When india votes, candidates hope

NEW DELHI: Curtains came down on campaigning in 124 seats, spread across 17 states, on Tuesday. The voters of these constituencies will decide whether the Left still enjoys hegemony in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh can become a key player in the Congress��� power plan, Lalu Yadav continues to be a force to reckon with in Bihar, BJP-AGP combine can dent Congress��� prospects in Assam, and Congress-NCP combine still has an edge over the rival alliance.

The polls will also determine the shape of things to come in Uttar Pradesh. The voting pattern in eastern UP, which goes to polls in the first phase, can be expected to leave its mark on the next three phases.

In Chhattisgarh, which has emerged as a BJP stronghold, the poll will see Congress attempting to regain some lost ground. The recovery is being made difficult by the state chief minister Raman Singh, who enjoys a high popularity rating.

Orissa polls will be a litmus test for Naveen Patnaik, as it will test the political wisdom of switching from saffron side to the Communists. Out of the 147 assembly constituencies, 70 will be going to polls in the first phase. A hung verdict can complicate matters for BJD as it will be only left with Bharatiya Janata Party to deal with. In the changed circumstances, Congress is also sensing an opportunity to return to power after a decade.

A part of Jharkhand, which overwhelmingly backed United Progressive Alliance in 2004, will also see polling on April 16. The impact of the division in the ���secular��� camp is certain to be felt in the election. All the four fronts are in the fray in the state.

More than half of Andhra Pradesh���154 out of 294 seats���will be voting for the new assembly. Congress��� calculations here hinges on the performance of Prajarajyam. In the event of a split verdict, Congress will have to take support from Chiranjeevi���s party. But reports from Telangana is troubling for Congress as Prajarajyam has not been successful in splitting the anti-Congress votes.

As many as 1,715 candidates are in the fray in the first phase, the fate of which will be decided by around 14.31 crore electorates. Approximately nine lakh polling staff���helped by Central forces, state armed police, home guards and regular police personnel���will be conducting the polling on April 16 with the help of 3,166 electronic voting machines.