HEAD LINE:

• Cong-NC alliance bad news for BJP, PDP Coalition Will Be Near Unbeatable In All 6 LS Seats In J&K (TOI)
• 'Govt didn't allow a Kandahar repeat' Taking A Dig At NDA, Digvijay Says Cong Didn't Succumb To Terrorists' Demands During 26/11 (TOI)

LEAD:

In an election full of ironies, here's another. The BJP and PDP have gained in both seats and vote share, but in that triumph they may have done their prospects in the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May some serious damage. Both parties contributed to the decline of the Congress tally and that, in turn, has meant that the Congress now seems to have little option but to go along with the National Conference. If an NC-Congress coalition materializes, chances of the two fighting the Lok Sabha polls in alliance brighten and that is bad news for both BJP and PDP. An NC-Congress alliance would be almost unbeatable in all of the six LS seats in J&K. The BJP, which had lost to the Congress in the Jammu seat by about 17,500 and by around 47,000 votes in Udhampur in 2004, would fancy its chances in Jammu if there were no alliances this time. However, if the NC and Congress do tie up, the saffron party would know it stands little chance of winning the seat. In the 20 assembly segments that constitute Jammu, the Congress totaled over 2.5 lakh votes and the NC more than 2.6 lakh votes. The BJPs kitty had more than 2.8 lakh votes, but that's clearly no match for the combined NC Congress vote. Even assuming that most of the 1.7 lakh-odd votes mopped up by independents were to be added to the BJPs tally in a Lok Sabha contest that would still fall short. (TOI)

• New Delhi: For a country obsessed with the K-word, Pakistan's English media was spectacularly reticent on the outcome of the J&K election. Newspapers either ignored it or dismissed it in small news items. The Dawn on Monday carried a small 218-word report by Reuters from Srinagar headlined, 'No clear winner in Kashmir polls'. ''A period of uncertainty was expected before a coalition was cobbled together,'' the report said. The News International carried an even smaller report with the headline, 'Manmohan terms Kashmir poll turnout vote for democracy'. It quoted Sonia Gandhi saying: ''It does not matter who wins, what matters is that the people of the Valley have expressed their faith in the democratic system. It is a lesson to be learnt by our neighbours.'' The poll result itself was dismissed in a single sentence stating that the regional National Conference won 28 of the assembly's 87 seats. (TOI)
• New Delhi: Lawyers who refused to represent 26/11 accused terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab may actually be harming the prospects of his being convicted, said Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan. Speaking to TOI from Tel Aviv in Israel where he is on an official visit the CJI said if Kasab is not defended by a lawyer, he has a fair chance of getting acquitted in higher courts on the ground that the trial was vitiated as he could not present his case properly. "Somebody should represent him in the courts. He cannot go unrepresented during the trial. If he does, then under our justice delivery system it would be regarded as a vitiated trial," he warned. Advocate Dinesh Mohta was chosen to represent Kasab from among lawyers empanelled in the state legal aid committee. But he pulled out after Shiv Sena activists violently protested against legal aid being provided to Kasab. (TOI)
• BHOPAL: Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Monday said that he stood by his statement that the Govt had not accepted the demands of terrorists responsible for last month's Mumbai attacks. Mr. Singh told PTI over phone that whatever he had said in Indore on Sunday was based on media reports and there was no question of retracting his statement. "I stand by what I said yesterday in Indore," he said. Mr. Singh's remark, which came a little over a month after the terror attacks in Mumbai, has created a furore. He had said that unlike the BJP which gave in to the demands of the terrorists in Kandahar, the Congress-led Govt had not negotiated with the terrorists, rather eliminated them. Mr. Singh had also said that there was a big difference between the Congress and the BJP and added that former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh of the BJP had told a TV news channel that he would again accept the demands of terrorists if a similar situation arises. (HINDU)
• New Delhi: NDA prime ministerial candidate L K Advani has convened a meeting of alliance CMs and state home ministers on January 5 to formulate their response to the measures undertaken by the Centre to beef up security. The NDA CMs would be holding parleys a day ahead of a meeting of all CMs convened by Home Minister P Chidambaram. The venue for the NDA conclave would be Advani's residence. The states under NDA rule are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Karnataka, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal and Uttarakhand. In the course of his speech during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on December 17, Chidambaram had announced his plan to hold the meeting. He had sent a four-page letter to CMs the same day, suggesting a string of steps to improve the security environment. (IE)
• New Delhi: In a move that goes a long way in mainstreaming Madrasa students across the country and help clear their way to higher education, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry is all set to grant madrasa certificates equivalence to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). A key recommendation of the Sachar committee and also on the PM's 15-point programme for minorities a special panel set up by the Ministry recently recommended that in states where madrasa certificates are recognized as equivalent to secondary and senior secondary level, these should also be granted equivalence by the CBSE. The notification is expected soon and will benefit some 7000 madrasas and 3.5 lakh students in seven states that have madrasa boards: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam and West Bengal. This will also apply to madrasa certificated already issued. (IE)
• New Delhi: No one likes money to go missing. And it's harder if you can't even make a hue and cry about it. BJP finds itself in just such an unenviable situation after its chief accountant reported that Rs 2.6 crore in cash had gone missing from the party's central office at 11, Ashoka Road. The amount was taken, clean as a whistle, from a "tijori" (safe) in a small room to the back of the party headquarters, not far from BJP president Rajnath Singh's office. The theft came to light on Friday, when the office reopened after Christmas holiday, causing consternation in BJP circles. The money was deposited on December 24 and apparently stolen on December 25, when the office was closed. The premises, however, have a fairly large resident population of staffers and party office bearers who live in the office building and the next bungalow 9, Ashoka Road. The theft was discovered by party old-timer Nalin Tandon, who has handled BJP accounts for several years, and is one of the few persons with access to the room with the safe. The incident looked like an "insider job" as there were no signs of forced entry while the safe lay unlocked. The door to the room and the safe had been opened with ease.(TOI)

