CPI(M-L) manifesto, CPM nominees out

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The CPI(M-L) (Liberation), Bihar’s leading left party, on Sunday released its manifesto for the state’s Assembly polls beginning from October 21 while its ally CPI(M) announced 26 of its 30 candidates.
The CPI(M-L)’s manifesto, the first ever manifesto released by a party in Bihar so far, made it clear that the crucial issue of land reforms would form the crux of its development agenda.
Releasing the document in Patna, CPI(M-L) national general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said his party would urge to Bihar’s electorates to keep the “perpetrators of loot and rhetoric” — the ruling NDA and its predecessor RJD — out of power to ensure the state achieved “true development”.
“On the crucial issue of land reforms, both the ruling alliance and the main Opposition parties have displayed grave indifference and even indulged in politicking to score points against each other. The unity among the left parties in Bihar has offered great promises to the people in the direction of equitable distribution of land,” said Mr Bhattacharya.
The CPI(M-L), which has five MLAs in Bihar, is contesting in 78 of the 130 constituencies in alliance with the CPI and the CPI(M).
S. Ramachandran Pillai, member of the CPI(M) politburo, released a list of the party’s 26 candidates, many of them young leaders connected to the party’s grassroots movements.

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EC to meet parties on paid news
AGE CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi

Oct. 3: The EC has convened a meeting of political parties on Monday to discuss issues like paid news, use of money and muscle power in elections and EVMs. Six national parties and around 50 recognised state parties are expected to attend the meeting.
Informing about the meeting official sources in the EC said the commission, along with political leaders, would deliberate over all kinds of electoral malpractices including recent phenomenon of paid news and growing use of money and muscle power in polls. It will also take up the use of EVMs, an issue, which has drawn sharp focus in recent times.
CEC S.Y. Quraishi and election commissioners V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma would hear the views of the leaders of political parties in order to address these issues.
The EC would hold separate consultations with the national parties and the state parties. Expressing concern over the paid news syndrome, the Press Council of India had recently defined paid news as “any news or analysis appearing in any media for a price in cash or kind as consideration”.