GO VOTE !

[Chirag 5]

Go Vote!

http://www.go925fm.com/elections.htm

Only those people with their names on the electoral roll are allowed to vote in the Indian Elections. This electoral roll is normally revised every year to add new name or delete the names of those who have died or moved out of a constituency.

How to register yourself?

Because you registered for the last polls or have a voter’s identity card, it does not mean that you will automatically be registered for the next election.

The first thing you must do is check if your name is on the voters list. A Registration Office is seated at every polling station during office hours to enable you to check if your name is in the rolls. You can also call the electoral office or AGNI (the Action for Good Governance and Networking in India) on (022) 23611327.

If I am not registered?

If your name is not on the electoral rolls what you now have to do is get your name added on the list by filling and submitting Form 6. The other forms you may need include:

Form 7 for the deletion of names

Form 8 for the correction of your name or address and,

Form 8A for getting transferred from one constituency to another.

The other documents include any proof of name and residence like a copy of your ration card or any bills, tax vouchers or your license.

Some officials may insist on the pink slip, given when the officials verify houses during the survey. But, even without this, forms WILL be accepted. Forms can now also be submitted in bulk by the Chairman / Secretary of your Cooperative Housing Society on the letterhead.

For more information

Deputy Election Officer for Mumbai City ------------------- (022)22661231 / 22661516

Deputy Election Officer for Mumbai Suburban District -- (022)26550070 / 26550111

AGNI ------------------------------------------------------------- (022)23611327

Election Commission’s website ------------------------------ www.eci.gov.in

[sunil_jok 2]

hey chirag

good thinking. feels good to think that this forum and especially you are trying to improve things in however small way possible.

[Chirag 5]

Some of u might have read this in another thread...

One-to-one is the flavour of the season. Be it Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s recorded message or Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly’s straight talk.

Vajpayee spent a full two hours last Tuesday writing and recording a message. The idea was to personally greet more than 46 million fixed-line and 24 million mobile phone users in the country.

The motive: a personalised, one-to-one greeting.

but guess wht? i was greeted on my phone by none other than Mr. Vajpayee today!! .. sure enuf their new innovative way quite encourages me to go and vote atleast.. to whom is a different question, but i shall thts for sure..

u'll be definitely amazed at the huge electoral rolls that are published on the Election Commission's website ( http://www.eci.gov.in ) and that too in ur own regional language! Yeps it was difficult to locate my name in Marathi there, but i was so glad to see tht its finally up there.. And this time(I missed out the last time for a small technical glitch) for the FIRST TIME i shall be in that queue to vote!

I am sure u might have seen those huge campaign hoardings by INDIAN EXPRESS which say SHOW THEM THE FINGER... Yeps.. its important enuf!

Dont let scruplous elements take advantage of ur empty vote...

Dont take the election day as ur usual holiday and go out and party..

Hope u guys will spare a few mins from ur busy schedules and cast ur votes!

[Greens 21]

Great job chirag keep it up..

[iiii_pretender_iiii 0]

Good to find people so much aware of their rights....

Dawn of a new era ???

[Chirag 5]

They can do so much to set up one for us... cant we walk half a mile to reach the polling booth and cast our vote which might take not more than 15-20 mins? How often are we asked to do that? Not everyday right? So lets go ahead and SHOW THEM THE FINGER !

Highest polling station in the country

April 01, 2004 17:17 IST

Located at a height of 17,000 feet above the sea level, the Pastan polling station in Ladakh is the highest in the country as far as the coming Lok Sabha election is concerned.

The second highest polling station, Hanfallo, is situated at an altitude of 16,250 feet above the sea level, election officials in Jammu and Kashmir said.

The Tarkundi polling station, situated along the Line of Control in Poonch district of the Jammu parliamentary constituency, has only three voters, they said.

Eight polling stations have been set up in house boats in the world famous Dal Lake in Srinagar for 5,449 voters in Hazaratbal area of the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Several polling stations in Ladakh, including Ralakung, Phema Rangdum Juldoo, Tashi, Stongday, Shaday, Stak, Shun, Kargiak, Tangzay, Tasta, Yougar and Chah remain snow-covered through the year, the officials said.

