Campaigning ends as violence and corruption mark the elections

Bombay (AsiaNews) - Campaigning ends today for Phase III of the Lok Sabha General Elections, amid violent clashes at polls and calls for countermanding Chappra's elections.

According to exit polls taken, the BJP and its allies have surged ahead of the Congress and its allies. 

Elections take place tomorrow, May 5, for the 83 remaining Parliamentary seats, while 921 candidates, including the prime minister,  remain in the fray. Though BJP remains marginally away from the majority needed to form the government, it is still in the lead with 245- 265 seats, while the Congress and its allies have 180 –200, widening the gap which appeared to have been narrowing after Phase II.  But analysts agree that it is the alliances formed after the elections that will ultimately decide who will really be calling the shots.

During the preparation of the polls, in the Chind village of the Chhindwara, a constituency in Madhya Pradesh (Central India), fierce fighting broke out between Congress and BJP supporters this morning, where 16 people were injured. There, the Senior Congress leader, Kamal Nath, is contesting against the powerful Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, the Union Minister for Coal, Mr. Prahlad Patel. Chhindwara has always been a bastion for the Congress Party, but with the strength of the BJP candidate and the high profile campaigning of the BJP Prime Minister Mr. Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the region, the situation is volatile and clashes could erupt anytime. High-level security meetings are taking place at the moment between election officials and police personnel, and 478 voting areas have been declared 'sensitive'.

The city of Chappra in North East India is turning out to be the most critical showdown in these elections, with a high profile face-off between Civil Aviation Minister, BJP nominee RP Rudy, and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, Laloo Prasad Yadav. A two-member Election Commission (EC) team sent to the city said Monday May 3, that it came across a number of serious allegations of violence, booth capturing and collusion between district administration officials and poll personnel with those who had attempted to throw the elections.  Reports state that the BJP is now pressuring the Election Commission to countermand the Chappra elections, declaring them invalid.  However, EC sources contest that such a measure is too extreme.  The EC team spent hours between Sunday evening and early Monday going through ballot accounts, and scrutinizing officers' reports and other poll related documents.  In the meantime, the BJP has expressed concern over a death threat to its candidate RP Rudy, since he has exposed the "massive irregularities" in the Chappra polling on April 26.

The campaign comes to a close as masses of people travel to Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh, Central India) for the final day of the 'Kumbha Mela' festival, which began April 5th. (NC)

• india
• elections
• corruptions
• violence