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Remember nemesis
By the grace of God and the Election Commission, the political cannons fall silent in New Delhi and 221 other constituencies on Valentine's Day. On a day dedicated to mending broken relationships, Harkishen Singh Surjeet can use the leisure to pen a valentine for 10, Janpath with a view to post-poll configurations. And if he needs the services of a Cupid, well, the Union Home Minister is ready and willing.
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Protect the rupee, kill the economy
While Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan has been very successful in managing to attain his short-run objective of preventing the rupee from sliding rapidly against the dollar, he would do well to contemplate the cost at which this has been achieved. Not allowing the rupee to depreciate sufficiently has hit key exports and the policy of tightening liquidity has raised interest rates across the board.
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Name the Congress leader
Sonia Gandhi's remarkable contribution to the Congress election campaign is acknowledged on all sides and reflected in opinion polls. It has slowed down the Bharatiya Janata Party's march and narrowed the gap between it and the Congress. In the popular perception the poll is a contest between Atal Behari Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi but the reality is a disturbing leadership vacuum in the Congress.
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Tenuous ties
It is public knowledge that there are no permanent allies in politics. The truism, however, does not mean that the electorate must take in its stride the conflicting and confusing statements emanating from the Bharatiya Janata Party about its tie-up in Tamil Nadu. The BJP is not sparing itself blushes by its periodic exhibition of embarrassment over the pact with Jayalalitha's All-India Anna DMK.
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