Campaign guns go silent

Campaigning ended in Andhra Pradesh for the second phase as parties made last-ditch efforts to reach out to the voters.

Campaign guns fell silent in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday for the second phase of simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and assembly on April 26, as political parties raced against time to reach out to people in a high-voltage, star-studded blitzkrieg that turned combative as the deadline drew closer and with exit polls suggesting an undercurrent of anti-incumbency mood.

HT Image

The political heat generated by the campaign was only matched by soaring mercury levels as star campaigners of the main contenders TDP and Congress criss-crossed the state in a last-minute bid to woo voters.

Over 2.36 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in the final phase of elections for 21 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats and 147 out of 294 assembly constituencies, covering politically volatile south coastal belt and faction-ridden Rayalaseema region.

There are 147 candidates in the fray for Lok Sabha seats while 1,037 aspirants are testing their fortunes in assembly segments.

At the stroke of 5 pm, curtains came down on a long, acrimonius campaign which was dominated by a plethora of issues including the renewed demand for Telangana statehood, naxalism, TDP's development plank, plight of farmers, drought and pending irrigation projects.

The tone and tenor of the campaign acquired a new element of stridency in the backdrop of exit polls, conducted after the first phase of polling on April 20, suggesting an edge for the opposition Congress-TRS alliance.