Of the 7,218 polling stations in J&K, 55 per cent are either sensitive or hyper-sensitive, they said.

[Chirag 5]

Just to remind you'll that quite alot constituencies go to polls today! Is urs goin today? Do keep a check

DONT STAMP THE PAPER, JUST PRESS THE BUTTON!

Rediff.com

For the first time ever, Indian elections will be completely electronic. All polling for both the assembly and the Lok Sabha elections will be conducted on Electronic Voting Machines. Two Indian public sector giants, Bharat Electronics and Electronic Corporation of India Ltd, are supplying the EVM.

The deadline for supplying 25,000 EVM to the Election Commission for the current election was March 31. Over the past decade and half, this company has given the Election Commission a total of 500,000 EVM. These machines, along with those supplied by ECIL, will be used in the 700,000 booths spread across 543 parliamentary constituencies. In total, Election Commission officials will operate about a million EVM for the elections.

Bharat Electronics even introduced a third shift for its employees to meet this deadline. "Over the last two months, we raised production levels and operated the assembly lines in three shifts, so the lines worked 24 hours a day," explains BEL General Manager N N Simha.

Interestingly, there are only about 200 engineers who worked in eight-hour shifts to meet the target since the production line is highly automated. Simha says a few years ago, a 10-member team of hardware and software engineers designed and developed technology that enables BEL to produce the EVM in huge numbers.

The EVM were used for the first time extensively in the 1998 assembly election in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.  In the 1999 parliamentary election, they were used in 46 constituencies in 17 states and Union territories.

Abhijit Dasgupta, Karnataka's chief electoral officer, feels these machines will do away with mistakes. "The machines are fast, accurate, and mistake-proof," he said. "It is simple too. Each party will have a symbol and all you have to do is press the button to register your vote."

BEL has now applied for an international patent for their EVM design as the company hopes this election will help it to launch the EVM in the international market. Interestingly, different models have already been developed for four countries --Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore and Sri Lanka -- while an African country has evinced interest.

Simha said he hoped the countries would place orders with BEL after the election. He said two countries have agreed to buy the machines, but are waiting for the election to end before placing orders. Simha refused to disclose the names of the countries.

Different countries had different specifications and BEL had to design the EVM accordingly.

Even the courts have blessed the EVM. Judge K Shridhar Rao of the Karnataka high court, in a recent order in connection with an election dispute, ruled that rigging was not possible with the use of EVM. 'Without the least doubt, I say the machine is fully tamper-proof,' he said.

Each EVM can record five to six votes a minute, up to 3,500 to 4,000 votes, and caters to a maximum of 64 candidates.

Asked what gave the EVM an edge in the international market, Simha replied, "Mainly because they are cost effective and also because they are successful and foolproof. If they work perfectly in the world's largest democracy, they should work even better elsewhere, right?"

[city02 63]

Here's a good one:

'He who fails to exercise his right to vote is punished by being goverened by those less qualified'

- Plato (!)

The greeks had it all figured out a few thousand years ago, hope we can do the same...

[Tushar 0]

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.

A good 1 aint it.........

Vote for the man who promises least; he'll be least disappointing.

[city02 63]

Here are some good ones on the Sonia factor doing the rounds at work:

Subject: article in rediff

Why am I disturbed about Sonia as  PM?

The Left parties believe in globalisation more than  you or I would give them credit for.

Is not the Left's acceptance of a foreign-born person as the nation's prime minister proof enough? So what if the stockmarkets don't believe that?

Sure, the Left parties have vowed for ages to combat the perils of  imperialist globalisation, as 'globalisation and communalism are the two faces  of the same coin.' But, of course, that does not apply to outsourcing of the  Indian prime minister.

Yes, to the Left, foreign companies are not welcome to invest in India, especially in banking, telecom, insurance and other sectors. So? At least we are liberal enough to allow an Italian-born lady to lead the nation.

India's Communists believe foreign companies have imperialist tendencies and  practice economic terrorism to subjugate independent countries.

