Crucial thing was to ensure those who took money voted for govt

Behind the scenes,the Congress Party machine is working overtime. Sonia Gandhi reportedly plans to meet Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren and Janata Dal Secular leader H D Deve Gowda. Retaining the support of the JMMs five seats and the JD-Ss three seats is vital. In exchange for retaining the support of the three votes of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD),the Congress Party has reportedly pledged its support to rename Lucknows Amausi airport after Chaudhary Charan Singh,father of RLD leader Ajit Charan Singh,who may also get a cabinet seat.

Akali Dal through Sant Chatwal

On July 16,PolCouns (the US Embassys political counselor) met with Captain Satish Sharma,a Congress Party MP in the Rajya Sabha,a former Indian Airlines Pilot,and considered to be a very close family friend of Sonia Gandhi. Sharma mentioned that he,as well as others in the party,was working hard to ensure that the UPA government wins the confidence vote on July 22. He said that the Prime Minister,Sonia Gandhi,and Rahul Gandhi were committed to the nuclear initiative and had conveyed this message clearly to the party. Sharma said that PM Singh and others were trying to work on the Akali Dal (8 votes) through financier Sant Chatwal and others,but unfortunately it did not work out. He mentioned that efforts to encourage Shiv Sena (12 votes) to abstain were on-going.

Omar via Rahul; BJP via Ranjan

While different Congress operatives were working on different groups of MPs,(Satish) Sharma said that Rahul Gandhi was personally working Omar Abdullahs Jammu and Kashmir National Conference,whose two MPs are inclined to vote in favour of the UPA. Sharma mentioned that he was also exploring the possibility of trying to get former Prime Minister Vajpayees son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya to try to divide the BJP ranks. He mentioned that if the party wins the trust vote,they would prefer to go for national elections in February or March 2009,which would give the UPA time to control prices.

Rs 10 cr for an RLD vote

(Satish) Sharmas political aide Nachiketa Kapur mentioned to an Embassy staff member in an aside on July 16 that Ajit Singhs RLD had been paid Rs 10 crore (about $2.5 million) for each of their four MPs to support the government. Kapur mentioned that money was not an issue,but the crucial thing was to ensure that those who took the money would vote for the government. Kapur showed the Embassy employee two chests containing cash and said that around Rs 50-60 crore (about $25 million) was lying around the house for use as pay-offs.

…or jets from Kamal Nath

Another Congress Party insider told PolCouns that Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath is also helping to spread largesse. Formerly he could only offer small planes as bribes, according to this interlocutor,now he can pay for votes with jets.

Many cpm mps dont want govt ousted

Consulate Kolkata reported on the growing split within the CPI-M. Many CPI-M members,particularly Muslims,cannot fathom voting with the communalist BJP. A large group of West Bengal MPs do not want to bring down the government and are angry at Karat for his failed strategy. If the government falls,they fear the CPI-M could lose 10-15 seats in new elections based on unfavourable recent local election results. If the government survives,the Left will be embarrassed for having achieved nothing on the issues that are important to their constituents,few of whom care about the nuclear initiative. Though defection is a possibility,Communist Party discipline remains strong and members are unlikely to vote with the government.

May 13,2009
A cable discusses bribes paid by political parties to voters for elections in South India and quotes Karti Chidambaram,who was managing his father P Chidambarams campaign,as admitting that he gave a few sops to voters

Karti is doing a good job…

Distributing money to people

Rural voters also expect candidates to deliver goods in exchange for votes. Home Minister P Chidambarams son,Karti Chidambaram,who is managing his fathers campaign for the Lok Sabha seat from Sivaganga,Tamil Nadu,told us that every village leader asks for two things: some money for the local temple and a community hall. Chidambaram went on to say that it is impossible to fulfill every such request,but that he does give a few sops to villages that might be on the fence about supporting his father. He specifically denied paying cash for votes,but not because of any moral objection to doing so. According to Chidambaram,he does not pay cash for votes in his rural constituency because it is impossible to distribute the money effectively when the villages are spread so far apart. But the President of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress told us,Karti is doing a good job in Sivaganga. He is distributing some money to the people,which his father wont do.

