Partisans or pariahs

VERNACULAR VIEWS

North: With the government continuing to shower pre-election goodies almost every other day, the only way for newspapers to distinguish their coverage of events is through smart headlines and copy.

So, Dainik Bhaskar begins a story on the pre-election bonanza by saying the government's pitara (bag of goodies) is not yet empty, and has a headline on the sops for handcart pushers that reads "Ab rahdiwalon ko revdi" (and now, sweets for handcart pushers).

Bhaskar has an interesting graphic on the vote and seat shares of the Congress and the BJP since 1984 in its story on the dissolution date of the Lok Sabha "" did you know that the BJP has a lower vote share than the Congress by almost 5 per cent, but has 68 more seats?

While on the electoral alliances, Bhaskar has a tongue-in-cheek jab at the Congress-BSP talks saying they're both stuck in the traditional UP pehle-aap (you first) syndrome "" the BSP wants the Congress to withdraw support from Mulayam Singh before it ties up with it, and the Congress wants a tie-up before it withdraws support.

While Bhaskar's relegated the Ambani and Sahara investment announcements in UP to the business pages, Dainik Jagran has taken it on the front page with a colour picture, in the manner that most English-language dailies have. News of the split in the NCP, the Advani-Hurriyat talks, statements by President Musharraf are other subjects that dominated the news.

East: The news priority in Bangla newspapers followed the usual pattern during the last fortnight. India's cricket tour of Australia continued to compete with the pre-poll preparations of the Congress and the BJP for front page space.

Ananda Bazar Patrika chose to tone down its obsession with Sourav Ganguly and waxed eloquent on how V V S Laxman had become the star of the Indian cricket team. It ran a piece from Mathew Hayden, where the Australian run machine confessed that he saw in Laxman traces of his own batting style.

Aajkaal carried a report on how Marshneil Gavaskar saw her son, Rohan Gavaskar's maiden half-century in a one-day international from her hotel room.

She had not booked a ticket for herself, but luckily her hotel was situated across Terence river that flows beside the Adelaide cricket ground. Thanks to the ground's giant video screen, she could track her son's march towards the half century from her room.

The tussle between BJP and the Congress over Sonia Gandhi's nationality issue got prominent display. Aajkaal scooped a story on how the BJP poll managers have decided to conduct a two-week long special training session on countering the impact of Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi on the electorate.

Bartaman carried reports on Pramod Mahajan's announcement that the BJP would contest the elections in West Bengal with the help of Mamata Banerjee, and also on Samajwadi Party leader, Amar Singh's good wishes to Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi on their decision to join the electoral fray.

That the government's decision to confer a Padma Bhushan on veteran Bangla actor, Soumitra Chatterjee, has the potential of a controversy can be gauged from a poll started by Aajkaal that seeks an answer from its readers whether the award to Chatterjee came too late in the day.

Significantly, Ananda Bazar Patrika has started a new series on terrorism in the north-east, which seeks to capture the rising influence of extremist organisations in that region.

South: It was a family affair last fortnight. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children Priyanka and Rahul shared top honours in the leading Telugu dailies "" Eenadu, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothi.

While Sonia was once again dragged into the foreign-origin controversy, this time by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the three dailies published Naidu's comments on the first page, followed by the state Congressmen's counter-remarks the next day.

The state Congressmen, especially Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas, and former Congress Legislative Party leader Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, strongly criticised Naidu for his comment "Azad ko gulam and Sonia ko salam" and remarks on Gandhi's foreign origin.

Eenadu and Vaartha highlighted the counter remarks stating that it was not Congressmen who were obsequious to Ghulam Nabi Azad, but Naidu himself, who was servile to Azad to get a Youth Congress post when in the Congress.

The junior Gandhis' election campaign for their mother in Amethi, their enquiries on the sweets and savouries at a local sweetmeat shop and so on, were highlighted along with photographs on first pages.

Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh also hogged the limelight. His private visit to Hyderabad, stay at his newly-purchased house in Pragati Resorts on the outskirts, and his shopping spree at Shankarapally village were given wide coverage on the first pages in Eenadu and Vaartha.

In sports, the "very very special" V V S Laxman, as the Australians call him, was a notch above his teammates and counterparts, what with his three centuries in a week in one-day internationals Down Under.

Special stories and features on Lakshman's impending marriage with Sailaja, and in-laws interviews too were published on the front page.