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Indian voters uged

to boycot film stars

NEW DELHI: A voluntary group has called upon Indian voters to shun film stars in upcoming parliamentary elections, saying they represented "decadent culture," a newspaper reported on Monday.

The Jana Vedika said in the southern city of Hyderabad that none of the several movie actors and actresses in the fray should be voted for because they did not promote India's rich cultural heritage.

On the contrary, they "represented a decadent culture," The Hindustan Times quoted the organisation as saying. "Avoid them like the plague."

The group urged India's 600 million voters to also boycott party-hopping and corrupt politicians and their family members.

Movie stars are a part of Indian politics. The southern state of Tamil Nadu, with a population of 55 million people, is ruled by a former screen queen. CHALLENGE FOR RAO

NANDYAL: Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao faces a serious challenge in his re-election bid from his home state, and fears of a defeat have forced him to stand for a second constituency.

Rao, who has to win a seat in parliament to remain in office, is facing two warring but determined opponents dead set to block his re-election from this sprawling, largely rural constituency in Andhra Pradesh state.

Most residents here say Rao will not be able to repeat his record-breaking1991 performance when he swept a by-election with a 580,000-vote margin and became India's ninth prime minister.

"He has not lived up to the mark," said G. Venkata Ramana, a supporter of the regional Telegu Desam party candidate, the party which rules the southern Indian state.

Nandyal's residents, who are mostly farmers and labourers, say their lives have barely changed since Rao became prime minister and complain about his inaccessability.

"Rao does nothing for us," said Bhaskar Reddy, a village chief who lives about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Nandyal. "He does not meet us. He has only helped those who lead lives of luxury."

Others are bitter about inflation and rising unemployment, and say that Rao 74, has done little to tackle them.

POST-POLL scenarios

NEW DELHI: Convinced that upcoming general elections will result in a hung parliament, India's political parties are debating the likely post-poll scenarios in a bid to avoid political instability.

Mainstream parties are toying with different ideas, including the formation of a multi-party coalition in case no single group wins enough seats to form a government on its own.

Ramakrishna Hegde, a leader of the centrist Janata Dal (People's Party), believes only a secular coalition that excludes Hindu revivalists would be able to run India in the event of a split verdict.

He said "like-minded parties" should join hands with Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao's Congress (I) party if the latter emerges on top in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament.

"They should all sit together and work out a minimum-agreed programme, a kind of national agenda," he said in a published interview. "And on that basis, form a coalition government.-AFP