TIRUPATI, Apr 25 : With the successful completion of the second phase of polling, and results to be declared on May 16, it is now time for the guessing game as to who will form the government, who will play the spoilsport and who will be the next Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Interestingly, the three main contenders for the chief minister’s post contested elections from the Rayalaseema district.

Incumbent Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy contested the Pulivendula Assembly segment in Kadapa district, which has been represented by him and his family for last three decades.

On the other hand, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo, who ruled the State as chief minister for nine years, contested the Kuppam Assembly segment in Chittoor district which he has been representing since 1989. In fact, Kuppam has been the TDP bastion since the inception of the party in 1983.

Meanwhile, popular actor and chief of the newly-emerged Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) Chiranjeevi contested the Tirupati Assembly segment which had the distinction of being the launch pad of another famous actor-turned-politician Nandamuri Tarakarama Rao in 1983.

The popularity of all the three contenders for the chief minister’s post is not in question, but what needs to be considered is how they are expected to fare in the 2009 Assembly elections. All the three are quite confident of their victory and claim that they are the next chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s victory looks to be a foregone conclusion, if the voting pattern is anything to go by.His old rival, S V Sathish Reddy, is expected to repeat history. The poor performance of the TDP in Pulivendula can be attributed to two factors -- absence of strong leadership coupled with insignificant base of the cadre and absolute dominance of the Rajasekhara Reddy family in the constituency.

In Kuppam, N Chandrababu Naidu is expected to win for the fifth time in a row, but lose the margin of votes, for two factors -- the Congress being able to make considerable inroads into his domain and the delimitation factor which reduced the size of his constituency.

As for Chiranjeevi, who is contesting his maiden election from two places -- Tirupati and Palacole, victory seems to be his if lady luck smiles upon him in Palacole where he is expected to win by a slight margin. If the efforts of Chiranjeevi in Tirupati, where he personally monitored the entire election process, pay off, he is sure to win.

Further, last-minute blunders of his opponent B Karunakar Reddy of the Congress like the intimidation drama at a private hotel where the PRP chief was staying, and continuous shadowing of Chiranjeevi on the polling day by Congress cadre and the Congress nominee himself, are expected to prove advantageous to the PRP chief.

New Delhi, Apr 18 : Repolling is being held at 29 polling stations in Andhra Pradesh, five in Assam, four in Manipur, two in Kerala and one in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.

In Andhra Pradesh, re-polling began on Saturday morning at 29 polling stations under 7 Parliamentary constituencies. The polling will continue till 4 pm. The re-poll has been ordered in 17 polling stations at Aiza village in Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha seat where villagers damaged EVMs protesting against delimitation. At other places re-poll was needed due to technical snags and human errors.

In Assam, repolling has begun from 7 am in five polling stations of Karimganj and Silchar Lok Sabha seats. The election commission had ordered repoll at these five booths following damage of EVMs and other poll irregularities during the first phase of lok Sabha elections on Thursday. Voting will continue up to 4 p.m.

In Manipur, repolling is being held at four polling stations in Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong and Churachandpur districts in Outer Manipur Parliamentary Hills and Reserved constituency amidst tight security. Here, disturbances were reported during the first phase of polling on April 16.

HYDERABAD - Leaders of all political parties made a last-ditch attempt to woo voters on the last day of campaigning Tuesday for the first phase of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the Andhra Pradesh assembly Tuesday.

Loudspeakers fell silent and parties stopped canvassing at the stroke of 4 p.m. in 22 Lok Sabha and 154 assembly constituencies going to polls Thursday. Following directions from the Election Commission, even television channels and the radio stopped telecast of poll advertisements and election-related programmes.

Though campaigning is on in the remaining 20 Lok Sabha and 150 assembly constituencies going to polls in the second phase April 23, the poll authorities have barred channels from telecasting any public meeting or rally.

In the first phase, 17 Lok Sabha and 119 assembly constituencies in all 10 districts of Telangana and five Lok Sabha and 35 assembly constituencies in all three districts of north coastal Andhra will go to polls.

As many as 31.1 million (3.11 crore) voters in these constituencies will decide the electoral fortunes of 315 candidates for Lok Sabha and 1,833 candidates for assembly elections.

Polling will be held from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. in 36,124 polling stations amid tight security.

Amid predictions of a first-ever hung assembly, the state is set to witness a triangular contest between the ruling Congress, the Grand Alliance led by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) of superstar Chiranjeevi.

With PRP having limited presence in few south coastal districts, it is likely to be a direct fight between Congress and the Grand Alliance, which also has Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) as other constituents.

Union Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Renuka Chowdary, and D. Purandareswari, All India Congress Committee secretary Madhu Yaskhi Goud and TRS president K. Chandrasekhara Rao, film actress Vijayashanti of TRS, TDP leader K. Yerran Naidu, CPI national secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy, PRP vice-president T. Devender Goud and general secretary Allu Aravind, state BJP president Bandaru Dattatreya and MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi are prominent candidates for Lok Sabha elections.

