The Hindu : Front Page : Campaign ends for phase two

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 25, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

Campaign ends for phase two

NEW DELHI, APRIL 24. Campaigning in 137 Lok Sabha constituencies that go to the polls on Monday in the second phase of the general elections ended this evening.

Barring Jammu and Kashmir, campaigning, which ended at 5 p.m., has been by and large peaceful in all the 11 States where polling will be held on April 26.

At least 29 people were killed in poll-related violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

All eyes are set on the two high-profile constituencies of Rae Bareli and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh from where the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and her son Rahul Gandhi are contesting.

Rahul Gandhi is making his electoral debut from Amethi earlier represented by both his father Rajiv Gandhi and mother. Ms. Gandhi has shifted to Rae Bareli, a seat earlier represented by her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, and father-in-law, Feroze Gandhi.

The sitting MP from Rae Bareli Capt. Satish Sharma, a Gandhi family loyalist, has shifted to neighbouring Sultanpur.

The other prominent contestants are the NDA convener and Defence Minister, George Fernandes, who has shifted to Muzaffarpur from his traditional seat of Nalanda, the RJD supremo, Laloo Prasad Yadav, who faces the Civil Aviation Minister, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, from Chapra and the National Conference president, Omar Abdullah, from Srinagar.

Filmstar Govinda will take on the Union Petroleum Minister, Ram Naik, in Mumbai (North) in his first electoral foray, while filmstar-turned-politician Sunil Dutt contests from Mumbai (North-West) as the Congress nominee.

In the second phase of elections, polling will be held for 32 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Bihar, 24 in Maharashtra, 21 in Andhra Pradesh, 13 in Karnataka, 10 in Orissa as well as eight seats each in Assam and Jharkhand, two in Goa and one each in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.

Elections for the second and final phase of voting for the Assembly elections in three States will conclude with polling for the remaining seats in Karnataka (104/224), Andhra Pradesh (147/294) and Orissa (70/147) also scheduled to be held on Monday.

The frenzied campaigning witnessed allegations and counter-allegations by political parties to woo voters.

The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, addressed election meetings in Kishenganj and Chhapra (Bihar) and Mumbai and Jalna (Maharashtra), while Ms. Gandhi, who kicked off her campaign from Rae Bareli was on the campaign trail in Andhra Pradesh.

Other political heavyweights in the fray include the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, from Hassan (Karnataka), the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati (Akbarpur, U.P.), the Union Minister of State for Home, Swami Chinmayanand, from Jaunpur (U.P.), and the NCP chief, Sharad Pawar, from Baramati.

Polling in the elections to the Lok Sabha and four Assemblies was scheduled to be held in four phases — April 20 and 26 and May 5 and 10. However, elections for the two Lok Sabha seats in Tripura were postponed to April 22 because of a local festival there.

UNI

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