Curtains down on high voltage campaign

Expressbuzz.com, 15th April, 2009
BHUBANESWAR: Curtains have come down on high voltage campaigning today in Orissa’s 10 Lok Sabha and 70 Assembly constituencies going to the polls in the first phase on April 16 after reaching a crescendo with whistle-stop tours by political bigwigs to woo voters. The constituencies going to the polls include strife-torn Kandhamal which witnessed violent incidents last year. As many as 599 candidates are in the fray.
Fate of several high profile leaders including Union Minister Chandrasekhar Sahu, former chief minister Giridhar Gamang, all India BJP vice-president and former Union minister Jual Oram, deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party Narasingh Mishra and former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das will be sealed in ballot boxes and EVMs. Hinjili Assembly constituency, the stronghold of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also goes to polls in the first phase.
Several prominent leaders cutting across political lines are in the fray in the Assembly elections in the first phase. Those include Assembly Speaker Kishore Kumar Mohanty, State BJP president Suresh Pujari, Works Minister AU Singhdeo and former BJP minister KV Singhdeo.
While star campaigners of all parties and aspirants made last-ditch efforts to bolster their prospects, electioneering is on in full swing for11 Lok Sabha and 77 Assembly seats, where polling would be held in the next phase on April 23.
The first phase would be held in the Lok Sabha segments of Bargarh, Sundargarh (ST), Sambalpur, Balangir, Kalahandi, Nawarangpur (ST), Kandhamal, Aska, Berhampur and Koraput (ST) and Assembly constituencies in these areas.
Despite introduction of high-tech methods of campaigning like smses , e-mails, internet services besides publicity through television and radio, public meetings remained the principal vote catching exercise.
Naveen Patnaik, who appealed to the people for votes by airing a recorded message over phone, camped in home turf Hinjili for the past two days to boost his poll prospects.