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Election Express

By Sunetra Choudhury

The Jharkhand boys

Saturday April 25, 2009, Matihana,Jamshedpur

I'm thinking of the boys I met in Matihana village in Jamshedpur district, bordering Bengal. Their village looked totally remote with the tribal women still wearing sarees without blouses.

Naxal menace

Saturday April 25, 2009, Jamshedpur

We were driving in from Baripada and noticed that there were no dhabas open. It turned out that the maoists had threatened all shops to remain closed and told them -'If you dare to vote, we'll reduce your height'.

Watching IPL without power

Saturday April 25, 2009, Baripada,Orissa

Today I saw an amazing instance of youth and optimism. In Baripada, I was exploring the life of tribals. How Naveen Patnaik's efficient? Glow had failed to shine on them. The village was just 10 km away from the district headquarters, yet electricity hadn't reached them. There was a power line running above their head but it was meant to light up big cities. I found the juxtaposition not just ironic but plain cruel.

Chasing Naveen Babu

Tuesday April 21, 2009, Konark, Orissa

There have been loads of shockers in this election. The first and perhaps the biggest shocker was the BJD breaking its decade-long alliance with the BJP. Caught off guard, the national media went on an overdrive.

Crossing 10,000 km

Tuesday April 21, 2009, Gopalpur

We're driving from Gopalpur by Sea to Bhubaneswar and Ganga Singhji tells me that we've crossed 10,000 km in our trip so far. We left our homes a month ago in distant Delhi. At that time, it seemed like a task of mammoth proportions.

In praise of politicians

Tuesday April 21, 2009, Kondapally

I received a call after I finished the show yesterday. It was from someone who lives in Vijayawada. It was a nice show, he said, but the people you spoke to said that they will vote for L Rajagopal but he will not win. I instantly felt uncomfortable.

Heroes of local press

Wednesday April 15, 2009, India

While following the TDP's candidate Shrikant Reddy in Kadapa, I've been reminded of a valuable lesson.

"Even if a murderer endorses me, it's ok"

Thursday April 9, 2009, India

Ram Bhat was a two time BJP MLA who was upset with his party for denying him a Lok Sabha ticket.

The Politics of Religion

Wednesday April 15, 2009, Kanchipuram, India

It always amazes me how a place of worship can be so full of twisted politics and bureaucracy. It's an old story but it's still disappointing to see the two entwined like this. The headpriest at the Kanchipuram Kamakshi temple...

My demand this election

Monday April 13, 2009, Mysore, India

While I've been raving about being on the road, there are certain things that have to be said. If I could be a roving citizen of India with a roaming vote, here is what I want. I want clean toilets...

Sunetra Choudhury

Sunetra Choudhury started her career as a reporter with The Indian Express in 1999. When she left to join TV in 2002, she was heading the Delhi reporting team that would bring out Newsline. After a brief stint in hindi in Star News, she joined NDTV in 2003. Apart from doing investigative stories, Sunetra has been covering elections since UP by-elections in 2000. While she followed the Congress party in Delhi, she spent six weeks in Gujarat covering 2007 assembly polls, apart from UP and MP assembly polls.