New Delhi: A vitriol-filled campaign ended on Friday for the sixth and penultimate phase of Lok Sabha polls to be held in 59 constituencies in six states and Delhi with barbs flying thick and fast as leaders made every effort to sway voters in their favour.
On Sunday, elections will be held in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 seats in Haryana, eights constituencies each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, seven seats in Delhi and four in Jharkhand.
In 2014, the BJP had won 45 of these seats, the Trinamul Congress 8, the Congress two and the Samajwadi Party and the LJP one seat each among others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again led the BJP’s campaign holding several rallies and stepping up his attack on Opposition parties, particularly the Congress.
BJP chief Amit Shah, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and a host of Union ministers among others canvassed for their party candidates in the past few days, undertaking whirlwind tours of constituencies.
Microphones fell silent and weeks of high-octane poll campaigning by parties came to end on Friday evening in the national capital as the 48-hour silence period kicked in from 6 pm ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
All seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi will go to polls on Sunday.
As many as 164 candidates are in fray in the polls, which are largely been seen as a three-way contest among the BJP, Congress and AAP. Prominent candidates in the contest include, veteran Congress leader Sheila Dikshit, Olympian boxer Vijender Singh, Union minister Harsh Vardhan, cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir and Atishi from AAP
In Uttar Pradesh, the candidates whose electoral fate will be decided include SP president Akhilesh Yadav and Union minister Maneka Gandhi. Of the 14 constituencies going to polls in the state, the BJP had won 13 in 2014 with Azamgarh being the only exception from where SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav had been victorious.
In Haryana, Union ministers Krishan Pal Gurjar and Rao Inderjit Singh are seeking re-election while former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is once again entering the race to the lower house.
The high-voltage electioneering saw a galaxy of leaders from the ruling BJP and Congress campaign for their respective parties in Haryana. Modi and Amit Shah also campaigned in the state on Friday, with the prime minister addressing a rally in Rohtak, considered as stronghold of the Hooda family, where he raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots issue.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal campaigned for the Jannayak Janata Party-AAP alliance candidates while BSP supremo Mayawati sought votes for her party and its ally Loktantra Suraksha Party.