About 133,000 electronic voting machines are being used during the elections and half of them will be pressed into service in the first phase. The officials have identified 5,102 polling stations as troublesome, 9,159 as sensitive, 5,312 as hyper-sensitive and 2,747 as extremist affected.

Hyderabad, Mar 31 : Over 300 candidates from different political parties as well as independents have filed their nominations for 22 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, poll officials here said on Tuesday.

These parliamentary constituencies along with 154 assembly segments spread over 14 districts in Telangana and north coastal Andhra Pradesh would go to polls in the first phase on April 16.

The filing of nominations for these seats ended on Monday. State election officials said 334 candidates have filed their nominations for the Lok Sabha seats while 2,699 candidates have filed papers for assembly seats.


The authorities were scrutinising the nomination papers on Tuesday. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 2.

Due to the delay in parties releasing the list of their candidates and also because of confusion among the four-party grand opposition alliance, a majority of candidates filed their papers on the last day. Officials said 271 nominations for Lok Sabha seats and 2,308 nominations for assembly seats were received on Monday.
However, many candidates are likely to withdraw from the contest as the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) late on Monday agreed to pull out its candidates who filed their papers from the constituencies allotted to its ally Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

The TDP had reportedly issued mandatory "B" form to candidates in 25 assembly segments already allotted to TRS under the seat sharing agreement. This action by TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was to pressurise the TRS to withdraw from the few constituencies he wanted for his party or for the two Communist parties in the alliance.
Naidu told reporters late on Monday that the TDP had left 73 assembly and 13 Lok Sabha seats for its allies and is contesting 221 seats assembly and 29 Lok Sabha seats.
The TRS is contesting 45 assembly and nine Lok Sabha seats in the Telangana region while the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have fielded candidates in 28 assembly and four Lok Sabha constituencies.


"This is the first time since the TDP's formation that it has left such a large number of seats for its allies," Naidu said.
The ruling Congress party is contesting all 42 Lok Sabha and 294 assembly seats on its own. Praja Rajyam of the actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi is also contesting all seats. Its emergence as the third major party appears to have changed political equations in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Lok Satta Party of former bureaucrat Jaiprakash Narayan are also contesting all the seats on their own.


Those who have filed their nominations for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls include central ministers S Jaipal Reddy (Chevella), Renuka Chowdary (Khammam), D Purandareswari (Visakhapatnam), All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Madhu Yashki Goud (Nizamabad), TDP parliamentary party leader K Yerran Naidu (Srikakulam), TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao (Mahabubnagar), TRS leader and actress Vijayshanti (Medak), PRP general secretary and film producer Allu Aravind (Ankapalli), PRP leader T Devender Goud (Malkajgiri) and CPI national secretary S Sudhakar Reddy (Nalgonda).
The second phase of polls on April 23 will cover 20 Lok Sabha and 150 assembly constituencies in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

HYDERABAD: It is just eight months since he floated his political party but Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi is very confident of winning the Andhra Pradesh assembly polls, being held along with the Lok Sabha elections, and promises he will bring "a change" in the state.

"We will definitely get a number with which we can form government. I am confident," the 53-year-old Chiranjeevi told IANS in an exclusive interview, even rubbishing prospects of a hung assembly.

"As of today I don't entertain that kind of thought (of a hung assembly). I am confident that we are going to win. There is no chance of a hung assembly," the cine star, who launched his Praja Rajyam Party in August last year, said.

The actor, who belongs to the Kapu community, also hinted at the formation of a "fourth front" with his party at the national level. "I think a fourth front will take shape. Some parties have already started discussing this," he said.

The megastar is hoping to better the record of his predecessor and matinee idol N.T. Rama Rao, who became chief minister within nine months of launching the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982. He has acted in 149 films and ruled the Telugu film industry for over two decades.

So what makes Konidela Siva Shankara Varaprasad or Chiranjeevi different from his rivals. In this exclusive interview to IANS, he spoke about his ambitions and his vision.

Excerpts.

Q: You said you entered politics to serve the people. All parties including Congress and TDP claim they are fighting for the poor. How different are you and your party from others?

A. They may say the same dialogue but I have the sincerity. I am a white paper. I have a clean image. I want to serve the people with humility and sincerity. Politicians have made use of peoples' votes but do not care for them. There are no roads, public transportation, health and educational facilities. They claim the state has developed but the fact is that a very pathetic situation is prevailing in the state and people are dying of hunger.

Q: How do you see your party's prospects? How many seats is it going to win in the assembly elections?

A: We will definitely get a number with which we can form government. I am confident. (The party needs 147 seats for simple majority in the 294-member assembly). Some people have come out with fake surveys. They want to demoralise our cadres. But people have realised this and they are consolidating the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP).

Q: In the event of the elections throwing up a hung assembly, which party would you like to join hands with?

A: As of today I don't entertain that kind of thought. I am confident that we are going to win. There is no chance of a hung assembly.

Q: You have been attracting huge crowds at every public meeting but do you think your party can convert this support into votes, and how are you going to achieve this?

