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Campaigning for third phase of polls ends

          New Delhi: The campaigning for the third phase of elections for 83 Lok Sabha seats in seven states ended at 5 p.m. today. The focus shifted to door-to-door campaigns in all the 25 seats of Rajasthan, 30 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 12 out of 29 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, the last 12 of the 40 seats in Bihar, one each in Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland and two in Arunachal Pradesh. As many as 921 candidates, including 64 women, are in the fray for the penultimate phase which is seen as crucial by all political parties, which have pulled all stops to retain or capture lost ground amidst exit-poll projections of no party/ alliance passing the magic mark of 272 in the 543-strong House. Voting will take place in these constituencies on May 5 where the fate of as many as 921 candidates will be decided.

          Among the political heavyweights in the fight are Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav, UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and People's Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti. Polling so far has already covered 278 constituencies in 18 states and Union territories. The last phase of elections will be held on May 10 and the counting for all will take place on May 13. Vajpayee is in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan today where he will be addressing rallies in Khajuraho and Jodhpur. Congress President Sonia Gandhi will also be addressing rallies in Palampur in Himachal Pradesh, Phagwara in Punjab and Bilaspur in Madhya Pradesh.

Rajasthan fortified ahead of May 5 voting (Go To Top)

          Jaipur: Rajasthan is all set for elections 25 parliamentary constituencies on May 5. Thousands of school teachers, government and bank employees and even doctors in state-run institutions are being deployed at polling booths. Streets in capital city Jaipur, till a day back jampacked with colourfully-dressed drum-beating supporters and flags bear a deserted look as state police and paramilitary forces swarm across the sensitive areas, literally fortifying the city. Lalit Kothari, chief electoral officer in the state, said 110 companies of paramilitary force were being deployed across the state. "This time keeping security in mind we had made paramilitary force available from April 15. Around 110 companies of the paramilitary force, out of which 70 of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), 15 companies from Gujarat Armed Force and 25 of Border Guards Organisation are there. We have RAF (Rapid Action Force), state police force is also there and in all 73,000 policemen will be on poll duty," Kothari said. The Bharatiya Janata Party stormed to power in the state in the recent assembly elections. The BJP, which had played down its aggressive Hindu image throughout the campaign could, along with its allies fall short of the 273 seats needed to rule in the 545-member lower House, combination of exit and opinion polls said after three rounds of voting. Congress, which ruled for decades, could win anything from 190 to 210 seats, along with its allies, far more than the 140 seats held now. Votes will be counted on May 13 and the results are expected the same day.

Your vote is sacrosanct: PM (Go To Top)

          Lucknow: As the aggressive campaign for the polls in seven states ended on Sunday, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee appealed to the people to make full use of their democratic rights. "Polling is a very auspicious day just like a festival, as it is a day of democracy. Many countries wait to see this day. You can see this in Pakistan. They do not have the right to vote," Vajpayee told a rally in Lucknow, where he is seeking mandate for the fifth time. Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), rattled by a poor showing in exit polls, is banking on a good show in the most populous Uttar Pradesh, which sends maximum 80 lawmakers to parliament. BJP faces a tough fight from the state's ruling Samajwadi Party, erstwhile partner low- caste Bahujan Samaj Party, and the Congress party, is in a resurgent mode. Thirty constituencies of Uttar Pradesh would vote on Wednesday. The last phase of elections for 182 constituencies is on May 10. Meanwhile, the BJP state units are trying out unique ways to woo the voters.

EC to discuss Chapra report on May 4 (Go To Top)

          Patna: The Election Commission will discuss its two- member team's report on the Chapra polls on Tuesday. The inspecting team, which had visited the Lok Sabha constituency of Chapra over the weekend to assess allegations of mass rigging during the April 26 polls, will return to the Indian capital today. BJP candidate Rajiv Pratap Rudy had raised the allegations of booth capturing and violence on the polling day. Rudy, who is contesting against RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, had released dramatic footage of what he says were blatant electoral malpractices in the constituency. The EC team met Rudy and Laloo on Sunday to hear their views on the issue.