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Cash and carry systems
As the elections draw near, caste becomes a crucial factor. Politicians and pollsters alike think that it is the most important variable in shaping the verdict of the electorate. Other issues like economic liberalisation, federalism, even the Jain Commission report, are seen to pale into insignificance by comparison.
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Sugar-coated polls
The Congress in Maharashtra, which once monopolised the sugar belt, is waging a bitter battle with the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance which has already made considerable inroads into the sugar heartland. The Lok Sabha elections will put to the test the State Government's sugar policy and the Congress' campaign to counter it.
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Nawaz Sharif creates a Punjabistan
After clearing the last hurdle in the confrontation with individuals and institutions by having Justice Rafiq Tarar elected as President, the Pakistan Prime Minister appears to be safely ensconced as the strongest element in the power equation in Islamabad. By replacing Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah with Chief Justice Ajmal Mian, the Prime Minister has attempted to constrain the powers of the judiciary to pose a challenge to his government.
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Natural choice
The appointment of Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi as the Chief Justice of India has brought the curtain down on a controversy that should not have arisen at all. The government has gone entirely by the rule book and recent precedents when it appointed the seniormost judge as Justice J.S. Verma's successor.
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