A: I take the major responsibility of converting this support into votes. There are also local leaders. Our schemes and our promises will make people vote for us. For instance, we are promising a scheme under which a poor family will get a month's ration only at Rs.100. This scheme is necessary in a state like ours where the poor are dying of starvation.

Q: By promising such schemes, do you want to become another NTR?

A: I don't compare myself with the late NTR, but I want to give livelihood to people. He was pro-poor and people want me to substitute him and bring a change, and I will do that.

Q: The Congress government claims that it implemented several pro-people schemes during the last five years and is seeking another term on the basis of its performance. Your comment?

A: Some of these schemes were very good but behind these schemes there is corruption and commission. It is a sugar-coated poison. They are looting public money.

Q: What role do you foresee for your party at the national level. Will it join the Third Front?

A: We are concentrating on state politics. We have to work on what role we will have at the national level. I think a fourth front will take shape. Some parties have already started discussing this. As of today I don't know which parties will come together to form such a front.

Q: Will the Third Front minus TDP become the fourth front?

A: Anything may happen.

Q: What about Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party?

A: Mr Pawar offered his party's symbol to us but we have other options also. There is still time and we have filed an appeal in the court seeking a common symbol for the party following the Election Commission's refusal to grant us the same.

Chiranjeevi had wanted the symbol of the railway engine for his party, but the poll panel refused, saying it is a new party and has not fought the elections.

Though the PRP has yet to come out with an official poll manifesto, the proposals in its draft manifesto include promising free education to girls from kindergarten to post graduation level, and free education to boys and girls from poor families.

The state will hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls on April 16 and 23.

NEW DELHI: Political parties may be chary of agreeing on 33% reservation for women and they might still be under-represented in Parliament, but they form an influential votebank that netas can ill-afford to ignore as there now are about 33 crore registered women voters, only marginally less than 36 crore male voters.

According to the 2009 electoral rolls, women voters are in a majority in six states -- Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Puducherry. While Andhra has 2.86 crore women voters as opposed to 2.80 crore men, in Kerala the ratio is 1.11 crore women to 1.03 crore men and Manipur has 8.97 lakh women compared to 8.29 lakh men.

While Meghalaya has 6.48 lakh registered female voters and 6.28 lakh men, Mizoram accounts for 3.17 lakh women in comparison to 3.08 lakh men and Puducherry boasts of 3.91 lakh women to 3.63 lakh men on its voters list.

It is no surprise that even in states where women do not outnumber men as voters, governments have made it a point to announce women-oriented schemes, with Madhya Pradesh being a good example. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced several schemes for women and girl children. Even Delhi
has a `ladli' scheme and the poll manifestoes of parties are bound to devote more than a few paragraphs to this important constituency.

According to records, while the total number of registered female voters has increased from 32.19 crore in 2004 to 33.75 crore in 2009, the number of women-majority states has come down from seven to six.

There is a slight departure from the 2004 poll data where Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu had more registered women voters than men. But in the 2009 rolls, the number of registered male voters has overtaken women in both TN and Daman and Diu. However, Meghalaya made an entry as a state with a higher women voter registration. This is unlikely to stop the ruling DMK from announcing schemes like free stoves and gas connections.

Incidentally, women turnout has been around 60% in the last two general elections (1999 and 2004) with Lakshadweep recording the largest number of women voters. Participation of female voters has been traditionally 10% lower compared to male voters.

There has been an upward trend in participation of female voters. In 1962 elections, only 46.6% female voters made their way to the booths which increased to 57.86% in 1998. The highest poll turnout was in 1984 during which 59.2% women cast their votes.

This has, however, not reflected in the representation of women in Parliament which is about 8%. In over 50 years of Independence, the percentage of women in the Lok Sabha has increased from 4.4 to 9.02%, a figure that continues to be lower than the 15% average for countries with elected legislatures.

Neighbouring countries have already implemented quota for women -- like Nepal with 33%, Pakistan with 22% and Bangladesh with 14%.

Encouragingly, during the last four elections, large but relatively backward states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan elected a higher number of women MPs compared to more developed and urbanised states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, TN and West Bengal.
Women MPs from these states accounted for more than 40% of the total number of female representatives in the three successive Lok Sabhas since 1991. On the contrary, the four relatively developed states accounted for only around 30% of the total women MPs in 1991 elections and less than 20% in 1996 and 1998 and about 25% in the 1999 elections.

NEW DELHI, Jan. 22 : CPI leaders today met the President, Mrs Pratibha Patil, to seek a high-level judicial probe into the killing of 17 innocent tribals by Salwa Judum volunteers in a “fake encounter” in Dantewada in Chhatisgarh on 8 January.

The CPI national secretary, Mr D Raja, and member of the national executive, Mr C R Bakshi, handed over a memorandum to the President. Demanding dismantling of Salwa Judum, the CPI leaders said there were frequent fake encounters in the name of killing Naxalites.

 In the Dantewada incident, independent journalists from Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh visited the site and filed several reports confirming the fake encounter.

The CPI memorandum said the spot was visited by the CPI district secretary, Mr Manish Kunjam, president of the All India Adivasi Mahasabha, and he too came to the conclusion that the killings were a fake encounter by the police.