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Campaigning ends for third phase of Lok Sabha polls
New Delhi, Apr 24: Campaigning for 137 Lok Sabha constituencies in 11 states going to polls on Monday, including those of Congress president Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli), Rahul Gandhi (Amethi), Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi (Mumbai North Central) and NDA convenor George Fernandes (Muzaffarpur) ended this evening, 48 hours before the third phase of parliamentary elections.
New Delhi, Apr 24: Campaigning for 137 Lok Sabha constituencies in 11 states going to polls on Monday, including those of Congress president Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli), Rahul Gandhi (Amethi), Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi (Mumbai North Central) and NDA convenor George Fernandes (Muzaffarpur) ended this evening, 48 hours before the third phase of parliamentary elections.
A total of 1,278 candidates, including 60 women, who are in the fray for Monday's poll took to door-to-door campaigning to woo the 17.23 crore strong electorate in the last minute as loudspeakers fell silent and rallies came to a close as the clock struck five p.m. bringing to an end poll cacophony.
Elections on Monday will cover 32 out of 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, 24 of 48 seats in Maharashtra, 21 out of 42 in Andhra Pradesh, 17 of 40 seats in Bihar, 13 of 28 in Karnataka, 10 of 21 in Orissa, eight each in Assam and Jharkhand, two in Goa and one each in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir. The April 26 polls will also cover the second and final phase of assembly elections in 147 of 294 constitutencies in Andhra Pradesh, 104 out of 224 seats in Karnataka and 70 out of 147 seats in Orissa.
Monday's poll has an interesting mix of candidates including two former Prime Ministers, two ex-Governors, two speakers, eight ex-Chief Ministers, 10 Union Ministers, 14 former Union Ministers, as also a couple of film stars and about a dozen history sheeters presenting a challenge to the law enforcers. While the BJP-led NDA is stressing on the Prime Minister's charisma and using him as a brand to accomplish its "unfinished agenda" and make India a developed country by 2020, the Congress president has criss-crossed the country to revive the fortunes of her party from its lowest strength of 114 in the dissolved Lok Sabha. The party is also hoping to regain lost ground in the key Uttar Pradesh state with the entry of Rahul Gandhi in the fray and aggressive campaigning by the Gandhis to counter the "foreign origin" issue and challenge regional rivals like the Samajwadi Party as also Bahujan Samaj Party that spurned a pre-poll alliance with it.
The April 26 poll would seal the fate of former Prime Minsters Chandra Sekhar and H D Devegowda who are seeking re-election from Ballia and Hassan respectively and ex-governors Mahaveer Prasad and Mata Prasad who have been fielded by Congress from Bansgaon and Saidpur in UP. Bureau Report
Elections on Monday will cover 32 out of 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, 24 of 48 seats in Maharashtra, 21 out of 42 in Andhra Pradesh, 17 of 40 seats in Bihar, 13 of 28 in Karnataka, 10 of 21 in Orissa, eight each in Assam and Jharkhand, two in Goa and one each in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir. The April 26 polls will also cover the second and final phase of assembly elections in 147 of 294 constitutencies in Andhra Pradesh, 104 out of 224 seats in Karnataka and 70 out of 147 seats in Orissa.
Monday's poll has an interesting mix of candidates including two former Prime Ministers, two ex-Governors, two speakers, eight ex-Chief Ministers, 10 Union Ministers, 14 former Union Ministers, as also a couple of film stars and about a dozen history sheeters presenting a challenge to the law enforcers. While the BJP-led NDA is stressing on the Prime Minister's charisma and using him as a brand to accomplish its "unfinished agenda" and make India a developed country by 2020, the Congress president has criss-crossed the country to revive the fortunes of her party from its lowest strength of 114 in the dissolved Lok Sabha. The party is also hoping to regain lost ground in the key Uttar Pradesh state with the entry of Rahul Gandhi in the fray and aggressive campaigning by the Gandhis to counter the "foreign origin" issue and challenge regional rivals like the Samajwadi Party as also Bahujan Samaj Party that spurned a pre-poll alliance with it.
The April 26 poll would seal the fate of former Prime Minsters Chandra Sekhar and H D Devegowda who are seeking re-election from Ballia and Hassan respectively and ex-governors Mahaveer Prasad and Mata Prasad who have been fielded by Congress from Bansgaon and Saidpur in UP. Bureau Report