Parties...

The Congress camp has marketed Chavan’s clean image for garnering votes. It is also the first elections in which the Congress has not projected its national leadership.

For the NCP, which came into existence in 1999, it’s a do-ordie situation. After being in power for 15 years, the party was accused of large-scale corruption not only by opposition parties, but even by its ex-ally Congress.

Meanwhile, the Senas are looking to consolidate and expand their base. After the polls, the Shiv Sena, which stayed in alliance with the BJP for 25 years, will know its true strength. The Sena will know whether it is still a potent rightist force that can outsmart the BJP. On the other hand, MNS, which won 13 seats in 2009, is out to increase its strength in a changed scenario. The polls outcome could decide which way the Raj Thackeray-led MNS goes. do so is no explanation in the eyes of law,” said the judge. “It is crystal clear that omission on the part of coal ministry officers to not scrutinise the applications as regard their eligibility and completeness was a deliberate act,” he added.

He further said that this act of allocating blocks without reasoning was arbitrary and amounted to “criminal misconduct” by the government officials, which had caused a massive loss to the nation and exchequer by misappropriating the country’s natural resources for personal gain.

According to the CBI, KSSPL had given a false statement about its annual turnover for two financial years, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, in their application form while applying for coal blocks. Further the agency found out that the screening committee ignored Madhya Pradesh’s rejection of KSSPL’S application.

The judge further added that while no other public officials had been implicated in the case so far, evidence of the same is likely to come up during trial. “The law will certainly take its own course,” the judge warned.