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The Election Commission (EC), which conducts elections to state legislatures and Parliament, had earlier sent back the proposal put up by the I&B ministry because it wanted some clarifications.

Specifically, EC had held that while such a move doesn't go against its model code of conduct, it can be launched only after a so-called programme code of radio is suitably modified.

The code defines the rules of commercial advertising on private radio channels, which, among other things, until now prohibited the airing of political ads.

"The EC has no problem.

Airing political ads on radio doesn't go against the EC's model code of conduct. It is just another medium like the print and TV. However, the programme code of radio has to be changed for this. Also, the content of these ads would have to be cleared by the ministry of information and broadcasting," election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi said.

An I&B official, who is familiar with the matter, but not authorized to speak to the media, said the government would lay down standards to ensure that political ads do not malign rival parties.

The official added that EC had sought some "technical clarification", which the ministry had submitted by Tuesday afternoon, but declined to disclose details.

Once EC signs off on the revised proposals, the I&B ministry will issue the required notification allowing private radio stations to air political ads. The move dovetails with a string of state elections that will lead up to parliamentary polls, which are due by May 2009. Access to this medium would potentially allow politicians to reach a wider audience, especially given the sharp spurt in the number of radio stations in the country.

There are at present about 400 FM radio stations in the country.

According to industry estimates, the additional revenue that could come to private FM stations once the recommendation is approved is about Rs120 crore.

PROFESSION: Before joining politics, Singh managed his father's petrol pump business, which his son now handles.

EDUCATION: Singh has studied till Class XII.

POLITICAL CAREER: Singh became associated with the Congress in 1977 and became vice-president of the Delhi Youth Congress. He entered electoral politics when he contested the Assembly polls in 1993 but lost. He was given a ticket again in the 1998 polls, which he won. In 2003, he won again. "I will create a hat-trick this year by winning the elections," said Singh.

FAMILY: Wife Sushma is a homemaker. They have a daughter and a son. Singh is a sports lover and plays cricket or badminton whenever he gets time from his busy schedule. "I never miss my morning walk around 5 a.m. in the morning. It keeps me fresh for the entire day," said Singh.

CARS: Singh owns a Ford Endeavour and a Maruti Van.

Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kaul Singh, leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes and former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh formally welcomed these leader to the party at a meeting held here yesterday.

Prominent among others who joined the Congress were president of the Shimla district unit of the BSP Uttam Singh Kashyap, Shimla district convener Hira Mani Sharma, district Mahila wing president Bimla Prarthi and district yuva morcha president Harish Kumar.

In all, 42 leaders and activists deserted the BSP to embrace the Congress.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was being targeted by the ruling BJP for completely ignoring Chhattisgarh in the current Assembly elections and criticised even for being "scared of coming to Chhattisgarh fearing that the party would lose", today chose the sleepy township of Kharsiya in Raigarh district to convey the party's message to the electorate.

Incidentally, her son Rahul was in Korba yesterday where he addressed an impressive gathering from a platform shared by Ajit Jogi, Motilal Vora, V.C. Shukla and Charandas Mahant. While it was Rahul's third visit to the state during the current Assembly elections, Sonia had not visited Chhattisgarh even once, leading to speculations regarding cohesiveness and election campaign strategy of the party.

For the Kharsiya rally, Sonia was also accompanied by almost all major state leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Mahendra Karma and former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, both of whom have diametrically opposite views on the controversial Salwa Judum movement. While Karma completely favours the movement that has the support of the Raman Singh government, Jogi vehemently opposes it and would like to scrap it if the Congress comes to power.

After a lacklustre manifesto by the Congress, BJP released a populist manifesto packed with a series of promises on almost every front.

Vijay Kumar Malhotra:
The BJP has focussed its manifesto on their CM candidate Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

"All the progress will be achieved under the dynamic leadership of Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra. The tenure of professor Malhotra as the chief executive councillor of Delhi is regarded as the golden period for the development of Delhi," the manifesto reads.