But then individuals are different from corporates, right?

Foreign firms deny rights to the locals, argues the Left. But we should be  generous enough to make an exception when it involves the right to hold the  highest office in the nation.

There's more: The Left also holds that globalisation is an effort to hand  over power to Western forces and that it is imperative not to let Independence  -- which took over a hundred years and thousands of martyrs to attain -- be  surrendered to an outsider. But then that does not apply to the leader of the  Congress party.

The job of the prime minister of India after all is too significant a matter  to be left to a mere Indian.

Personal happiness is too sacred a thing to be allowed to be affected by  trifling matters like who the prime minister of a country is. Or will be. And yet, with Italian-born Sonia Gandhi set to become India's prime minister,  I am unable to keep that queasy feeling of disappointment from gnawing at  me. Do I dislike Mrs Gandhi? No. Am I consumed with the obsolete fear of foreign subversion that some folks  talk about if the reins of the nation are handled by a foreign-born head of  state? No.

Do I have reason to believe that things will pass into the hands of foreign  powers if she runs the show in India? No.

Charges of 'deliberate non-involvement with the spirit and soul of India'  have been levelled at her. Do I agree? No.

She has been charged with not having cut off the umbilical cord that attaches  her to her country of birth. I would like to believe that she still has a strong  bond with Italy.

Her cronies trumpet that this is the people's verdict, who showed the NDA the  door and gave the mandate for her to be the prime minister. Well, would she have  needed outside support if this were true?

She has been accused of being a 'reader leader', one who can neither speak  Hindi nor English without an accent. Does it bother me? No. I am sure, she does  not think with an accent.

I do not deny that she is a dignified woman, one who has suffered emotionally  more than most when the nation lost Rajiv Gandhi. She is a good mother. She has  learnt the Indian language, she has tried to merge with the Indian ethos and  imbibe the Indian culture, maybe even attempted to understand  'Indianness'...

Is her taking over of the high office of the land a challenge to national  prestige? Maybe. Do I doubt her political acumen, her accomplishments, skill,  intelligence, vision, commitment, ability? Maybe.

I may seem to be insular, intolerant, bigoted, even a Sangh Parivar lackey.  But I have no political affiliations. It doesn't bother me which political party  holds the nation's reins or controls the nuclear button: they are all the same  -- power hungry, manipulative, corrupt.

I never had any trouble accepting Mother Teresa as an Indian. I like  foreign films. I do not have an aversion to everything that is imported from  yonder shores: jeans, computers, cars... But an imported PM?

So why am I disturbed if Mrs Gandhi is about to take charge?

Frankly, I cannot explain why. It's an emotional thing, a sensation I can't  quite put my finger onto -- like an itch I cannot scratch, like religious  faith.

It is a feeling where you suspend judgment, and reflect in manner against  which reason might probably rebel in saner moments. Logic cannot explain it.

I believe it is fashionable to project, allow, and accept a foreign-born  person to hold sway over the nation. Maybe, it adds weight to your secular,  liberal credentials. Maybe, it wins you brownie points amongst the  intelligentsia. Maybe, it helps you don the holier-than-thou attitude and frown  upon at the 'less liberal.'

For those who believe her foreign origin is not a problem, I have a question:  Would she have been acceptable as the nation's prime minister if she were, say,  Pakistani-born?

 Praveen  Narang

This is some stuff I received from friends - just forwarding for your info.

_________________________________________________

Hi all Indians ,

Don't do this blunder again.

Pass these words to as many Indians as possible being an Indian.

Hope u do the same.

 

Some Facts-

* A female refused the citizenship of MY country for 20 years.

* She took her husband and ran from MY country to Rome during the Indo/Pak war.

* She finally opted to get Indian citizenship only so that her husband could become PM.

* She hid with her husband in the Italian Embassy during emergency.

* She brought the BOFORS scam to MY country.

* She cant read a speech of her own even in CWC meetings.

 

After 57 years... India is again going to be under foriegn Rule.(How can u accept this? ,U should not.)

