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Sandeep Joshi, Alwar
Too many applications, too few repayments in hope of another bonanza
Ram Niwas Yadav, who never took a farm loan fearing the tedious documentation process, now eagerly awaits the clearance of his loan application with Punjab National Bank’s branch in Shekhpur Ahir village in Alwar district of Rajasthan.

He is not the only one. I […]

IANS, Mumbai
Away from the spotlight, the parents of over a dozen slum children who acted in the Oscar winning film “Slumdog Millionaire” cast their votes here Thursday. But the mother and father of media darling Azharuddin Ismail Shaikh found their names missing from the rolls yet again.
“I have been knocking all doors but to no […]

The 15th Lok Sabha Election is providing a backdrop to the May Day rally in the city which may turn out to be the biggest ever. The Left trade unions which normally organise the rally every year at the grounds near the Shahid Minar (Martyrs’ Tower) in the city’s central business district, have asked workers’ […]

Indrani Dutta, Kolkata
Come with a mood to participate in the festival of democracy
That the welfare of voters and their physical comfort were high on the mind of West Bengal’s chief electoral officer Debashis Sen was evident in the suggestion he made on the eve of poll.
“It is very hot — carry a wet towel or […]

Shujaat Bukhari, Srinagar
Khalida’s entry into the fray may not be that significant but has made Farooq uncomfortable
In Srinagar, it is brother versus sister, though the contest is triangular. National Conference president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah is facing his estranged elder sister Khalida Shah, wife of former Chief Minister Ghulam Mohammad Shah, who passed […]

Indrani Dutta, Kolkata
Villagers are affected by poverty, malnutrition, high infant-mortality rates and chronic ailments
“The vote season has come,” exclaims the unlettered Rokeya Bibi giving a knowing smile as she shows us the way to a cluster of huts in a village in the interiors of Jangipur. We reach a courtyard where about five women sit […]

Sunny Sebastian, Jaipur
But high-profile dissidents and the Bahujan Samaj Party could cut into the party’s vote share
Going by the results of the December 2008 election, which brought the Congress back to power after a gap of five years in Rajasthan, the party should get around 12 Lok Sabha seats — which is roughly equivalent to […]