Projects:
BJP claims most of the schemes Congress is claiming credit were begun during their tenure. Some of them are:

• Historic agreements with other states to solve the water problem
  
• Trans-Yamuna Development Board was established
  
• Process for creation of Delhi Metro initiated Indraprastha University was established
  
• Pulse Polio Eradication Programme was launched

• Congress did not keep the promises it made during 2003
  
• Delhi would be granted full statehood
  
• Reconstitution of Delhi Municipal Corporation
  
• Adequate supply of drinking water and power
  
• Ownership rights would be given to the residents of resettlement colonies
  
• Unauthorised colonies would be regularised

• Security: BJP promises to track down all illegal infiltrators and send them back. "Afzal Guru will be hanged and more compensation for victims of terrorism."
  
• Electricity: Enquire into massive loss to the public exchequer due to privitisation of Delhi Vidyut Board. Agreements with private electricity companies would be reviewed and subsidised electricity for poor.
  
• Water: Will increase the water supply to 1,000 MGD. New water storage tanks will be constructed. Efforts will be made to raise the underground water level.
  
• Sewerage: All areas of Delhi would be covered in a sewage network. The capacity of existing sewage treatment plants will be increased. No waste to be dumped in the Yamuna.
  
• Transport system: Unified transport authority with due powers would be set up. BRT corridor scheme would be reviewed. A third Ring Road would be constructed and all level railway crossings would be removed by grade separation.
  
• Health: The number of hospital beds would be raised from 40,000 to one lakh. Institutions for training in nursing and para-medical courses.
  
• Education: Nearly 50 new educational institutions will be set up. Retirement age of teachers will be raised. Dropout rate would be decreased. East campus of Delhi University will be set up.
  
• Rural areas: Compensation amount for land acquisition would be increased to a minimum of Rs 2 crore per acre as opposed to the existing Rs 75 lakh per acre.
  
• Industry: Industry licensing process would be made simpler, dual licensing policy would be stopped.
  
• Social welfare: More powers for the Women Commission. Stricter punishment for rapists.
  
• Senior citizens: Concessional tickets in Metro and residential complexes for senior citizens.
  
• Sindhi and Kashmiri community: A special commissioner to look after Sindhi welfare. Focus on rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiris.
  
• Physically-challenged: Concessional tariff would be charged in Metro rail. All buildings would be constructed suitable for the physically challenged.

In an effort to reach out to the voters, the candidates will send a voice message to all having MTNL landline connection and request them to convey their suggestions and grievances.

If a voter responds to the call, another voice message will be sent by the candidate within 24 hours in which the aspirant will give a brief remark to the electorate.

"We have decided on the MTNL landline connections as constituency-wise details of the customers are available in case of the state-run telephone company," BJP's IT Cell Convenor Vivek Goyal told PTI.

He said the party has asked all its candidates to take advantage of the innovative service.

"We have requested all the candidates to use this innovative technology to reach out to the voters and convey BJP's message on their own voice," Goyal said.

The IT Cell has already entered into an agreement with a private software company which will record the messages of the candidates and send them as individual voice SMS to MTNL landlines as outbound calls.

An official of the Kirusa Software Private Limited said the response from the candidates was very encouraging and they will start recording the voice message of the candidates from tomorrow.

The Congress-NCP government's decision in Maharashtra to press for stricter implementation of an existing government resolution (GR) dating back to 1968, which asks that 50% all supervisory jobs and 80% of all other jobs, including supervisory posts, be kept aside for locals in small medium and large industries, could result in RJD, LJP and SP criticising their ally. It may put the Congress in a difficult situation in poll-bound Delhi, which has large migrant populations from Bihar and UP, if the matter is raked up by other parties like the BSP.

MNS' anti-North Indian campaign is a sensitive issue in Bihar and UP and has seen political rivals such as RJD's Lalu Prasad, LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar come together on a platform against the developments in Maharashtra, train their guns on MNS chief Raj Thackeray and criticise the Vilasrao Deshmukh government for `not doing enough' to stop the new regional party.

In UP, the SP and BSP might not have joined hands over the issue, but each has separately raised it with the Congress-led Centre. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul have both been quite critical of Mr Thackeray's brand of politics, but that has not stopped their party in Maharashtra from taking a step that might be labeled as a soft brand of the kind of regional politics espoused by MNS.

addressing public meetings at Bampand and Ahirkheda villages in Khargone district, said people would not be lured by the BJP this time. '''The BJP failed to fulfill promises it made five years back and road, power and water continued to be a problem,'' he alleged.

