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Campaigning ends today

November 29, 2003 11:40 IST

The campaigning in four states -- Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgrah -- where polling is scheduled to take place on Monday, will close on Saturday evening.

On the last day, top political leaders will follow a punishing schedule as they go door-to-door to woo voters.

Over 9 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the four states.
 
The Congress, seeking to retain power in all four states, has used corruption as its main poll plank in the wake of a cash-on-camera scam involving former Union minister Dilip Singh Judeo. Its main rival Bharatiya Janata Party has questioned the quality of governance in Congress-ruled states.

Elaborate arrangements have been made to conduct free and fair polls in the four states. The outcome of these elections may set off fresh political alignments ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

An estimated 3.78 crore voters will choose their representatives for the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly. There are 2171 candidates in the fray here.

Rajasthan has over 3.40 crore voters and there are 1541 candidates in the fray in 200 assembly segments.

There are 819 hopefuls for the 90 assembly seats in Chhattisgarh and their fate will be decided by an estimated 1.35 crore voters.
 
In Delhi, over 8 million voters will select 70 members of the capital's assembly. There are 817 candidates in the fray here.

Nearly 19,500 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force will assist the police in the four states.

The CRPF has deployed 65 companies in Chhattisgarh, 55 in Madhya Pradesh and 10 in Delhi. Five companies each have been kept in reserve for Chhattisgarh and Delhi.
 
The high-voltage campaign in the four states saw all political parties pressing into action all their top leaders. For the BJP, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his deputy Lal Kishenchand Advani campaigned extensively.
 
Sonia Gandhi was the star campaigner for the Congress.

All parties also leaned heavily on film stars to add colour to their political rallies.

 


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