Phase III: Hindi heartland all set to cast ballot today
SECURITY COVER Additional police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in UP’s riot-hit Muzaffarnagar, as well as Maoist-affected areas in Bihar, Chhattisgarh
NEW DELHI: The high-voltage fight in Elections 2014 reaches the Hindi heartland and some key states across India on Thursday. Going to polls are 91 constituencies in 14 states/Union Territories.
DELHI
After a spectacular showing in the Delhi assembly polls, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party hopes to pull off another stunner on its national debut. The BJP, on the other hand, feels it has a good chance in four if the seven seats. The Congress, which took a beating in the assembly polls, is hoping to stage a comeback.
BASTAR
Over 12.9 lakh voters of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, one of India’s worst insurgency-hit regions, are set to exercise their franchise. Eight candidates are in the fray in the constituency where roughly 80% of the booths have been declared “ultra sensitive”. The main contest is between the BJP and Congress. AAP candidate Soni Sori, a tribal woman, is also in the fray.
UTTAR PRADESH
In view of prevailing communal sensitivity, the state police had taken precautionary measures for polling in western UP. Apart from deployment of central para-military forces, armed police had also been called in.
BIHAR’S SENSITIVE SIX Since all the six constituencies of south Bihar going to polls fall in Maoist-hit areas, the administration has made elaborate security arrangements. Of the six seats, three are held by the JD(U), two by BJP and one Congress.
MAHARASHTRA
The Vidarbha region — comprising the Maoist hotbed of Gadchiroli and accounts for 10 Lok Sabha constituencies — is simmering with anger over neglect by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. In 209, both the BJP-Shiv Sena and the Cong-NCP took five seats each. SITTING MPs BREAK-UP: 7 Congress
STAKEHOLDERS: Kapil Sibal (Cong), Harsh Vardhan (BJP), Rakhi Birla (AAP), Ajay Maken (Cong)
KEY SEATS: Chandni Chowk, New Delhi, East Delhi
TALKING POINTS: Corruption, safety of women and employment SITTING MPs BREAK-UP: 5 BSP, 2 BJP, 2 RLD, 1 SP STAKEHOLDERS: Jaya Prada (RLD), VK Singh (BJP), Shazia Ilmi (AAP) KEY SEATS: Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad
TALKING POINTS: Communal and caste polarisation, Jat reservation SITTING MPs BREAK-UP: 9 Cong, 1 HJC
STAKEHOLDERS: Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Cong), Abhay Chautala (INLD), Yogendra Yadav (AAP)
KEY SEATS: Hisar, Bhiwani, Gurgaon
TALKING POINTS: Jat reservation, influence of khap panchayats, inflation SITTING MPs BREAK-UP: 4 BJP, 4 Cong, 1 BSP STAKEHOLDERS: Kamal Nath (Cong), Ajay Arjun Singh (Cong), Vivek Tankha (Cong)
KEY SEATS: Satna, Jabalpur, Chhindwara
TALKING POINTS: Caste, inflation and corruption SITTING MPs BREAK-UP: 3 JDU, 2 BJP, 1 Cong
STAKEHOLDERS: Meira Kumar (Cong), Chirag Paswan (LJP), Nikhil Kumar (Cong)
KEY SEATS: Sasaram, Jamui, Aurangabad
TALKING POINTS: Employment, development, special category status SITTING MPs BREAK-UP: 5 BJD, 5 Cong
STAKEHOLDERS: Srikant Jena (Cong), Jual Oram (BJP), Dilip Turkey (BJD)
KEY SEATS: Aska, Balasore, Sundargarh
TALKING POINTS: Employment, development SITTING MPs BREAK-UP: 4 Cong, 3 Shiv Sena, 2 BJP, 1 NCP STAKEHOLDERS: Nitin Gadkari (BJP), Praful Patel (NCP), Mukul Wasnik (Cong
KEY SEATS: Ramtek, Nagpur, Bhandara-Gondiya
TALKING POINTS: Inflation, corruption, compensation for farmers SITTING MPs BREAK-UP: 13 Cong, 4 CPM, 2 MUL, 1 Kerala Congress STAKEHOLDERS: Shashi Tharoor (Cong,) PC Chacko (Cong), KV Thomas (Cong)
KEY SEATS: Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram, Ernakulam TALKING POINTS: Secularism, corruption and inflation