He said peasants were not getting fertiliser, seed and adequate power. On the other hand, the Congress had provided free power to farmers during its tenure, besides taking several decisions in their welfare.

He also mentioned about public welfare schemes launched by the Congress.

PCC president Suresh Pachauri, union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamalnath, state Congress campaign committee chief Rahul Singh and leader of opposition Jamuna Devi -- all of them are sure that they deserve the top job more than anyone else. Digvijay Singh -- who had led the Congress government for 10 years -- says he is out of the race.

In contrast, there is no dispute in the BJP as to who will be the CM if the party returns to power. There is absolutely no challenge to Shivraj Singh Chauhan's leadership.

The battle among the wannabe chief ministers had begun well before the elections were announced. Rahul Singh avoided sharing the platform with Pachauri and the latter returned the compliment. Their rivalry divided the party into two clearly identifiable factions.

While Pachauri, being the PCC chief, believes himself to be the "natural claimant" to the top post, Rahul Singh is banking on the support of his father, the ailing Congress veteran Arjun Singh.

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Also:

• Achievements of UPA Govt.
  
• Congress Sandesh
  
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PROFESSION: Kandera used to work as a sanitation supervisor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. He joined active politics after he quit his job in 1958.

EDUCATION: He has studied up to Class VIII.

POLITICAL CAREER: "I spent seven years at the Gandhi Ashram, till I was 15," Kandera said. While with the MCD, he took active part in workers' union and is a known labour leader. He was the president of Safai Mazdoor Congress, Delhi Pradesh. He was also All India Vice President, Safai Mazdoor Congress INC. He was elected for the first time in 1998 and was re-elected as an MLA in 2003.

FAMILY: Wife Parmeshwari is a homemaker. They have six sons, who are all employed, and a daughter. To stay healthy during the hectic campaigning before elections, Kandera takes long walks every morning and also exercises.

CARS: The Kanderas own a Maruti Esteem.

Obama, on his part, has refined the digital act further -- a fact revealed during his presidential announcement speech in Springfield last October when he said: "Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age..."

Youth media practitioners and Obama realised that the power of the internet to share stories is the key to mobilise youth and others. The results show. For instance, now over 280,000 people have created accounts on barackobama.com.

These users, in turn, have created over 6,500 grassroots volunteer groups and have organised more than 13,000 offline events using the site. Over 15,000 policy ideas have been submitted through the website. Through Obama's leadership, many of the presidential debates are freely available online for mash-ups, commentary, and other uses by ordinary citizens, bloggers, and others.

The expectation that a President "gets it" regarding IT is a fairly new one. So when, Obama announced via the microblogging site Twitter that he would alert his supporters via text message immediately after he chose his running mate for vice-president, followers like Shruti Avdhani (studying in Chicago), found common footing.

Avdhani, who is also a Facebook campaigner for Obama, was drawn to Facebook when she heard about it from her friends. On Facebook alone, there are 18 million young people between the ages of 18-29. "Everyone was discussing the campaign and Obama's policies. I decided to join the camp," she says as a matter-of-factly.

Dikshit, who has been chief minister of Delhi since 1998, listed a string of achievements of her government over the past decade.

The manifesto has pledged to develop Delhi further as the city prepares to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The party seems to have dropped the demand of a full statehood for Delhi, which it was emphasising in 1998 and 2003 elections.

Terming multiplicity of authority as a hitch in the development process, the Congress has sought `Special State' status for the capital in which the state government will have the police, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) under its jurisdiction.

The issue of full statehood had been part of the party manifesto in the past two elections of 1998 and 2003 when it came to power.

The BJP also has been demanding a full-fledged statehood for the Capital.

Speaking at the manifesto release function, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that the Congress, if re-elected, would work to develop Delhi with a focus on the Commonwealth Games of 2010. "The games are not just a pride for the Capital, but the country as a whole. We would give priority for games-focused development", said Sheila Dikshit.