MANMOHAN SINGH & GOVT

PM Manmohan Singh will assess the political situation in J&K following the Assembly poll results here on Tuesday, but the Congress is absolutely tightlipped on what it plans to do following offers of an alliance by both the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party. The NC has won 28 seats in the 87-member J&K Assembly, while the PDP has got 21 seats. The Congress, coming third with 17 seats, is now in a position to play kingmaker in Srinagar. The action on govt formation in the sensitive border state shifted to New Delhi on Monday, with NC president Omar Abdullah flying to the national capital for talks with the Congress leadership, particularly party president Sonia Gandhi. He was earlier scheduled to meet Mrs Gandhi on Monday evening, but this has now been pushed back to Tuesday due to his late arrival in Delhi. Earlier, NC patron and former CM Farooq Abdullah, who had created considerable confusion all through Sunday on whether he or his son Omar would be CM in the event the NC formed the govt, clarified in Srinagar on Monday morning that Omar "will be the new CM". Following this announcement, Mr Omar Abdullah, a sitting Lok Sabha member who has now been elected to the J&K Assembly from Ganderbal, flew to New Delhi with wife Payal and one of his children.(AA)

BJP

The BJP has ruled out any possibility of Shiv Sena's alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The BJP president Rajnath Singh on Monday said that he was confident that BJP's long time ally Shiv Sena is going nowhere. Reacting to reports that Shiv Sena is holding talks with the BSP regarding a new alliance, Mr Singh said, "Shiv Sena is not tilting towards any other party." The BJP president added that the decision about any new alliance partner in Maharashtra would be a joint decision taken by the Shiv Sena and his party. It has been reported that the Shiv Sena is in talks with the BSP regarding an alliance. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that his party has always welcomed followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's philosophy. "I am not denying that there will be an alliance with the BSP. We have always welcomed people from Dr Ambedkar's republican movement. But as of now, no decision of any alliance with the BSP has been taken," he said. However, Mr Raut added that the alliance with the BJP will remain intact. Regarding possibilities of suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane joining the BJP, Mr Singh said, "Any decision will be jointly taken with the Shiv Sena." He, however, said that the number of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners is slowly increasing and that some allies will join the NDA after the 2009 general elections. "I will not disclose anything now," Mr Singh said. (AA)

CONGRESS

Congress on Monday set the stage for a powersharing model with National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, with the national party set to participate in govt with the NC. Talks are scheduled for Tuesday morning which would see details of the future set-up being hammered out. Abdullah called it a "natural alliance" while scotching speculation about the tie-up. He said there were positive signals from Congress. The party is considering a stake in Abdullah-led govt, with a decision to be taken on whether it would be a rotational CM model as was the case in the tie-up with PDP. Relieved that Congress had withstood the "onslaught of divisive politics", as spokesman Manish Tiwari put it, the leadership has chosen the ally guided by party interests at national and state level, while details of power sharing were being decided keeping "local sentiments" in mind. PCC leader Abdul Gani Vakil said, "The party will take a decision based on national and party interests." The NC, which Ghulam Nabi Azad wanted to accommodate even during his tenure as CM, emerged the first choice because insiders said it would help the party steer clear of the baggage which PDP has come to represent with its hardcore religious-extremist agenda and can be exploited by the BJP nationally in the Lok Sabha polls.(TOI)

