GUWAHATI, September 30: Nexus with the banned militant outfit, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), has become the main issue for political parties today as both the Congress and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) have accused each other of having a nexus with the militant outfit. The spokesman of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), Pankaj Bora, today demanded a judicial enquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court into the nexus, if any, between the ULFA and political parties. Talking to newsmen here today, Bora said after their defeat in the 1998 polls, the AGP accused the Congress of having nexus with the ULFA. He said that immediately after the 1998 polls, the chief minister congratulated the people of the state for coming out to cast their votes despite the boycott call by the ULFA. But after the poll results were announced, the chief minister said that the voters could not come out to vote because of the boycott call. Referring to the reported statement of the ULFA, in which the outfit claimed that they had helped the AGP in the 1996 polls, Bora asked the AGP to clarify on whose diktats the AGP incorporated the demand for the right to self-determination in their election manifesto. He said that in the past, the Army filed first information reports (FIRs) against AGP ministers for their alleged nexus with the ULFA but the AGP remained silent over the issue. Meanwhile, the AGP strongly denied the allegation and said that the Congress had been trying to get the help of the ULFA. The AGP spokesman, Prabin Sarma, said in the 1998 polls the Congress took the help of the ULFA and this time also several candidates of the party were trying to do the same. In a separate release, the AGP publicity secretary, Moidul Islam Bora, said the AGP never maintained any relation with the banned ULFA. He expressed doubts on whether the statement of the ULFA was actually released by the outfit or it was issued to the press yesterday by the Congress to create confusion in the minds of the voters so as to malign the image of the AGP. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 1, 1999)

GUWAHATI, September 30: With campaigning in Assam for the October 3 polls never reaching any great heights, major political parties launched a verbal blitzkrieg, roping in the fourth estate, just prior to campaign-end in the state. Parties held innumerable press meets at which accusations and counter-accusations flew thick and fast, while preferring to give campaigning, which has been devoid of major issues, a go-by. The round of press conferences began after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, Kushabhau Thakre, on poll duty in the state accused Congress of pulling down the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, while Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, at a rally, pilloried the saffron party and the ruling AGP for lack of development in the Northeast. The Congress president claimed her party was responsible for all major development work in the State, including the setting up of a central university, the fourth oil refinery and the Sankardeva Kalashetra. When she accused the BJP of being vocal about imposition of Article 356 in Bihar, while remaining silent about Assam, the Union home minister, LK Advani, was quick to retort that Gandhi in her "hasty style of functioning" had spoken about imposition of Central rule in the State, which was not the reality. Diganta Buragohain, a reporter of Assamese daily, Dainik Janmabhumi, says, "During the last Lok Sabha polls the scene was different, but this time it seems that instead of campaigning, parties are choosing a less troublesome way by convening press conferences." A BJP spokesman during a press briefing later denied Gandhi's charge that his party government had neglected the people of the Northeast. "Gandhi was shedding crocodile tears when she made this charge as her party instead, was responsible for the lack of development in the state," he said. Information and broadcasting minister, Pramod Mahajan, during his trip to the state told the media that the Congress was responsible for large-scale infiltration into the country while also referring to the foreign origin of the Congress president. Nationalist Congress Party leader, Purno A Sangma, told yet another press meet that the foreign origin of Gandhi would be a major election issue and ruled out any chance of his party merging back into the Congress even without the party president. Barely an hour before the Union Home minister at the same venue alleged that the Congress was facing a leadership crisis and was confused about the concept of coalitions as it had claimed that such governments would be failure. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 1, 1999)

GUWAHATI, September 30: Notwithstanding the high social status enjoyed by women, the gender equality and high percentage of female voters in Assam, the number of women sent to Parliament from the state is negligible with only 23 of them having been elected since 1952. With the number of women candidates being very low compared to their male counterparts, the state failed to send a single female representative from among the 137 contestants vying for the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam in 1996. The situation improved marginally in 1998 when a lone woman (Congress) candidate from among the 91 contestants, including three women, was sent to Parliament. The first woman to represent undivided Assam in the Lok Sabha was Bonily Khongmen (1952). In the upcoming October 3 elections, of the 112 candidates in the fray, only five are women with one each from BJP, Congress and the NCP, besides two Independents. According to AGP spokesman Moidul Islam Bora, the party failed to nominate a single woman contestant as "no suitable candidate was found." Statistics reveal that political parties have always preferred men to women to represent Assam in both Parliament and the Assembly. This goes along with the fact that only 43.03 per cent of the women are literate in the state, which has a overall literacy rate of 52.89 per cent. With the progressive decline in women representation, the few who are in the fray, are forced to tow the line of men ignoring vital women-related issues as mother-child health care and welfare, education, women resource development, women's social security and other related matters. Recent studies here have also revealed that very few political parties are interested in taking up women related issues and this is evident from the absence of those issues in election manifestos of all the major political parties. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 1, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 1: The Assam government today failed to pay the salaries of the state government employees, who were despatched as presiding officers and polling officers to over 18,000 polling stations all over the state. This has resulted in tremendous hardship for the families of these employees who are about 1 lakh in number, alleged Sadou Assam Karmachari Parishad (SAKP) secretary general, Charan Deka, here this evening. Nowhere in India, except in Assam, such instances of denying salaries to government employees on poll-eve is to be found, Deka said. This amply explains the irresponsible and anti-employee attitude of the state government, he said. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 2, 1999)

ELHI, October 1: The Supreme Court has admitted a petition by Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC) challenging an Assam government notification shrinking the area under the Council by over 300 villages. A three-judge bench, comprising justice SP Bharucha, justice RP Sethi and justice SN Phukan, admitted the petition challenging the April 2, 1999, notification by the state government which allegedly excluded 347 villages from the BAC area. The petitioner contended that Assam government had issued the notification unilaterally deleting the villages from BAC area without taking the consent of Bodoland Executive Council. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 2, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 1: The Gauhati High Court, on Thursday, passed an interim order directing the Assam government to ensure that inconvenience to the public, in the matter of free movement of citizens on the roads of the city, arbitrary and unreasonable action of the authorities in the name of security and very important person (VIP) movement and unrestricted use of red lights on vehicles, is minimised and no maltreatment is meted out to the members of the public using roads. The order of the High Court, passed by chief justice Brijesh Kumar and justice PG Agarwal, follows a public interest litigation petition filed by Bijaya Nanda Choudhury seeking the issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction in the matter. The petitioner complained before the court that there were frequent and unnecessary infringement of the citizen's right to free movement on the roads of Guwahati city and thus causing public injury. Choudhury also pleaded that the arbitrary and unreasonable action of the authorities was causing uncalled for harassment and inconveniences to the general public in the name of so-called security and VIP movement. He said there was unrestricted use of red lights on the vehicles of persons not authorised under the law and taking undue privileges vis-à-vis the general public. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 2, 1999)

SHILLONG, September 29: The ruling Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum (MPF) on Tuesday constituted a high-powered coordination committee to draw up short and long-term measures to tackle the economic hardships caused to the people following the forest ban imposed by the Supreme Court. The meeting presided over by Meghalaya chief minister, BB Lyngdoh, discussed the 24-point common programme of the ruling United Democratic Party-Congress coalition in the state. The coordination committee headed by state forest minister, Kitdor Syiem, will include the ministers for power, industries, agriculture, community and rural development and others besides the chief executive members of the three autonomous district councils and representatives of the Meghalaya Forest and Land Owners' Association and Meghalaya Land, Forest and Saw-mill Owners' Association. The MPF spokesman and state home minister, AH Scott Lyngdoh, said that the meeting also constituted a committee on inter-state boundary issues headed by the chief minister. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 2, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 1: Departing from the usual modes of election campaign the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam have resorted to taking help of cultural troupes and singers to carry their messages to the voters and also highlight each others' alleged failures. The troupes in their turn have been able to draw sizeable crowds at their performances in various parts of the state, where electioneering has not picked up even on the penultimate day on Thursday. The BJP is wooing the electorate in some constituencies with cultural troupes, while some artistes were on their own campaigning for the party, state unit vice-president, Indramoni Bora said. The AGP has prepared audio cassettes based on patriotic songs interspersed with pieces of party president and chief minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta's speeches on his government's achievements. These cassettes were constantly being played throughout the day from loudspeakers fixed atop the AGP central office building here. The Congress, on the other hand, is sticking to the traditional election rallies, street-corner meetings and personal contact with the voters. The voters are to busy with their security problem, law-and-order situation, economic hardship and spiralling prices to indulge in such 'luxuries' as music and cultural programmes, the PCC general secretary Pankaj Bora said. