PHASE IV POLLING TODAY

BRISK POLLING IN PHASE III

The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections will take place tomorrow covering seven constituencies in four states where over half-a-crore voters will decide the fate of 74 candidates. While the first phase of the nine phased electoral battle took place on April 7, the polling for the third phase concluded yesterday evening with an impressive voter turnout. The states which will be covered in tomorrow's phase are Goa, Assam, Tripura and Sikkim. Goa, with two seats, will witness a single phased poll tomorrow where 19 candidates are in fray for the North and South Goa constituencies, including those of Congress, BJP, CPI and other regional parties and independents. Prominent candidates from North Goa include Ravi Naik (Cong), BJP's sitting MP Shripad Naik and AAP's Dattaram Desai. From the South Goa seat, Congress' Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, BJP's Narendra Sawaikar and AAP's Swati Kerkar are among the prominent contenders. South Goa's sitting MP Francisco Sardinha (Cong) has not been given a ticket this time. In Goa, after every one male voter, two women voters would be allowed to exercise their franchisee. This has been done for the first time keeping in mind that the females need to come out in large number to increase the voting percentage in the state. Tripura also goes to poll tomorrow to elect its second representative to the Lok Sabha from the Tripura East (ST) constituency. A multi-cornered contest will take place in the constituency among the CPI(M), Congress, Trinamool Congress and BJP. There are 12 candidates in the fray including CPI(M)'s Jitendra Chowdhury, who is the state industries minister, Congress' Sachitra Debbarma, a prominent educationist, BJP's Parkshit Debbarma, an ex-armyman, and Trinamool Congress leader Bhriguram Reang.

The CPI(M) has won the Tripura (East) seat 11 out of 15 times between 1952 and 2009 and did it consecutively since 1996. The Election Commission has set up nine all-women polling stations in the constituency. Sikkim is set to hold simultaneous polls for its lone Lok Sabha constituency and 32 Assembly seats tomorrow. In the Lok Sabha seat, SKM's Tek Nath Dhakal is expected to give sitting SDF MP Prem Das Rai a tough fight. BJP, Congress, Trinamool and Aam Aadmi Party have also put up candidates. With the support growing for the newly-formed Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front is presented with a strong challenge to its 20-year-old uninterrupted rule. Assam will undergo the second of the three-phased Lok Sabha polls in the backdrop of a bandh in Autonomous District (ST), one of the three constituencies, capping a high-pitched campaign. Polling will be held in the Autonomous District (ST), comprising Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts, Karimganj (SC) and Silchar - the last two being in the Barak valley. The Karbi Peoples' Liberation Tigers has called an indefinite bandh in the Autonomous District since April eight demanding a separate autonomous tribal state under Article 244(A) of the Constitution. The contest in Karimganj (SC) and Silchar is triangular between the Congress, BJP and AIUDF, while in the Autonomous District (ST) it would be direct between the Congress and the BJP. In Karimganj (SC), the contest is between the two-time sitting Congress MP Lalit Mohan Suklabaidya, BJP's Krishna Das and AIUDF's Radheyshyam Biswas. In Silchar, sitting BJP MP and former Union minister Kabindra Purkayastha is locked in a battle with Congress candidate Sushmita Dev, who is also the Silchar MLA and daughter of former Union Minister Santosh Mohan Dev, and AIUDF's Kutubuddin Ahmed Mazumdar. In the Autonomous District (ST), the contest is directly between four-time sitting Congress MP Biren Singh Engti and BJP's Joyram Engleng.