STATES

HIMACHAL PRADESH

The BJP govt in Himachal Pradesh, led by CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, completes one year in office as the year 2008 draws to a close. The govt tried its best initially to come across as a benefactor of the poor people. But in the short span of one year many in the State have started equating the BJP leadership with the Congress in its style and functioning. At the outset, Mr. Dhumal, who took oath for the second time announced an increase in daily wages for the workers, enhanced social security for old people, dissuaded party workers and others to waste flowers on political bosses, discouraged the feet-touching culture of the Congress and banned school students from participating in political rallies. But these ideals are yet to be realised and most of them remain declarations on papers. The Dhumal govt had announced withdrawal of all cases against political activists of all parties to end political vendetta. But it vigorously pursued cases against former Minister Singhi Ram; senior bureaucrat and former principal private secretary of Virbhadra Singh, former CM; Subhash Ahluwalia and Education Board Chairman B.R. Rahi. All of them, who were earlier known to be in the inner coterie of Virbhadra Singh, were put behind bars. This was to root out corruption and no political scores were being set, defended the BJP.(HINDU)

KARNATAKA

The Karnataka Govt on Monday filed a civil and criminal defamation suit against former CM and JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy for allegedly making defamatory statements against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. The petition filed by Special Public Prosecutor appointed by the state, alleged that Kumaraswamy on September 30 and October 1 had released press statements against Yeddyurappa "which are defamatory in nature and the same are made with malice and spite to tarnish the image of the CM in the eyes of the general public". However, Principal Civil and Sessions Court Judge H S Kempanna adjourned the hearing in the case to Tuesday. (IE)

MAHARASHTRA

Claiming that the three prime accused in the Malegaon blast case are still at large, the prosecution on Monday sought a non-bailable warrant against them. Special public prosecutor Rohini Salian while divulging the names of two of the accused, Kalsangra and Dange, before the court, said the third name was kept secret as its revelation could mar the investigation. "Ramji Kalsangra and Suresh Dange have been on the run since the blast. It is essential to have a non-bailable warrant issued at the earliest," Salian told the court. Ramji is believed to be the bomber who placed the explosive-laden bike at Malegaon's Bhiku Chowk area on September 29, where six people died in the ensuing explosion. One of the first pieces of evidence to emerge against Ramji was a witness statement recorded under Section 164 where the witness had heard Ramji, a mobile store owner, discuss the Malegaon blast conspiracy with Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. (HINDU)

UTTAR PRADESH

Labelling those who criticised her decision to build memorials "casteists" in a press conference on Monday, Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati said it was her moral duty to honour the great men who had inspired the oppressed people of Indian society. Mayawati defended her decision saying that the money for the memorials was spent after the state legislature's approval and her Govt was taking care of the development of the entire state even as it constructed the memorials. On December 28, The Sunday Express carried a report on "Maya's memorials", giving the details of 10 such projects which have been undertaken by the BSP Govt. In a veiled reference to the report, Mayawati blamed some newspapers and TV channels for carrying wrong reports on the memorials. She refused to take questions on the murder of executive engineer Manoj Kumar Gupta, with the argument that the questions should be restricted to the topic for which she had called the conference. (IE)

EDITORIAL

Digvijay's Mumbai: Conspiracy theorising is an addictive sport. By all accounts, Digvijay Singh, a Congress general secretary with long experience in administration, is hooked. Conspiracy theories liberate the theoriser from the sobering constraints imposed by fact. They breed all kinds of what-ifs along the spin given by the theoriser. Not only do they draw him out of the fringes of political debate, if skilfully framed, the theories allow him to reconfigure that debate. Just recently, Singh went without censure from his party for his encouragement to A.R. Antulay's questions on the circumstances of Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare's death in Mumbai on the night of November 26. Now he says he stands by a statement made this weekend that the Central Govt had not accepted demands made by the Mumbai terrorists in the hours and days thereafter. The Congress-led UPA govt, he said, refused to countenance demands for the release of certain terrorists, and instead resolutely went about eliminating them.(IE)