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 2, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 3: Despite the call by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to boycott the polls, people of Assam came out in large numbers to cast their votes in 13 of the 14 parliamentary constituencies of the state. According the chief electoral officer, the estimated turnout of voters in the state was about 60.89 per cent. According to state election department sources, 65.07 per cent voters cast their votes in Karimganj, 64.58 per cent in Silchar, 58.98 per cent in Autonomous District, 63.86 per cent in Kokrajhar, 66.12 per cent in Barpeta, 55.34 per cent in Guwahati, 61.52 per cent in Mangaldoi, 66.11 per cent in Tezpur, 59.21 per cent in Nagaon, 60.88 per cent in Kaliabor, 53.40 per cent in Jorhat, 57.05 per cent in Dibrugarh and 62.19 per cent in Lakhimpur. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 4, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 3: The Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum (MPF), ruling coalition party in the hill state has approved a 24-point common policy for adoption by the state government. The approval came at the end of a two-day meeting of the MPF, chaired by the chief minister, BB Lyngdoh, which concluded here today. Timely state intervention to maintain law and order in the state and constitution of a committee headed by the chief minister to solve the boundary dispute are some of the important recommendations of the MPF, which comprises the Congress and regional United Democratic Party (UDP). The common policies also recommended sustainable development of the state's resources including forest, attainment of self-sufficiency in food production, promotion of silk production and provision of potable water for all villages. Keeping in view the acute unemployment problem in the State, the meeting recommended generation of self-employment policy are also included in the 24-point common policy. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 4, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 4: The stage is set for yet another statewide bandh tomorrow, this time at the call of the Asom Yuba Parishad. The 10-hour bandh, to be observed from 5 am to 3 pm, is ostensibly to protest against killings and growing insurgency in the state. Being the youth wing of the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Yuba Parishad's bandh call is expected to have considerable effect in the state. In a statement today, the Yuba Parishad acknowledged that the bandh may affect several sections of the people adversely but asserted that it is necessary for the "greater interests." Essential services have been kept out of the purview of the bandh. Several organisations have opposed the bandh call. "Whom is this bandh call against?" the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) asked, obviously hinting at the alleged government sponsored secret killings. In a statement here, the AJYCP alleged that the bandh call was given not actually to oppose violence and counter-violence but as a conspiracy to enable the AGP to tamper the ballot boxes in its favour. The AJYCP also said that a bandh sponsored by a front of the ruling party was a tacit acknowledgement that the law and order situation in the state has indeed broken down. The Janata Dal (Secular) while opposing the bandh called by "the frontal organisations of the ruling party," said that it is the responsibility of the ruling party to maintain law and order in the state. The Sadou Asom Karmachari Parishad (SAKP) termed the bandh call as a conspiracy. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) termed the bandh call as "irresponsible and shameless." (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 5, 1999)

ITANAGAR, October 4: An estimated 55 per cent of the total 6,09,174 voters in Arunachal Pradesh exercised their franchise for two Lok Sabha and 56 Assembly seats for which simultaneous elections were held on Sunday, according to preliminary reports. The election office here said the exact figure of polling would be available later as reports were still coming in from district headquarters. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the state, official sources said. Altogether six candidates were in the fray for two Lok Sabha seats - Arunachal East and West - and 168 for the 56 Assembly constituencies. The Union minister of state for tourism, Omak Apang, is seeking re-election from Arunachal West Lok Sabha seat on Arunachal Congress ticket. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 5, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 5: The recovery of firearms, police uniforms and identity cards from the den of ex-members of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) men at Tezpur proved that the state government was responsible for the secret killings, said the All Assam Students' Union (AASU). In a release here today, Prabin Boro and Amiya Bhuyan, the president and general secretary respectively of the AASU, congratulated the people of Tezpur for boldly standing up against the secret killers. The AASU also said that the organisation would launch a mass movement against the secret killings. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 6, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 5: The governor has summoned a session of the Assam Assembly from October 29 next by an order issued from the Raj Bhawan. The session is likely to be a brief one. Summons have been issued to all the members of the Assam Assembly individually. The balloting of questions for obtaining priority will start from October 7 next at 1.30 pm in the Assembly building here. (The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 6, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 5: The Asom Yuba Parishad sponsored 10-hour Assam bandh ended at 3 pm today affecting normal life in the state. Apart from a few minor incidents of stone pelting, the bandh passed off peacefully. The call for the bandh was given by the Asom Yuba Parishad, the youth wing of the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in protest against killings in the state. The 10-hour bandh paralysed normal life in Guwahati city with all modes of public transport including the city buses staying off the roads during the bandh period. The shops and business establishments in most parts of the city remained closed all throughout the day, while the attendance in the government offices was thin. As the bandh was given by the youth wing of the ruling party, none of the ministers were present in the Janata Bhawan today. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 6, 1999)

