar Pradesh (403) SP 224, BSP 80, BJP 47, Congress 37, others 15

Uttarakhand (70) Congress 32, BJP 31, BSP 3, others 4

Manipur (60) Cong 42, TMC 7, others 11
Goa (40) BJP+ 24, Cong 9, others 7

ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਦੀ ਜਿੱਤ 'ਤੇ ਜਸ਼ਨ ਮਨਾਏ

ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ, 6 ਮਾਰਚ-ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਚੁਣਾਵੀ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਵਿਚ ਇਹ ਪਹਿਲੀ ਵਾਰ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਨੇ ਲਗਾਤਾਰ ਦੂਸਰੀ ਵਾਰ ਭਾਰੀ ਬਹੁਮੱਤ ਹਾਸਿਲ ਕੀਤੀ ਹੈ, ਜਿਸਦਾ ਸਿਹਰਾ ਸਿਆਸਤ ਦੇ ਬਾਬਾ ਬਹੋੜ ਸ: ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਅਤੇ ਨੌਜਵਾਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਚਹੇਤੇ ਆਗੂ ਸ: ਸੁਖਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਦੇ ਸਿਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਦੀ ਜਿੱਤੇ 'ਤੇ ਸਥਾਨਿਕ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਆਗੂਆਂ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਜਿੱਤ ਦੇ ਜਸ਼ਨ ਮਨਾਏ ਗਏ ਜਿਸ ਵਿਚ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਆਗੂ ਪ੍ਰਿਤਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਾਖਾ, ਉਘੇ ਬਿਜ਼ਨਸਮੈਨ ਜਗਦੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਿੱਧੂ ਕੈਲਗਿਰੀ, ਪ੍ਰਦੁੱਮਣ ਸਿੰਘ ਗਿੱਲ, ਹਰਜਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਢੇਸੀ, ਪਰਮਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੱਦੋਵਾਲ, ਕੁਲਵੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਉਪੱਲ, ਚੰਨਾ ਕਾਲਖ, ਗੁਗਲੀ ਢੈਪਈ, ਜੋਤੀ ਸਿੱਧੂ, ਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਗਰੇਵਾਲ, ਕੁਲਦੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਾਹੋਕੇ, ਮਿੰਟੂ ਕਾਹਲੋਂ, ਨਿਰਮਲਜੀਤ ਸਿੱਧੂ, ਸੁਖਰਾਜ ਗੁਰਮ, ਪਰਵੰਤ ਸੇਥੋਂ, ਜਗਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਉਲ, ਜਲੰਧਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਿੱਧੂ ਨੇ ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਵਧਾਈ ਭੇਜੀ ਹੈ।

SP storms back to power in UP; BSP routed

It was a day of grand wins and bruising defeats. As counting ended Tuesday for elections in five states, the Samajwadi Party (SP) surged back to power in Uttar Pradesh and the Akali Dal broke a four-decade jinx to win another term in Punjab, leaving India's ruling Congress battered and the main opposition BJP counting its losses.

Two ruling parties ousted, two holding on to power despite the odds and neck-and-neck in a fifth state - the electoral pastiche following the February-March polls in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa proved that the voter, weary of corruption and inflation, refused to be dazzled by either promises or star value and used only hard pragmatism in exercising choice.

That's all from the Yahoo! News desk on the assembly polls coverage for today.

Uttar Pradesh

Party	Won	Leading	Total
SP	223	1	224
BJP	45	2	47
Congress	26	2	28
BSP	79	1	80
Others	23	0	23
Awaited

Punjab

Party	Won	Leading	Total
SAD+	56	0	56
Congress+	46	0	46
IBJP	12	0	12
Others	3	0	3
Awaited

Uttarakhand

Party	Won	Leading	Total
BJP	30	1	31
Congress	32	0	32
Others	4	0	4

Manipur

Party	Won	Leading	Total
Congress	42	0	42
All India Trinamool Congress	7	0	7
Others	10	0	10

Goa

Party	Won	Leading	Total
Congress+	9	0	9
BJP	21	0	21
NCP	0	0	0
Others	10	0	10
Awaited	0	0

9:00 pm: Couldn't assure voters we could beat BSP: Digvijaya Singh

8:30 pm: BJP does better than expected in polls

Barring disappointment in Uttar Pradesh, where it failed to improve its tally, the Bharatiya Janata Party had reasons to smile with the poll results.

