Border closed for W.B. elections
 |
| Gateway to Bhutan out of business for 24 hours from tomorrow |
29 April, 2009 – Phuentsholing and Samtse border gates will be closed for 24 hours – beginning 5 a.m. on April 30 – with the Lok Sabha (Lower House) election in West Bengal scheduled to be held on that day.
Movement of people and vehicles along the border will not be allowed.Chhukha dzongda, Tshewang Rinzin, said it was for security reasons.
The elections in India have been staggered. The two main alliances – united progressive alliance (UPA), the present ruling party, and the national democratic alliance (NDA), the current opposition party, are the chief competitors for power. Around 714 million eligible voters and nearly four million officials are taking part in the general elections
The Congress, which leads UPA, is playing up the rapid economic growth during its tenure and its investment in social policies and the country’s power infrastructure cards.
The BJP, which leads NDA, is focusing on the internal security situation in the aftermath of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, claiming that the government has been ineffectual in cracking down on terrorism.
Bhutanese in the know opine that it is difficult to determine who will be the winner, if at all there will a clear one. They say that the increasing fragmentation of Indian politics and rising power of regional parties have caused problems for both Congress and BJP, and that neither national party is looking especially strong in the run-up to elections. Both have been scrambling to bolster their positions through regional alliances.
Source: Kuenselonline