ITANAGAR, October 6: The Congress has achieved absolute majority in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly, bagging 31 of the 35 seats results for which were declared so far. Going against the nationwide trend, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has drawn a blank in the state so far, while the Nationalist Congress Party won two seats and the Arunachal Congress and Independent candidates one each. The Congress winners include 10 ministers of the Mukut Mithi ministry and speaker Chowna Mein. The former chief minister and Arunachal Congress Chairman, Gegong Apang, cut a lonely furrow from Tuting-Yiongkiong (ST). Of the 60 seats, four had already been won by the Congress unopposed. The Congress tally includes four candidates, including Mithi, who were declared elected unopposed. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 7, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 6: Former Lok Sabha speaker and general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party, PA Sangma, today made history by becoming the first man from the Northeast to make it to the Lok Sabha for the seventh time in a row by defeating his nearest Congress rival nominee, Atul Marak, by a margin of 1,13,579 votes. Since he entered the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1977 as a Congressman, he had recorded six successive wins with increasing victory margins. Today's win was his first as a candidate of a party other than Congress after he was expelled along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar for challenging Sonia Gandhi's claim to the post of prime minister. Sangma, along with the other two expelled Congress leaders formed the NCP and came out victorious vindicating his claim that the "Congress party did not make him" as contended by the party. By winning, he established that his charisma and popularity was what mattered for the electorate of Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya from where he won today. The only consolation for the Congress is that its candidate in Shillong parliamentary seat, former Mizoram governor, PR Kyndiah, has established a lead of 37,818 votes over his main rival SD Khongwir of the regional United Democratic Party (UDP) when the latest trends came in around 8 pm today. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 7, 1999)

IMPHAL, October 7: The ruling Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP) today retained the Inner Manipur parliamentary seat when its nominee Thounaojam Chaoba Singh defeated his nearest rival Manipur People's Party (MPP) candidate Khaidem Mani. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 7, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 7: The ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and its alliance partners suffered yet another setback as they failed to win even a single seat in the Lok Sabha elections in the state, while the Congress virtually swept the polls by winning nine of the 13 seats. The election to the Dhubri constituency was countermanded following the killing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate by militants. The BJP improved its performance in the state as the party managed to win two seats, while candidates of the party came second in as many as eight other constituencies. The AGP and its alliance partners even failed to put up a fight as the candidates of the party came poor thirds in most constituencies. The AGP candidate came second only in the Kaliabor constituency. In the 1998 polls, the Congress and its alliance partner United Minorities Front (UMF) won 11 seats while the BJP won one seat. In the prestigious Guwahati constituency, Bijoya Chakraborty of the BJP defeated her nearest rival Bhubaneswar Kalita of the Congress by 75,238 votes. AGP candidate Durga Das Boro came a poor third. In 1998, Kalita was elected from the constituency defeating his nearest rival Monorajan Goswami of the BJP. The second seat for the BJP came when Rajen Gohain defeated his nearest rival and sitting MP Nripen Goswami of the Congress by 35,428 votes. Muhiram Saikia came third. The Congress swept the polls in the Barak valley by winning both seats. The BJP suffered a setback when the Union minister of state for communication Kabindra Purkayastha, lost to Santosh Mohan Dev of the Congress by 1,07,752 votes, while the state irrigation minister Adul Muhib Mazumder came a poor third. In Karimganj, Congress candidate Nepal Chandra Das defeated Parimal Suklabaidya of the BJP by 42,259 votes. The CPM candidate Kushi Kanta Das finished third. In Kokrajhar, the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU)-backed candidate Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmutiary defeated his nearest rival Theodore Kisku Rapaz of the United Revolutionary Movement Council of Assam (URMCA) by 87,415 votes. The AGP-backed PDF candidate Gangadhar Ramchiary and Congress candidate Premising Brahma finished third and fourth respectively. In Barpeta, Golam Osmani of the Congress retained his seat defeating his nearest rival Ramani Kanta Deka of the BJP by 89,362 votes/ The CPM candidate and former MP Uddhab Barman finished third. Madhab Rajbonsi of the Congress retained his Mangaldoi seat defeating Munindra Sinha Lahkar of the BJP by 16,434 votes. This time too former Union minister, Birendra Prasad Baishya, finished poor third. Lottery baron Mani Kumar Subba retained the Tezpur