Parties prepare for second phase of polls

The Telangana statehood and naxalism have now been put in the backburner as parties prepare for the second phase on April 26, 2004.

The Telangana statehood and naxalism, which formed key poll issues in the first phase of elections in Andhra Pradesh, are set to take a backseat as political parties brace up for the second phase of polling, slated for April 26, covering south coastal belt and Rayalaseema regions.

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The second phase polls, covering 21 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats and 147 out of 294 Assembly constituencies, will also see straight contests as the main Opposition Congress, which had a formidable ally in Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the first phase, is to slug it out on its own strength.

The Congress' left allies CPI and CPI (M) have only marginal presence in the politically-volatile south coast and faction-ridden Rayalaseema regions.

While TDP, seeking electoral hat-trick for its longest serving Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is harping on development plank, the Congress, hoping to harness a perceived anti-incumbency mood, is highlighting farmers' problems, pending irrigation projects and unemployment in the regions.

In the 1999 polls, the TDP-BJP combine had emerged a clear winner in these two regions, bagging 103 out of the 147 seats while the Congress managed to win 41 while the rest were independents.

The ruling combine will, however, find it difficult to retain the dominant position this time with Congress, facing a do-or-die battle, making all-out efforts to storm the TDP bastions.