WikiLeaks, cricket rain on poll turf

WikiLeaks and cricket virtually washed out local issues at high-profile rallies of the Congress and BJP in poll-bound Assam on Friday. Rahul Karmakar reports.

WikiLeaks and cricket virtually washed out local issues at high-profile rallies of the Congress and BJP in poll-bound Assam on Friday.

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Heavy showers and strong winds impacted the turnout at public rallies addressed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP leaders LK Advani and Narendra Modi across southern, south-central and eastern Assam.

That, however, did not stop the heavyweights from wielding WikiLeaks and cricket brickbats to hit out at the rival parties on the penultimate day of campaigning for the first phase of assembly elections on April 4.

Sonia fired the first salvo at Neelambazar in southern Assam's Muslim-dominated Karimganj South constituency.

“WikiLeaks quotes a senior BJP leader as telling some foreign dignitaries how Hindutva is merely an election-oriented talking point for his party and not something to be taken seriously. This underscores the BJP brand of opportunism as well as its flippancy,” she told some 2,500 people.

If the UPA chairperson stopped short of naming Arun Jaitley, Advani made an allusion to WikiLeaks’ vote-for-cash expose on the Congress. Addressing a rally at Khumtai, 400 km east of Karimganj, he reminded voters of the futility of backing a party "that believes in buying votes" only to "get back the money with interest".