It has won in Goa, rebuffed an anti-incumbency wave in Uttarakhand to remain in contention for power and in Punjab is part of the victorious alliance with the Akali Dal, though its tally is down this time. It failed to open its account in Manipur.

8:10 pm: Voters are winners in state elections: Quraishi
While political parties are busy analysing their performance in the state elections, Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi Tuesday said that voters and democracy are the winners in the polls.

"The winners are: the voters. Democracy. INDIA. Let's be proud of India," Quraishi said on micro-blogging side twitter. 

7:45 pm: SP spokesperson Gaurabv Bhatia assures that he's talking to his leadership to help the journalists as soon as possible and in whatever way possible.

7:30 pm: SP workers go on a rampage smashing at least 15 cameras of media people. They've held around 100 journalists hostage for the last two hours in Jhansi. BJP immediately said "SP is known for such hooliganism. NDTV has the story 

7:15 pm: I am responsible for UP failure: Rahul

7:00 pm: Mayawati statues will not be razed: Akhilesh 
Akhilesh Yadav said that the parks and statues built during the Mayawati regime won't be razed as the vacant space around it would be used to build social institutions like hospitals.

"We won't raze the statues of Mayawati. Mulayam Singh ji has said that there is sufficient vacant space around it to build a social institution like a hospital," added Yadav.

6:40 pm: A seven-year-old child was killed by a gun shot at the victory celebration of Samajwadi Party leader Iqbal Mehmood in Sambhal. IBNLive has the story 

6:30 pm: Gloom at Congress headquarters after dismal performance
A sense of gloom prevailed at the All India Congress Committee headquarters following the party's poor performance in state assembly elections, especially Uttar Pradesh.

The headquarters, located at 24, Akbar Road in the heart of Lutyen's Delhi, wore a deserted look with almost all party leaders staying away, possibly to avoid the huge media contingent gathered outside.

The long wait was finally rewarded when Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi, putting up a brave front, appeared from inside only to inform the journalists that Rahul Gandhi's press conference would take place at his residence shortly.

6:15 pm: Poll results give BJP reason to celebrate

It was a splash of saffron and festivities at the Bharatiya Janata Party office here as the party managed to pull together a good show in the assembly polls results declared. 

Firecrackers were burst as party workers celebrated the "defeat" of the Congress, more than their victory.

"The results in Goa and Punjab have showcased that those who were judging BJP to be a very small player now have to re-evaluate their calculations," a party worker said amid bursting of firecrackers.Read on 

6:00 pm: 3 basic lessons from the state polls 
Mayawati's was the SP’s gain: lowish-caste voters, especially the many rural ones in the centre and east of the state, flocked to the SP. It has successfully rejigged its image since it last ruled. It was once known as a party of thugs, whose leaders opposed the use of English or computers, and allowed lawlessness to flourish when it ruled the state from 2003 to 2007. The Economist has the story  

5:45 pm: Is the Gandhi charisma fading?
The charisma of the younger Gandhis didn't seem to have worked, even in the family pocketboroughs in Uttar Pradesh. In a major setback, the Congress has lost all the seats in Rae Bareli, represented in the Lok Sabha by party president Sonia Gandhi.

Four of the seats in Rae Bareli were bagged by the Samajwadi Party while the fifth went to the Peace Party, the Election Commission sources said. Read on 

5:34 pm: Akhilesh's daughters say 'daadu' for Chief Minister

5:24 pm: Digvijay asks SP not to repeat goons' rule
Digvijay Singh expressed happiness over the defeat of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, but asked the victorious Samajwadi Party (SP) not to repeat its 2002-2007 "rule of goons".


Reacting to the poll results that indicated a comfortable majority for SP in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly, Singh said the defeat of BSP meant the people of the state wanted an end to the "corruption" of Mayawati.

He also said that it was "good" the voters gave a decisive mandate to the SP.

Would-be immigrant done in by work ethic

All Erich Kaindl wanted was to provide for his wife and five children.

That's what he thought Canada expected of him when he sold his house in Austria and moved to Kanata with his family in 1998 to take a high-tech job in what was then known as Silicon Valley North.

