Lalu, Praful Patel, M M Joshi among candidates in first phase

NEW DELHI: Union Ministers Lalu Prasad, Praful Patel, S Jaipal Reddy, Renuka Chowdhury are testing electoral waters in the first phase of general elections being held on Thursday in 124 constituencies across the country.

While RJD chief Prasad is pitted against BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BSP's Saleem Pervez in Bihar's Saran constituency, NCP's Patel is in the fray from Bhandara-Gondia against sitting BJP member Shishupal Patle.

"It is a traditional Congress-NCP versus BJP fight," said Patel who lost the 2004 polls by a margin of 3009 votes.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury, who is testing her luck for a third consecutive term from Khammam, is contesting against N Nageswara Rao of the TDP.

"I am hopeful of Congress making a hat-trick. Khammam is a Congress district," she said.

BJP stalwart Murli Manohar Joshi is contesting from Varanasi against murder-accused Mukhtar Ansari of the BJP.

"Criminalisation of politics is a major issue in eastern UP," said Joshi, the HRD Minister in the NDA government.

After a long innings as diplomat, former United Nations Undersecretary General Shashi Tharoor is testing the poll waters in Thiruvananthapuram on a Congress ticket. He is contesting against P Ramachandran Nair of CPI.

A first-time voter, Tharoor said he was proud to exercise his franchise in home land, after having remained an NRI all his life.