Yesterday, according to Ananda Bazar Patrika, there were 15 deaths in poll clashes in Murshidabad district, which CPI(M) leaders were confident of wresting back from the Congress. Left From chairman and CPI(M) polit bureau member Biman Bose predicted weeks back that there would be bloodshed during the 3-tier panchayat polls. Congress MP of Murshidabad district Adhir Chowdhury (mafia don, acc. to CPI(M), but Robin Hood to non-political masses) said in a TV interview alleged that the CPI(M) imported roughs from Burdwan and Nadia districts and unless there are elaborate security arrangements, bloodsheds apart, free & fair poll might not be possible.
It may be too early to say anything about what really happened but the possibility of resistance from action squads of Congress might have led to too many deaths.
YET KOLKATA's LEADING DAILY THE TELEGRAPH PREFERRED ENTERTAINER IPL NEWS ON FRONTPAGE AND CARRIED NO NEWS ON PANCHAYAT POLLS ON THE FRONT PAGE. BUT IT CARRIED A NATIONAL STORY ON REAL ESTATE PLANS OF CPI(M).
SR
CPM set to land a red face by Hemendra Singh Bartwal 19 May 08 (http://telegraphindia.com/1080519/jsp/frontpage/story_9290656.jsp
Party to get allotment along road named after Sangh icon
New Delhi, May 18: The CPM is expanding its presence in Delhi, foraying into the heart of a Sangh parivar hub. Literally.
The Marxists, not content with their large headquarters building, A.K. Gopalan Bhavan, plan to build a larger office in Delhi. They have sought land from the Centre under a new scheme that grants plots to political parties at subsidised rates, the size depending on a party's strength in the two Houses of Parliament. (See chart)
Sources said the urban development ministry has decided to allot four prime plots to the CPM in Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg.
That could be slightly embarrassing for the Marxists, for Upadhyay happens to be a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh icon.
It's ironical too: political lore has it that the CPM had masterminded the renaming of Harrington Street to Ho Chi Minh Sarani in Calcutta during the Vietnam war only to give the US consulate located there a red face.
At the new office, the CPM will have as its neighbours several Sangh-affiliated organisations, such as Sanskar Bharti, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh and Sewa International. The previous NDA government had virtually turned DDU Marg and its neighbourhood into a saffron enclave, drawing Left accusations of "favouritism" in plot allotment.
Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat can now expect to find their path crossed regularly by the likes of Ashok Singhal and Praveen Togadia since the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is building its media centre in DDU Marg.
The CPI and the CPM were the first of the political parties to buy government plots and build their offices many years ago, under an old policy that allowed land grants to institutions – educational, social or political.
The new scheme allows the CPM, which has 58 MPs, one acre. However, the Bhai Vir Singh Marg plot where the A.K. Gopalan Bhavan stands is only 1,197sqm. So, the party will be given the balance 2,850sqm in DDU Marg close to the CPI central office, Ajoy Bhavan, on the adjoining Kotla Road.
The plot's market price should be Rs 40-50 crore but the CPM will have to pay only about Rs 60 lakh, since the subsidised rate is Rs 88 lakh an acre.
What if the party's strength falls in the next election? Sources said that once a plot has been allotted, its size cannot change according to the party's poll fortunes.
Many other parties are rushing to get plots in the locality, too, thanks to a June 2006 Supreme Court order that asked party offices to clear out of the Lutyens Bungalow Zone.
The court asked the government to give land to the parties, which must build their offices at their own expense, prompting the framing of the new allotment policy. Among the offices to be vacated are the Congress and BJP headquarters in Akbar Road and Ashoka Road.
Last year, the Congress was allotted two acres in DDU Marg. The Rashtriya Janata Dal has bought a half-acre plot and the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena, too, are said to have sought land.
But the BJP is sitting tight. It isn't clear if the party plans to hold out till the next election, hoping to win more seats and bag a larger plot.
Sources said the scheme doesn't spell out whether a party's strength in the current (14th) Lok Sabha alone should count.
The apex court set no deadline for plot allotment, merely saying parties must move out of the bungalow zone within three years of getting land.
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