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Re-poll in 149 polling stations in five states

          New Delhi: Re-polling would be held on Wednesday in 149 polling stations spread over five of the 11 states where the second phase of Lok Sabha elections were held, Election Commission announced on Tuesday. Re-polling would be held in 93 polling booths in Andhra Pradesh, 25 in Uttar Pradesh, 14 each in Assam and Karnataka and three in Manipur, it said. EC said no decision had been taken on the re-polling in Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. There was no need for any re-polling in Jammu and Kashmir and Goa, it added.

Treat us like Laloo: Amar Singh to Congress (Go To Top)

          Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party has told the Congress in clear terms that it wanted a better treatment from it, somewhat similar to what the latter was extending to Bihar strongman Laloo Prasad Yadav. "If the Congress wants us to support them in Madhya Pradesh, then they must treat us in Uttar Pradesh the way they have treated Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar," SP general secretary and spokesman Amar Singh said here Tuesday while addressing press persons. Singh's statement is taken as a sharp reply to Congress' senior leader Arjun Singh's advice to the SP that it must contest on a lesser number of seats in Madhya Pradesh. The SP's `Thakur Sahab' further said then his party could think of extending support to the Congress in the post-poll scenario.

         It may be recalled that Laloo had clearly dictated terms to the Congress as far as seat sharing in Bihar was concerned before the ongoing elections began. Initially the Congress had demanded at least 10 seats, but in the end it had to satisfy itself with only four seats. There are total 40 parliamentary seats in the state. He had said that the SP candidates in the fray would jeopardise the Congress' chances in the ongoing elections. The SP has fielded more than 20 candidates in the state out of the total 29 seats.

BJP reviews exit poll results (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Senior BJP leaders met here on Tuesday to discuss and review the impact of television exit polls that have predicted strong gains for the Congress party and its allies after three rounds of polling for elections to the 14th Lok Sabha. A review of the party's performance in Monday's second phase of elections, mainly in the key northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, was undertaken. The latest exit polls point to the Congress party and its allies narrowing the gap with the BJP and its 22-party-alliance. The polls have indicated anything between 235 and 279 seats for the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP and between 160 and 210 seats for Congress and its allies. The polls also show regional parties faring well in some parts of the country. Meanwhile, India's stock exchange shed three per cent on the first day of trading since the latest stage of general election. The Bombay share index was down 2.16 per cent at 5797 points, after dipping to 5759 points shortly after it opened, an international news agency reported.

Congress claims to be commonman's party (Go To Top)

          New Delhi/Lucknow/Kanpur: The Congress Party today said it was fighting the national election on the platform of promoting the common man's agenda. In a calculated dig at the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Kapil Sibal, the Congress candidate from the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency, said: "Our agenda is not at all Hindutva. It is only to serve people and fulfil their basic needs. It is a common man's agenda. That's why we have a slogan, - (main opposition) Congress party's hand (symbol of the Congress party) with common man." Sibal is pitted against the BJP's Smriti Irani, a television actress-turned-politician. Seven constituencies of Delhi will vote in the last phase on May 10.

Advani to visit Udhampur (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani will visit Udhampur on April 30 to address a rally in support of the BJP candidate Chaman Lal Gupta, official sources have confirmed. Reports reaching here from Jammu said that security arrangements are being put in place for the proposed visit to the sensitive constituency.