New Delhi, April 17 (Inditop) Politicians beware! If a Madhya Pradesh businessman’s campaign succeeds, shoe missiles – typically aimed at high profile leaders – may not miss their target any more.
Indore-based youth Rajesh Bidkar, in an effort to get some free publicity, no doubt, has launched a “juta feko (hurl the shoe)” training campaign.
Bidkar says the campaign is aimed at helping future shoe-chuckers hit the target. The lessons will be given all across Madhya Pradesh, he says.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial nominee L.K. Advani and Congress MP Navin Jindal this month became victims of shoe missiles that were hurled by various people trying to make a point.
Pointing out that in each of these sensational cases the footwear had missed its target, Bidkar said he would train people free of cost in the art of hurling shoes. His campaign will start from Rajwada in Indore Saturday.
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Block traffic, burst crackers, get noticed
What’s the simplest way to grab voter attention? Block a busy road for a few minutes and burst crackers! At least that’s what happened in Delhi.
Vijay Goel of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who is fighting elections against Ajay Maken of the Congress from the New Delhi seat, was travelling with his cavalcade to file nominations. On his way back, he passed the posh Khan Market area.
As he waved out to those on the road, hundreds of his supporters, who were travelling in open jeeps, motorcycles and on foot, literally bought the traffic to a halt.
The traffic police stopped all other vehicles to allow the long procession to pass. But the supporters burst crackers, raised slogans and took their own sweet time, leading to a jam even as other angry commuters honked away.
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Of foot in mouth and red faces
His candour is turning into an embarrassment for his Praja Rajyam Party. Scriptwriter, actor, director and Andhra Pradesh assembly aspirant Posani Krishna Murali leaving friends and foes red faced.
He is a close friend of Praja Rajyam president and superstar Chiranjeevi. His bitter attack on actor couple Rajasekhar and Jeevitha, who are campaigning for the Congress, has taken everyone by surprise.
But his own party men say Posani is putting his foot in the mouth. “I can’t pay you money or give liquor for being with me. Come if you want to see Chiranjeevi as chief minister or get lost,” he reportedly told the party cadre.
“I will pull Chiranjeevi’s collar if he asks me to distribute money,” he said when somebody tried to convince him that he should spend some money to keep the cadre in good humour.
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No holds barred media war
When elections descend, politicians are not the only ones to fight it out. A full-fledged media battle has erupted between two major newspapers in Andhra Pradesh where simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls are on.
Telugu daily Sakshi, owned by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, carried full-page ads on its front page comparing the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) rule with that of the present Congress government.
In a no holds barred attack on the TDP’s N. Chandrababu Naidu, the newspaper carried old photographs of him sitting at the feet of his father-in-law N.T. Rama Rao and that of Nathuram Godse touching the feet of Mahatma Gandhi. Needless to say, Godse was the Mahatma’s assassin.
But in a tit-for-tat, the daily’s rival Eenadu, which is a bitter critic of the Congress government, carried pictures of police brutality during the party’s rule.
The newspaper also carried an article about corruption allegations against the Congress.
rounak