seat defeating his nearest rival Ram Prasad Sarma of the BJP by 25,706 votes. The AGP candidate, Kosheswar Bora, came third. The president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, Tarun Gogoi, retained his Kaliabor seat defeating Keshab Mahanta of the AGP by 1,67,392 votes. In Jorhat, Bijoy Krishna Handique of the Congress defeated his nearest rival Janaki Nath Handique of the BJP by 99,360 votes. Paban Singh Ghatowar of the Congress retained the Dibrugarh seat defeating his nearest rival Ajit Chaliha of the BJP by a margin of 67,157 votes. AGP candidate and cine star Biju Phukan finished third. In Lakhimpur, Ranee Narah of the Congress defeated her nearest rival Udai Samkar Hazarika of the BJP by 54,522 votes. Former All Assam Students Union president and AGP candidate Sarbananda Sonowal, who was considered to be a strong candidate, finished a poor third. The result of the Autonomous District Constituency is yet to be declared officially but according to official sources here, CPI (ML) candidate Jayanta Rongpi had established a substantial lead over his nearest rival Biren Singh Ingti of the Congress. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 8, 1999)

KOHIMA, October 7: Setting all speculations at rest, an Independent candidate, without the support of any political party, emerged victorious in the by-election to the Alongtaki Assembly seat in the Congress citadel Mokokchung district. Lima Yanger, a retired engineer, was declared elected to the Assembly which has 58 Congress MLAs in the 60-member House. He defeated his nearest Congress rival Nukshi Longkumer by a slender margin of 172 votes. Lima Yanger polled 5,313 votes while Longkumer got 5,141 votes in a four-cornered contest. Fresh polling was ordered in the Assembly segment, when the returning officer confirmed that ballot boxes had been filled up at a polling station on the eve of the September 25 election. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 8, 1999)

IMPHAL, October 7: The Janata Dal (United) candidate, Kim Gangte, today demanded repoll in the Kuki-settled areas of Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency (ST) alleging that there was largescale rigging in these areas. Talking to reporters, Gangte, a member of the dissolved Lok Sabha, alleged that armed Kuki militants helped in rigging votes in parts of interior Churachandpur district and Sadar Hills Autonomous District Council where there was huge Kuki population. Gangte said she would soon lodge a formal complaint with the Election Commission after getting details from her agents. She claimed three of her supporters were killed on the election day, October 4, by some militants at Chandel area in Chandel district. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 7, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 7: Former Mizoram governor , PR Kyndiah, has retained his Shillong parliamentary seat defeating his nearest United Democratic Party (UDP) rival, SD Khongwir, by a margin of 37,818 votes. Kyndiah, who entered the Lok Sabha in 1998 by defeating Prof GG Swell of UDP by a narrow margin of 6,000 votes, remarkably improved on his performance this year. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 8, 1999)

IMPHAL, October 7: Counting of votes for the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency in Manipur would be taken on October 30 after repolling in 101 polling stations on October 28. Official sources said today that the counting, which was to begin this morning, was postponed following the order of repolling in 101 polling stations spread across interior hill districts. Earlier, the chief electoral officer had recommended repolling in 101 polling stations following large-scale snatching of election materials and destruction of polling materials by underground National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) activists. Sources said suspected Naga militants on Wednesday also forcibly took away ballot boxes of some polling stations from polling personnel who were returning to district headquarters in Tamenglong district from interior areas. It was not immediately known whether re-polling in these polling stations would be recommended to the Election Commission. The militants also took away 40 arms from security personnel who were accompanying the polling personnel. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 8, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 8: After the poll debacle, the state unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) seems to be disappointed with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)-led government. The senior party leader, Hemen Das, today said. "If AGP takes any pro-BJP stand then the CPI(M) will withdraw its support from the AGP-led government." The AGP and its allies -CPI(M), Communist Party of India (CPI) and the United People's Party of Assam (UPPA) suffered two consecutive poll debacles within a span of just one year. When asked whether the AGP had taken any pro-BJP stand, Das categorically said during the election campaign, a section of AGP leaders was silent against the "communal tactics" of the BJP. "We have made our stand clear in this regard. The CPI(M) will not allow any communal party to intensify its activities," the senior leader said. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 9, 1999)

