Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
Devsagar Singh
New Delhi, Sept 4: The fate of several political bigwigs, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, home minister and senior BJP leader LK Advani, former finance minister Manmohan Singh, urban affairs minister Jagmohan and former chief election commissioner TN Seshan, will be sealed in the ballot boxes on Sunday when the nation goes for the first phase of polling in 145 Lok Sabha constituencies spread over 16 states and union territories. Simultaneous polling will also take place for 343 assembly seats--84 in Andhra Pradesh, 144 in Maharashtra and 115 in Karnataka.
The first phase of polling will include 12 constituencies in Andhra Pradesh, two each in Goa and Jammu and Kashmir, 26 in Gujarat, 10 in Haryana, 15 in Karnataka, 24 in Maharashtra, 13 in Punjab, 10 in Rajasthan, 19 in Tamil Nadu, seven in Delhi, and one each in Andaman and Nicobar islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Pondicherry.
In what is one of the most keenly fought elections in recent times, Sonia Gandhi isseeking to make a debut in parliamentary politics by contesting from Bellary in Karnataka against BJP candidate Sushma Swaraj. Advani is pitted against Seshan in Gandhinagar (Gujarat), while Jagmohan is seeking re-election from the prestigious New Delhi constituency as a BJP candidate fighting against RK Dhawan of the Congress.
Among the keenly watched constituencies is the south Delhi seat, where Manmohan Singh is contesting as a Congress candidate against the BJP's Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Being his maiden attempt to enter parliament through a direct election, Singh's campaigning had aroused much interest among voters, cutting across party lines. He drew spontaneous support from a large section of the intelligentsia, public figures, and others, even as the BJP accused him of indulging in unfair electioneering by seeking votes from Gurdwaras. Leaders whose luck will also be decided on Sunday include civil aviation minister Ananth Kumar (Bangalore south), agriculture minister Surjeet Singh Barnala (Sangrur,Punjab).
Also in the fray are Sukhbir Singh Badal (Faridkot), and former finance minister P Chidambaram (Sivaganga). The second phase of polling will be held on September 11, followed by elections on September 18, September 25, and October 3. The counting will take place only after all the phases of the elections are complete.The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, comprising two dozen parties, is engaged in a no-holds-barred electoral battle against the Congress-led combination, which is leaving nothing to chance to wrest power at the Centre. Both formations have made liberal use of the electronic and print media to run down each other on various issues, rather than push forward their positive agenda of governance, making this election look distinctly different from the past.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------