Now, he fears that same work ethic and sense of responsibility could deny him the Canadian citizenship that his wife and children have since obtained. Now, the 48-year-old wonders if what a Canadian official in Vienna told him was right after all: he should have gone on welfare instead.

Kanata was a boom town when Kaindl arrived to work for Siemens' Canadian division.

But after the dot-com bubble imploded, he was laid off and has had no luck finding another job here.

In 2002, he accepted a job offer from Siemens in Austria, where he now works as a senior project manager. The job has allowed his family to stay in Ottawa and put down roots. "If I hadn't paid all the bills," Kaindl says, "they wouldn't have survived here."

He returns to Ottawa for extended visits every Christmas, Easter and in the summer, but is typically absent for about 10 months a year. It's those lengthy absences that have become the problem.

In 2008, Kaindl and his family applied for Canadian citizenship. His wife, Gabrielle, and their three sons and two daughters - now aged 19 to 25 - were granted citizenship in 2010. But Citizenship Judge Brian Coburn rejected Kaindl's application. The Citizenship Act requires those seeking citizenship to be physically present for the equivalent of three of the four years immediately preceding their applications.

Because of his work overseas, Kaindl was 871 days short of meeting the residency requirement, Coburn concluded. Kaindl says Coburn "screwed up" the calculation and the gap is less than that. But he doesn't dispute that he wasn't in Canada for the requisite 1,095 days during the four-year residency period.

This is where things get murky. Because the law doesn't define what it means by residency, decisions by the Federal Court, which hears citizenship appeals, have created three competing tests that citizenship judges can use to assess candidates, as long as they're applied with common sense on the facts of the case. In the words of one former Federal Court judge, that's made the process of acquiring citizenship "akin to a lottery." Depending on which test is applied, one person may be granted citizenship and another denied it on the same set of facts. It was Kaindl's misfortune that the test Coburn used only considers whether applicants have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the preceding four years.

Another less stringent test looks at whether applicants have established residence and strong attachment to Canada, even if they've been temporarily absent.

The third test is the one most commonly used. It defines residence as the place where someone "regularly, normally or customarily lives" or has "centralized his or her mode of existence." Under this test, citizenship judges must consider six factors, including the extent of the physical absences, the quality of an applicant's connection to Canada and where members of his or her immediate family live.

There's no guarantee that Kaindl's citizenship application would have been approved had Coburn used one of the other tests. But at least he would have had a chance.

Kaindl filed an appeal of Coburn's decision in September 2010. And last month, without benefit of a lawyer, he finally had his day in Federal Court. Justice Donald Rennie reserved judgment. Afterwards, Kaindl was feeling somewhat optimistic. "I made all my points," he said. "I think the judge was open at least to my argumentation. The bottom line is, he has to make the call."

Earlier, Kaindl pointed out the study guide given to citizenship applicants stresses the need to take responsibility for oneself and one's family. "Getting a job, taking care of one's family and working hard in keeping with one's abilities are important Canadian values," the guide says. Yet Kaindl feels he's being punished - even "bullied" - for doing just that. He finds it bitterly ironic that when he described his plight to a Canadian embassy official in Vienna, he was told there would be no issue had he stayed in Canada and gone on welfare, or chosen to drive a taxi.

"If I drive a taxi for the next couple of years, my career is gone," he says.

Kaindl argues that his decision to work in Austria has had benefits for Canada. Four of his children attend university here and two have earned bachelor degrees. "I've more or less provided the country with well-educated people," he says. "They wouldn't be Canadians or contribute to the society."

Kaindl's failure to win citizenship has made it even harder for him to find work here. And every time he enters the country, he's directed to the airport immigration office - "the inquisition, I call it now" - for a thorough interrogation. Then he's directed to a customs officer for more questioning and a search of his bags. "The fear I have is I'm at the mercy of these guys," he says. "If they decide I have no merits to come in, they can even throw me out."

If he can't obtain citizenship, Kaindl fears he could lose his permanent resident status as well, leaving him without status in a country that has granted citizenship to every other member of his immediate family.

He admits he'll probably give up on Canada and move back to Austria if his appeal is unsuccessful. "I've really put a lot of effort into defending myself in this case. But if I lose, what else should I do?"