SENA BJP SEEKS CHANGE

Political parties in Maharashtra formally got into poll-mode as the date for Assembly elections was announced today with ruling Congress-NCP banking on their "development" record while the Opposition pushed for "change". Congress and NCP, ruling the state for 15 years, said they have put behind the Lok Sabha election debacle and were confident of defying the anti-incumbency factor to pull off a fourth straight win at the hustings. Buoyed by the success in Parliamentary polls, the Shiv Sena-BJP-led combine is making a determined bid to capture power after being in Opposition since 1999. Congress and NCP, whose seat-sharing talks are deadlocked over the number of seats each of them would be fighting in the 288-member Assembly, have already started their election campaign separately. State Congress president Manikrao Thakre and NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said the seat-sharing formula is likely to be announced in 2-3 days. "We are focusing on the development works done by the state government in the last 15 years. We will also tell people how the tall promises made by Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha campaign have remained a pipe dream," they said. "Congress is positive about continuing its alliance with NCP," Thakre maintained, while Malik said a decision on the poll pact would be arrived at by Monday. Malik said NCP will formally kick-start its election campaign from Kolhapur on September 16. Congress will once again bank on its star campaigners like party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi. It will also invite other Central leaders. Thakre said a campaign strategy is being finalised and the party is likely to invite leaders like Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mallikarjun Kharge for poll rallies. Malik said NCP president Sharad Pawar would share stage with Sonia Gandhi at rallies, while the party's youth brigade would address joint rallies with Rahul Gandhi. Meanwhile, state BJP president Devendra Fadanvis said the state is ready for "parivartan" (change). "The Sena-BJP-led 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) is confident of wresting power from the Congress-NCP and we would achieve this goal with help of the people of Maharashtra." Fadanvis expressed confidence that seat-sharing talks for the October 15 elections with 'Mahayuti' allies will be completed in 2-3 days. Neelam Gorhe, Shiv Sena spokesperson, said time has come to bring a change in the state which has seen "poor governance" in the last one-and-a-half decade.

MAHARASTRA & HARYANA GO TO POLLS

Assembly elections will be held in Maharashtra and Haryana in a single phase on October 15 that may well be the first for the 'Modi wave' after the Lok Sabha polls.
Counting of votes in the two states will take place on October 19, the Election Commission announced today.
Giving details of the poll chedule, Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath said apart from the elections in the two states, bye-elections will also be held on the same day in five assembly seats in five states--Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
Bye-elections to two Lok Sabha constituencies of Beed in Maharashtra and Kandhamal in Odisha will also be held on October 15 and counting of votes in all the seats will also take place on October 19.
Haryana is now ruled by Congress while Congress-NCP coalition runs the Maharashtra government.
The BJP and its allies in the NDA did very well in both the states in the May Lok Sabha elections. In Maharashtra, the NDA won 42 of the 48 seats while in Haryana the BJP won 7 of the 10 seats.
However, in the Assembly bye-elections in Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, the BJP suffered a jolt, especially in Bihar, where the JD(U)-RJD alliance got the better of the saffron party.
Tomorrow, another round of by elections is being held in three Lok Sabha and 33 Assembly seats in 10 states.
The Beed Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the death of senior BJP leader Union minister Gopinath Munde in a road accident here in June and the Kandhamal seat following the demise of BJP MP Hemendra Chandra Singh a few days ago.
The Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately in Maharashtra and Haryana and in all the districts where bypolls are being held, Sampath said.
Notification for polls will be issued on September 20 and last date for filing nomination is September 27 for all seats except Kandhamal for which the notification will be on September 19 and last date of nomination is September 26.
Asked about elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which is witnessing worst-ever floods, Sampath said the Commission was watching the situation very closely and "a decision will be taken after things come to some shape".
The term of 90-member Haryana assembly expires on October 27 while that of Maharashtra, which has 288 seats, ends on November 8.
"We still have time for Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
The term of the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly ends on January 3 next year, while that of the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly expires on January 19.

