Millions vote in 2nd round of Indian polls
An estimated 55 percent of nearly 195 million Indians exercised their franchise yesterday in the second phase of parliamentary elections.
Yesterday's polling was marred by stray violence in the eastern state of Jharkhand where Naxal's landmines and indiscriminate fire injured two polling officials.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur, cast his vote at a polling centre set up in a school in Dispur under Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency in Assam.
Voting began on moderate to brisk note in 140 constituencies spread across 12 states in the second round of the five-phase elections amidst deployment of thousands of security personnel.
The second round of the polling was comparatively peaceful after 16 people were killed in Naxal triggered violence during last week's first phase of voting.
The second round of polling, the biggest of the five phases, involves people from India's rural heartland, the IT centre of Bangalore and some states where Naxal rebels are strong.
The second phase of polling covering the highest number of constituencies, 140, saw the exercise completed in 265 parliamentary seats--nearly half of the total of strength of Lok Sabha, 543 seats. In the first phase of polling, 125 constituencies were decided.
The phase decided the electoral fate of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family, in Amethi constituency, Uttar Pradesh, Agriculture Minister and NCP President Sharad Pawar in Madha, Maharashtra, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj in Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Lok Janashakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan in Hajipur in Bihar and Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh.
The states which went to polls today are Andhra Pradesh, 20 parliamentary seats, Assam, 11 seats, Bihar, 13, Goa, two, Karnataka, 17, Jammu and Kashmir, one, Maharashtra, 25, Madhya Pradesh, 13, Orissa, 11, Uttar Pradesh, 17, Jharkhand, eight and Tripura, two seats.
The assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, where Congress is seeking to retain power, and Orissa, where Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is looking for a third successive tenure in office, were also completed yesterday. Elections to legislatures in these two states were held along with parliamentary polls.
Stakes are high for both Congress and BJP in the states that went to polls yesterday as the results there could indicate which way the wind is blowing across the country's political landscape.
Congress main aim is to retain its strength in Andhra Pradesh where the party had won 29 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2004 and its allies TRS and Left parties had secured another seven. But this time, Congress is without any allies and waging a tough battle against TDP-TRS-Left combine.
Congress is also hoping to hold on to its 2004 show in Jharkhand and Assam besides looking to improve its performance in BJP-ruled Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, governed by Mayawati-led BSP, BJD-ruled Orissa and BJP-JD(U)-ruled Bihar.
On the other hand, BJP is trying to retain its strength in Karnataka, where it had bagged 18 of the 28 parliamentary seats in 2004, and Madhya Pradesh, which had contributed 25 seats to its tally five years ago, go for a larger share in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and cut its losses in Orissa.
Uttar Pradesh is also crucial not only for Congress and BJP but also for more important players in the state, BSP and Samajwadi Party. Brahmins and Muslims, the latter constituting about 15 percent voters, are the most important social groups.
Naxal activists set up landmines and opened fire injuring two polling officials in Jharkhand's Giridh district. The left-wing extremists also set off bombs and a landmine in East and West Singhbhum districts.
There was another report of heavy fighting between Naxal activists and security forces at Basadera under Ghatsila Police Station near West Bengal.
Tight security arrangements were in place, especially in Naxal-infested states, to thwart any attempt by Naxal to disrupt the elections. The Naxal activists had called for a 24-hour strike in the two states.
The Naxal activists had briefly held a passenger train with about 700 passengers hostage in Jharkhand's Latehar district yesterday, set five trucks on fire, razed a village school and a health centre in the state's Chatra district.
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