Of course its illegal: Owaisi

Asaduddin Owaisi,a sitting Member of Parliament and leader of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party,was surprisingly candid. Owaisi explained to us the ins-and-outs of campaigning over a late dinner after spending a long day on the trail. He said that during the campaign he tries to cover every street in his urban constituency in Hyderabads Old City. As he walks the neighborhood,he said,people regularly appeal to him for small favours. One communitys leaders asked Owaisi that day to dig them a well. So I sent one of my party men back later in the day, he explained,to give them Rs 25,000 (approximately $500). Owaisi emphasised that he does not give cash directly to voters,but rather funds worthy requests. We asked Owaisi whether it was against the law. Owaisi laughed and said,Of course,but thats the great thing about democracy. He went on to describe the legal spending limit of Rs 2.5 million ($50,000) as a joke,noting that he would spend Rs 2.5 million on polling day alone.

Azhagiri added money to arsenal

After long relying on political muscle to enforce his will in Madurai,(M K) Azhagiri has added money to his arsenal and is using it to a degree previously unseen in Tamil Nadu. Azhagiris approach debuted in the January assembly by-election held in Thirumangalam near Madurai,which he managed for the DMK. This race was marked by unprecedented bribes to voters. M Patturajan,the former Mayor of Madurai and a confidant of Azhagiri,told us that it is no secret at all,Azhagiri paid Rs 5,000 rupees (approximately $100) per voter in Thirumangalam. S. Kannan,a mid-level Congress party official in Madurai,told us the Rs 5,000 per voter in Thirumangalam changed everything,noting that previous bribes to voters had topped out at Rs 500.

MARCH 4,2009
In a meeting with FBI Director Robert Mueller,Home Minister P Chidambaram asked the US for technology to trace cellphone calls. The leaked cable reveals that the Home Minister also informed the FBI that Pakistan may be planning to harm Kasab

Pak has taken out a contract to harm Kasab

Chidambaram revealed that the GOI has intelligence that Pakistani entities have taken out a contract to harm Mohammed Ajmal Kasab. A full security audit has been ordered in Mumbai to ensure Kasabs protection. Chidambaram readily agreed to Muellers request that the FBI might seek access to Kasab again and may need a videotaped deposition if he is indicted in the United States. He offered to share with the FBI Kasabs video-taped judicial confession which had recently been provided. Chidambaram noted that Kasab had requested consular access but the Pakistani Embassy had refused even though the GOP had acknowledged that Kasab is a Pakistani citizen.

Tough NIA provisions

Referring to the newly-formed National Investigation Agency (NIA),Chidambaram observed that he had a new weapon in hand to combat terrorism. He conceded that he was coming perilously close to crossing constitutional limits in empowering the NIA. He explained that the concept of a federal crime does not exist in India,with law and order the responsibility of state governments. Federal law enforcement agencies,therefore,have to seek permission of states in order to become involved in an investigation. He opined that the NIA law would be challenged in court because it ascribes certain investigating powers to the NIA which may be seen to conflict with responsibility that is exclusively with the states.

May 27,2009
Rahul Gandhi talks to a senior US diplomat about his vision for Congress,and admits Nitish had shown one could attract voters with governance,not just playing caste card

Caste a losing proposition

He noted that UP,from which he and his mother both ran,was once a Congress Party stronghold,but the partys strength had collapsed there over 20 years ago,as caste- and community-based parties had gained strength at Congresss expense. But these parties did not have a future,in Gandhis view. He drew a chart of each partys strength,noting that the dominant castes in the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) drew the resentment of other groups in the party,who Congress had targeted in the latest parliamentary election. This revolt from below against the caste superstructure of the parties created opportunities for Congress to make a successful non-caste appeal. Gandhi noted admiringly that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had shown that good governance was enough to attract voters; campaigning on caste,as Lalu Prasad Yadav had in Bihar,was now a losing proposition.