VIJAYAWADA...CAPITAL OF AP

Putting an end to months of suspense, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today announced that the new capital of the state would be located "around Vijayawada". Making a statement in the Legislative Assembly amid a din caused by opposition YSR Congress, Naidu said, "The Cabinet met on September 1 and resolved to locate the capital city in a central place of the state, around Vijayawada, and go for decentralised development of the state with three mega cities and 14 smart cities. "It is proposed to go for land pooling system to be worked out by a Cabinet sub-committee," he said. "This decision of the Cabinet is a reflection of the popular sentiment, and is affirmed by views expressed in the representations received by the Sivaramakrishnan Committee (appointed by the Centre)," he said. "Nearly 50 per cent of the representations received by the Committee favoured Vijayawada-Guntur region as the best location for the capital area," Chandrababu said. The state government, as resolved by the Cabinet, was of the opinion that the interests of the entire state and its balanced development could be best served by locating the capital city at a central place around Vijayawada. This would enable equal access to people from all regions of the state, he observed.

TO REGAIN GLORY

With Vijayawada being announced as the capital city of residuary Andhra Pradesh today by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, this historical and cultural hub is all set to regain its glory and pre-eminent position. Vijayawada in Krishna district of coastal Andhra Pradesh has traditionally occupied a prominent place in the history of Telugus. Krishna district gets its name from Krishna, the third largest river that flows in India. The holy river originates near Mahabaleswar (Maharashtra) and joins the Bay of Bengal near Hamsaladevi Village in the district. Krishna is considered the kernel of Telugu culture and is the birth place of the famous Indian classical dance form - Kuchipudi. The dialect of Telugu spoken in Krishna is often considered to be the standard form of Telugu. A commercial hub, the Vijayawada region, is also known for the contribution of its freedom fighters, entrepreneurial spirit and strides in the cultural field. Dharanikota in present day Guntur district, neighbouring Vijayawada, was the first capital of Simukha, the founder of Satavahana dynasty in 3rd century BC, according to official records of Andhra Pradesh government. The present Nagarjunakonda in Guntur district, which was known as Sriparvata and Vijayapuri, was the capital of Ikshvaku kings. After the Ikshvakus, a part of the Andhra region north of the river Krishna was ruled over by Jayavarma of Brihatphalayana 'gotra'. Salankayanas ruled over a part the East Coast with Vengi (near Eluru around 60 kms from Vijayawada) as their capital. After the Salankayanas, next to rule were Vishnukundins who occupied the territory between the Krishna and Godavari. The Vishnukundins extended patronage to architecture and sculpture.

The cave temples at Mogalrajapuram and Undavalli near Vijayawada bear testimony to their artistic taste. The ruins of the fort at Kondapalli in Krishna district hail back to Reddy Kingdom. Subsequently, the area came under the Vijayanagara Empire. The temple in Srikakulam village in Krishna district was built by the Vijayanagara Kings. The area then passed on to the Qutub Shahis and later to the Nizams. The office of the two important ministers during the Qutub Shahi rule – Madanna and Akkana –was in Vijayawada due to their reverence towards Goddess Kanaka Durga, the famous temple in Vijayawada. The rulers from Golconda were the first to patronise European traders to establish themselves in Masulipatnam (now Machilipatnam, the administrative capital of Krishna district). The Portuguese may have been the earliest, followed by the Dutch and the English. In 1611, the English founded their settlement at Masulipatnam, which was their headquarters until they finally moved to Madras (Chennai) in 1641. In 1761, in return for supporting Nizam Ali Khan in his succession to Golconda, the English secured their first division at Masulipatnam from the Nizams. Initially, the division was administered by a Chief and a Council at Masulipatnam. In 1794, Collectors, directly responsible to the Board of Revenue were appointed at Masulipatnam, making Krishna Collectorate, one among the oldest collectorates in the country.