Guys can you imagine Sonia Gandhi as our PM ,

Mulayam Singh as Defence Minister,

Laloo Prasad Yadav as our Home Minister,

Harkishan Singh Surjith as External affairs Minister.

All you people out there who have voted for her have shattered the nation and you all are forever unforgiven....

 

We all should agree that neither leader nor the team is OK.

Leader is not Ok as she hasn't choiced good team members for important portfolios and team is not Ok as there will be many more Bihar soon all over nation- Credit to be shared by Laloo & Sonia madam

 

Hope we don't commit the same mistake again (Elections will be held soon)

 

Vande Maataram!!!

Campaigner for Looser (not BJP but for Country & its Growth)

INDIAN.

> This is some information on prospective PM of India - Sonia Gandhi that every Indian and at least every India lover must know.

> 1.. Sonia Gandhi is ONLY a high school graduate. It is not even sure if she is Matric pass or fail. Cambridge University has confirmed that they have no Sonia Maino on their alumni list.

> 2.. Her sister, Nadia Mario, who had never visited India before rushed to New Delhi, after Vajpayee govt.fell, to be by her side amidst reports that she might soon become India's Prime Minister.

> 3.. Should Sonia Gandhi become Prime Minister, her relatives in Italy would

> be fully entitled to round-the-clock protection by the Black Cat commandos at the Indian taxpayer's expense.

> 4.. She worked as an house maid in UK while taking classes to learn English in some no name school. She was from a poor family in Italy but now has almost as much money as Bill Gates (guess whose money is it).

> 5.. During the 1971 war, while all Indians stood ready to fight for the Indian cause Sonia Maino and her husband Rajiv Gandhi went on vacation in Italy.

> 6.. In 1977, when Indira Gandhi and Congress lost elections, Sonia Gandhi with her children and husband in tow took refuge of Italian embassy in New Delhi. Only after Indira Gandhi, Sanjay and his Indian wife Maneka convinced her that they came back.

> 7.. Sonia married Rajiv in 1968 and was eligible to become Indian citizen 5 years later yet she did NOT become Indian citizen till 1984 I.e. 16 years after her marriage) This late bloom of Sonia's love for India also was out of political consideration. In 1984, Rajiv, was heir apparent and most likely next Prime Minister. It would be awkward for a PM to have a foreigner wife. Voila, Sonia became an Indian Overnight.

> 8.. She has not given a single interview or offered any ideas on a single issue facing India now. Her only qualification is that she married a Gandhi. No newspaper has taken up the issue; no political party is opposing this, people are falling in line as if this is nothing unusual.

> 9.. Sonia became an Indian citizen in 1984 but did not surrender her Italian citizenship. She continues to be simultaneously a citizen of India and Italy as Italian law does not require her to surrender her Italian citizenship or passport. Simply put, Sonia is a dual citizen of India and Italy now dreaming of becoming the next Prime Minister of India (she can also legally become the prime minister of Italy!).

> Welcome to the world of outsourcing. India outsources PM to Italy. Rahul Gandhi will marry his Columbian girl friend. India will have next PM from Columbia. Every country will have at least one chance (India's chances are over). Why Americans are shouting on Outsourcing? They should take cue from Great Indian Politics.

[Chirag 5]

Well the irony of this elections is that most ppl who wanted the Vajpayee led Govt to come back, took it for granted tht he would come back anyways, and didn't vote!!

Thts the reason u see less voter turnout in most of the urban cities where educated ppl opted to holiday out on a monday after a good weekend! Maybe to some extent, the EC too can be blamed for this monday factor!

[iiii_pretender_iiii 0]

Fianl word ?

I think the people have chosen their mandate.

They knew sonia was italian, so whats the hue and cry abt now after the people have made their choice?

[Chirag 5]

New govt to boost reforms: Ambani

May 21, 2004 16:27 IST

Rediff.com

The head of India's largest business house has moved to reassure foreign investors that the new Indian government would be able to pursue reforms despite its reliance on communists for support.

Citing the successful relationship between the foreign businesses community and the communist government in China, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of the Reliance Group, said the communists in India could help deliver even better results.