AIZAWL, October 8: The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF)-Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) has gained more than 10,000 votes in the election to the lone Mizoram Lok Sabha seat at the cost of the Opposition Congress-led three party alliance. The ruling combine's consensus candidate Vanlalzawma secured 1,71,557 votes (58.80 per cent) while Rokamlova the common candidate of the Congress-MNF (Nationalist)-Janata Dal alliance secured 1,02,898 (35.30 per cent) votes. The Congress which fought the 1998 Lok Sabha polls on its own could not manage to keep its votes intact even after forging alliance with the other two parties. Abstention of the BJP in the polls did not hurt the MNF-MPC alliance as predicted and the Congress-led alliance failed to gain in the two Assembly constituency segments where the BJP was strong. Vanlalzawma beat Rokamlova by a huge margin of 68,659 votes, the highest ever margin in Mizoram's electoral history. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 9, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 9: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Bimal Prasad Oswal, eldest son of late Pannalal Oswal, as its candidate for the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency, the Assam BJP president, Narayan Barkataki, said here today. The election for the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat is scheduled for October 28 next. Election to the seat was countermanded following the killing of Pannalal Oswal, the BJP candidate, by militants on September 24. Bimal Prasad Oswal runs an Ayurvedic medicine manufacturing firm at Dhubri. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 10, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 9: Hardly has the dust raised by the parliamentary elections settled a new scam, a political one is brewing in Meghalaya which may in the coming days break the shaky 13 month-old ruling coalition between the Congress and the regional United Democratic Party (UDP). The clamour for a break in the alliance, which was raised soon after the Congress in the state split giving birth to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), by the UDP rank and file but had subsided on the eve of the parliamentary polls, has now been renewed with vigour. The issue had then brought a division within the UDP with one group led by chief minister, BB Lyngdoh, opposing any change forcing the majority group steered by UDP president and speaker EK Mawlong to bury the issue at least temporarily keeping in view the impending elections. But the defeat of the UDP candidate, SD Khongwir, at the hands of former Mizoram governor and Congress candidate, PR Kyndiah, for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat has given a fresh handle to the pro-change group to force a break with the Congress at the earliest. The defeat has become all the more bitter because Khongwir received a drubbing in majority of the Assembly segments held by the UDP including the chief minister's constituency. (Bedabrata Lahkar; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 10, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 9: The Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is against any move of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) to enter the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), nor it is for the AGP to continue in power with the support of the BJP in the state in the near future as the people's mandate has gone against the AGP consecutively for two times, said state BJP president, Narayan Barkataki, here today. He also said emphatically that splits in both the AGP and the Congress in the state were on the cards. However, he made a significant comment when asked to comment on the possibility of inducting Jayashree Goswami Mahanta, AGP Rajya Sabha MP, in the next BJP-led NDA ministry at the Centre, that if the AGP supports the NDA Ministry unconditionally "nobody can stop them being inducted in the ministry". (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 10, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 9: The Assam unit of Communist Party of India (Marxist) has ruled out any possibility of forming an alliance with Congress at the state-level before the next Assembly elections. The CPM state secretary, Hemen Das, today said that the party would stick to its policy of maintaining equidistance from both the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Das said the state CPM continue its "fight" against communal attitude of the BJP and anti-people policies of the Congress. Earlier, yesterday the veteran CPM leader had said the party would not hesitate to come out of the present alliance with the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) if the latter tried to forge alliance with the BJP in the state in the post 1999 mid-term polls where the regional party had drawn blank. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 10, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 9: The Congress dominance in the Northeast since Independence continued with the party sweeping polls in Assam and bagging one seat each in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Of the 23 results available so far, the Congress has taken the lion's share of 13 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), despite its late entry into the electoral politics in the region, has bagged two seats in Assam. An Independent backed by it in Assam has also emerged victorious. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has won two seats, both from Tripura, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) has registered its first win in the region by winning the autonomous district council parliamentary seat in Assam. The Manipur State Congress (MSC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and an Independent have won one seat each. However, the BJP showed a creditable performance by taking three seats in the Brahmaputra Valley, while the ruling Asom Gana Parishad drew a blank like in the 1998 polls. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 10, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 10: The ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam seems to be heading towards a split. The dissension within the leaders and the rank and file has now started surfacing. The banner of revolt has already been raised against the leadership of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. The dissident leaders and party workers of the ruling party have decided to hold a convention of the grassroots-level workers of the party in the last week of November to "cleanse the party of the vices of autocracy, corruption, irregularities and of the family domination", which have been "crippling" the regional ideology of the party. Meanwhile, an 11-member preparatory committee has also been formed by the dissidents for the purpose. The committee has in it MLAs Atul Bora (senior leader and former minister), Bhrigu Kumar Phukan, Pulakesh Barua and Krishna Gopal Bhattacharyya among others. The committee was formed in a meeting of the dissidents on September 15 last in the city. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 11, 1999)

