New Delhi, Sept 23: Campaign for the fourth phase of polling on September 25 in 74 Lok Sabha constituencies spanning nine states ended this evening.Polling for this phase will be held for 24 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, 19 in Bihar, 12 in Madhya Pradesh, 10 in Orissa, four in Himachal Pradesh, two in Meghalaya and one each in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.Security has been tightened especially in Bihar, where 38 people were killed in the third phase, and in north-eastern states following poll boycott call given by insurgent outfits.
Prominent among the 695 candidates are defence minister George Fernandes (Nalanda), former railway ministers Nitish Kumar (Barh), Ram Vilas Paswan (Hajipur), Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav (Sambhal), Union ministers Ramesh Bais (Raipur), Maneka Gandhi (Pilibhit), Mukhtar Naqvi (Rampur), Sompal (Baghpat), former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma (Tura), senior Congress leaders Kamalnath (Chhindwara) and ND Tiwari (Nainital).
Other notable candidates in the fray are Congress leader Jitendra Prasada (Shahjahanpur), former Union ministers JN Prasad Nishad (Muzaffarpur), KP Singh Deo (Dhenkanal) and former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Moti Lal Vora (Rajnandgoan) and Shyamacharan Shukla (Mahasamund).
The campaign was marked by controversy over allegations by Fernandes about printing of excess ballots for Bihar's Barh and Nalanda seats, from where he and his party colleague Nitish Kumar are contesting, triggering a sharp reaction from the Election Commission as well as Opposition parties.
In contrast to personal attacks on political leaders during campaigning in the first three phases, the focus in the run-up to the penultimate phase was confined to issues.
Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi addressed several meetings in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh harping on the stability plank and Kargil issue.
In Bihar, precautions would include rolling down of dumpers and throwing sand bags on suspected roads in the extremist-dominated areas before the entry of security and polling personnel. Home commissioner UN Panjiyar said the Centre had provided an additional 15 companies of paramilitary forces.More than 100 companies of Bihar military police, 26,000 district policemen and 30,000 home guards would also be deployed during Saturday's polling.
By Saturday evening, polling for 418 Lok Sabha seats would be over.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.