"International financial markets and analysts need not panic because they have dealt with the Chinese communists successfully," he said.

"I can assure you that the communists in India will put them to shame," Ambani said late Thursday after receiving a leadership award from the US-based Asia Society, presented to him by Senator Hillary Clinton.

Reliance, founded 46 years ago by rags-to-riches entrepreneur Dhirubhai Ambani to trade polyester yarn, has grown to become India's largest private conglomerate by sales.

The corporate behemoth, which accounts for 3.5 per cent of India's gross domestic product, is now a key player in oil and gas exploration, telecommunications and petrol retail outlets.

Ambani said he expected continuation of the policy by the Congress-led government of incoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had laid the foundation for economic reforms when he was finance minister in the last decade.

Ambani, however, believed Singh would make 'adjustments in the sequence, pace and emphasis' of reforms to reassure the poor.

"A reform that fails to address the deprivation of the underprivileged cannot last for long," he said.

Congress swept off the National Democratic Alliance from power by highlighting the vast disparities between the India of hi-tech industry and glitzy malls championed by the outgoing government and the bitter reality for the rural majority.

"India experienced an electoral hurricane but there is a smooth transition from one coalition to another, reflecting the strength of India's democracy," Ambani said.

He called for a 'grand alliance' between the world's largest democracy India and the oldest democracy the United States to 'together deal with the two biggest challenges facing humanity -- concerns for safety and security and desire for prosperity and well being.'

Ambani said opportunities for cooperation between the two giants should extend from information technology and outsourcing of services at present to healthcare, university education and science and technological research.

"The US can be India's partner in giving a better life to our have-nots while India can be America's partner in meeting your need for talent," he said.

Hillary Clinton said the new Indian government faced various challenges, including alleviating poverty, checking a growing HIV/AIDS epidemic and providing education opportunities to a larger section of the population.

She said the epidemic could become the biggest obstacle to development and progress in India, which has at least 4.58 million HIV-positive people, more than any country except South Africa.

[arun12 0]

Fianl word ?

I think the people have chosen their mandate.

They knew sonia was italian, so whats the hue and cry abt now after the people have made their choice?

Thre is no hue and cry as such This mandate has not given any one full majority. Take a look of percentage of votes, how smartly they havent discussed it at all. i remeber last elections every one was keep on stressing the percentage votes

[tiger 0]

Just going by whats going on after the elections, I think those of us who did not bother to vote must be regretting the fact.....

1. Yesterday, Mani Shankar Aiyar says on TV (and I heard him clearly):

" Sonia Gandhi is the leader of this country and has appointed Manmohan Singh

to run the administration for some time......"

2. Natwar Singh gives a Press Conference in Jaipur where he talks only about

Soniaji's likely visit to Pakistan and how she will be welcomed there.

Saw the whole thing and also read the related press reports this morning...

Not a word about Manmohan Singh throughout....

Sounds more like Dev Kant Baruah's (those of you old enough to remember him)

"India is Indira and Indira is India".

If things will go on this way, either she should become the PM or next time the Congress party will really lose out with the educated masses atleast.

The PM's office should not be demeaned in any manner by anyone.

If the sardar's reputation is anything to go by, I don't think he is going to go along with this for a long time.

Tiger

[arun12 0]

Manmohan singh should emerge as a respectable PM of India as he is highly educated. It is important for congress to leave aside the individual hipes and think for the country. There are allies whom you cannot trust and people does not even want them in top post Hope Mr. Singh will overcome this and project our country instead of projecting a particular family

I wish best of luck to him.

[emmi 3]

there a lot of sonia bashing going on on this topic.and some of the points are self contradictory.as u can see that sonia dint become pm.hope some of u r happy.

[arun12 0]

there a lot of sonia bashing going on on this topic.and some of the points are self contradictory.as u can see that sonia dint become pm.hope some of u r happy.

Aaah... Where you find this

[emmi 3]

Aaah... Where you find this

Didnt get u dude

[Chirag 5]

Has someone seen "YUVA" and reflect in those terms here? I'ven't seen it as yet. Heard the story, seems quite interesting!