NEW DELHI, October 10: Giving the severest political blow yet to former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister and one-time irreplaceable politician Gegong Apang, Congress steamrolled to power having bagged 53 of the 60 Assembly seats in the tiny state of the Northeast. The party also walked away with both the Lok Sabha seats. While poll results in such overwhelming manner endorse Mukut Mithi's decision to part ways with Apang and subsequent embrace into the Congress fold, the Arunachal Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine managed only one seat with Apang himself able to retain his home constituency of Tuting-Yingkoing (ST) reserved seat. In what could be termed as adding insult to the injuries, Apang suffered a major blow when he lost Liromoba Assembly seat to state home minister, Lijum Ronya. Apang's son Omak Apang, who on his maiden entry to Lok Sabha last time found berth in the Union council of ministers, also had to part with his Western Arunachal parliamentary seat. The BJP failed to open its account causing setback to the saffron camp whose new found workers were at an upbeat mood after it finished runners-up in Arunachal East Lok Sabha seat in 1998. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 11, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 11: The ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam has ruled out any effort on its part to join the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and said that it will maintain its regional entity. "The reports that we are trying to join the NDA are baseless," AGP spokespersons, Nurul Hussain and Moidul Islam Bora, said at a press conference at the party headquarters here this afternoon. The party will maintain equidistance from the BJP and the Congress, they said. Accepting that the adverse publicity generated by the reports of secret killings had spoilt the party's electoral fortunes, the AGP said that the Ananta Kalita episode was "flared up". The party attributed the secret killings to the war of attrition between the present and former cadres of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 12, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 11: The Assam government has no information with it concerning the identity of the "secret killers" who have by now been creating a tumult in the state politics and led to the total eclipse of the ruling four-party alliance in the recent Lok Sabha polls. "Had there been any information with us concerning the identity of the secret killers, secret killing would have been stopped by this time", said state home secretary and chief spokesperson of the state government, Mrinal Kumar Barooah, here today. Barooah said the state government does not want that there must be any secret killing and is for seizing unauthorised arms as well as for punishing those who are carrying arms in an unauthorised manner. But, he confused the secret killings with those resulting from the violence let loose by the trigger happy activists of the banned militant outfits, when he said, "secret killing is going on in the state for the last about one decade as in some cases killers do not assume the responsibility for the incidents of killing and thus the identity of the killers remain in dark". When asked about the number of secret killings in the state, he also said that the figures relating to those killed in such cases are hot readily available with the state government right at this moment. However, these could be made available after some time. He also denied involvement of police in any of such cases of killing. Barooah also said that the magisterial enquiry into the Hudumpur murders is yet to be complete and the culprits involved in the murders are also to be identified. The state government asked the enquiring magistrate to submit his report within 20 days on the Hudumpur murders that took place during the beginning of the monsoon this year. He also said that the state government had no information about the alleged nexus between the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)and the Congress. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 12, 1999)

ITANAGAR, October 11: A two-tier 37-member Congress ministry took over the reins of power in Arunachal Pradesh under the leadership of Mukut Mithi for the second consecutive term today. The governor, Arvind Dave, administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at the Raj Bhawan here, 24 of them were of cabinet rank while 13 were ministers of state. The chief minister, Mukut Mithi, was first to take the oath at an impressive ceremony at the jampacked Durbar Hall. Most of Mithi's ministerial colleagues in the outgoing government have been reinducted besides, other senior leaders and some new faces. The Congress recorded a resounding victory winning 53 of the 60 seats in the state Assembly. For Mithi, the victory of Congress came as an endorsement by the people of his "coup" against his one-time mentor and former chief minister, Gegong Apang of Arunachal Congress, in January this year. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 12, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 12: Putting an end to all speculations about change of guard, the central executive committee of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today reposed "full confidence" in the leadership of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta despite the debacle in Lok Sabha election. The party spokesman, Nurul Hussain, said the meeting discussed threadbare the plausible reasons behind the dismal performance of the party in the Lok Sabha polls for the second consecutive time and accepted the popular mandate which has gone totally against it. During the discussion the central committee blamed the indifferent attitude of a section of party district and regional level leaders for the dismal show in the election. The meeting also took note of lack of proper co-ordination from the alliance partners during electioneering. The AGP today took strong exception to "communal electioneering" resorted to by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress in the state during the polls. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 13, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 12: The 13-month old Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum government collapsed today with the regional United Democratic Party unilaterally breaking the alliance by snapping its ties with the Congress, its ruling partner. A new UDP-led coalition government with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to be installed tomorrow. The final parting of ways between the UDP and the Congress came abruptly this evening at the end of a meeting of the UDP parliamentary party here which was presided over by the party's legislature party leader and chief minister, BB Lyngdoh. Meghalaya speaker and UDP president, E K Mawlong, said the decision to severe ties with the Congress was taken unanimously in the presence of all the 20 party MLAs. "The decision was taken, keeping in view the desire expressed by the party at various levels," he explained. Lyngdoh is expected to stake claim to form a new government, with the support of the 12-member NCP and three-member BJP groups, before the governor, MM Jacob. The new government will be the fourth since the February 1998 polls which gave a split verdict. SC Marak's Congress-led coalition government fell within 10 days. The second coalition government cobbled together by Lyngdoh with the support of various regional parties and BJP lasted for three months with the Congress in the opposition. Lyngdoh suddenly dropped all his allies and formed a new coalition with the Congress in August last year. The new alliance being formulated today will have a strength of 35 in a house of sixty. The ruling coalition comprises UDP with 20, NCP 12 (including three associate members) and BJP three. (Bedabrata Lahkar; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 13, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 13: The Grahak Suraksha Sanstha (GSS) has come out strongly against the bandh culture that seems to have gripped Assam. Opposing the frequent bandh calls in the state, the GSS said that life has become ''unbearable and miserable'' due to such bandhs. The GSS president, Deven Dutta, told newspersons because of the bandhs, the prices of essential commodities had been shooting up abnormally without justification. This was because the government had no control over the market, he said. He said the government assurances, that it was trying to check price rise, was a "hoax". Dutta, however, clarified that the GSS was not against the issues relating to the bandhs as such. Dutta also said that the GSS was opposed to the hike in diesel prices and demanded a rollback. He also opposed the moves to hike city bus fares, and slammed the long distance bus operators alleging that they were wrongfully using tourist bus operators' licenses. "Actually none of the buses plying in the state fit into the tourist bus category," he said, adding that according to government regulations a bus must touch at least three states to be dubbed a "tourist bus". (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 14, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 14: The Gauhati High Court today dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Nabin Chandra Kalita challenging the order of the Assam Governor in which sanction for prosecution of the chief minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, in the letter of credit (LoC) scan in the veterinary department was refused. A division bench of the High Court comprising justice AK Patnaik and justice D Biswas, in its judgment today, held that the governor's decision was not vitiated by irrationality or irregularity and the court could not take the view that the governor was unreasonable in refusing to accord sanction for the prosecution of the chief minister. (Law Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 15, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 14: The fourth coalition government in Meghalaya since the February 1998 assembly elections in the state was installed this evening with the swearing in of 12 new Ministers from the three new alliance partners of the ruling United Democratic Party (UDP). The governor, MM Jacob, administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 12 new inductees into the BB Lyngdoh-led Government at a simple function at the Raj Bhawan. The 30-minute long ceremony was attended by the chief minister, BB Lyngdoh, his cabinet colleagues, senior civil and police officials and prominent citizens. Several former Congress Ministers including ex-deputy chief minister, DD Lapang were also present. With today's induction, the strength of Lyngdoh's council of Ministers has gone up 30 including 18 UDP ministers in the earlier coalition ministry who have all been retained. Of the new entrants, nine belong to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), two to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and one People's Democratic Movement (PDM). The new coalition has the support of 36 members, the same as the earlier UDP-Congress coalition. It includes UDP with 20 members, NCP 12 (including three associate members), BJP three and PDM one. The sixty-member Meghalaya House will now have a 24 strong opposition including Congress (16), Hill State Peoples' Democratic Party, (three), Garo National Council (one), PDM (two) and independents (two). (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; October 15, 1999)