Ambanis come calling on leaders as election ends

Ambani brothers moved in the political circles on the last day of elections to the 15th Lok Sabha, meeting senior leaders from parties that were either part of or supported the UPA government.

Anil Ambani is believed to have called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence after meeting Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh, his elder brother Mukesh is believed to have met senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel.

Mukesh is also understood to have called on senior RJD leader and Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta. Details of the meetings could not be obtained and when contacted, spokespersons of both Reliance Industries and Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group declined to comment. 

Also ran: Nehru, Jinnah with help from Mr Harappa Mohenjodaro

He has not threatened to cut off anyone’s hands, but he too is a Gandhi, contesting on a BJP ticket. All Mogamed Ali Jinnah seeks is a vote for himself, not a separate country for his community. Mohamed Ali Zinna has the same request — as do Motilal, Jawaharlal and Jawaharlal Nehru. And if there’s anything at all in a name, who can be better than Sriramachandran to represent a seat called Dharmapuri?

People in Tamil Nadu like to name their children after famous people, and the fate of several names of fame got sealed in EVMs as the state went to polls in the fifth and final phase on Wednesday.

SMK Mogamed Ali Jinnah is the AIADMK candidate from Central Chennai against DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran, who is seeking re-election. The seat has been a DMK fortress, and Jinnah’s job hasn’t been made easier by the presence of a namesake in the field, Mohamed Ali Zinna.

As many as three Gandhis are in the fray. Vinobha Gandhi CH is an independent candidate from North Chennai, K Suresh Gandhi is the BJP’s man from Namakkal, and Rajiv Gandhi is a contestant against Home Minister P Chidambaram at Sivaganga. Rajiv, however, dropped his surname when filing his nomination.

Right through his campaign, Chidambaram has been targeted by pro-Sri Lankan Tamil groups, who have accused the Congress of “supporting” Colombo’s war on the Tiger rebels. The activist who has been coordinating the work of these groups at the ground level is called Harappa Mohenjodaro. 

Inflation falls to 0.48 per cent

After increasing for three consecutive weeks, inflation fell to 0.48 per cent for the week ended May 2 against 0.70 per cent in the previous week despite rise in prices of food prices like pulses, cereals and vegetables.

The wholesale price-based index stood at 8.73 per cent during the corresponding week a year ago.

This is the ninth week in a row when inflation stood below one per cent.

During the week, prices of fruit declined while those of tea, bajra, pulses, and spices were expensive.

At the same time, prices of jet fuel and bitumen fell.

Among manufactured products, imported edible oil and sugar were expensive. Elsewhere, pesticides were dearer by 33 per cent and benzene by 27 per cent.