Babies can spoil your poll plans!

AHMEDABAD: Planning to contest civic elections? Better plan your family first! Next month when the civic bodies go to the polls, those wishing to be city fathers will have to ensure that their third child was born before March 23, 2005, or that it was at win ��� the day when the two-child norm came into force.
The nomination forms issued by the collectorate for the elections next month, will have an additional clause barring those having more than two children from contesting the municipal polls.
Through a government notification issued on March 23, the state election commission added a sub clause in section 10 of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, which will disqualify people with more than two children from the date of commencement of the Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (amendment) Act, 2005, from contesting.
Says the city deputy collector and sub-divisional magistrate, Gaurav Prajapati, "We will implement this clause as one of the disqualifying criteria this year onwards."
The amendment, however, brings respite for those who have more than two children before the date of the notification. It also exempts nature's bounty in the form of more than one baby born in a single delivery, as they will be considered as 'single child' in officialese.
Most municipal corporators from A h m e d a b a d seem to have no problem with this amendment. Says BJP corporator from Vasna, Amit Shah, "it is good that the government has finally made this amendment and by making the public representatives follow a two child norm, this message can be spread more efficaciously."
BJP corporator from Khadia ward, Bhushan Bhatt seconds him, "I have two children and according to me, this norm should be followed by all."
"We have been instructed by the state government to strictly implement this new clause in the various disqualifying factors," adds Prajapati.