<p> <br />The canvassing saw top leaders of the Congress, the BJP and other major players of regional parties hitting the campaign trail in a big way. The electioneering was occasionally marred by personal attacks.<br /><br />Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertook whirlwind tours of the three states, where the party is making all-out efforts to retain power.<br /><br />Personal attacks<br /><br />Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu campaigned vigorously in all the three states. <br /><br />The campaign in Maharashtra saw personal attacks with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray calling Shiv Sena Working President Uddhav Thackeray a ‘snake’ and Chief Minister Ashok Chavan dubbing Raj a ‘frog’. Raj also mimicked the Congress president at a poll rally, drawing a sharp reaction from the party.<br /><br />Amravati constituency in Maharashtra has come into focus as President Pratibha Patil’s son Rajendra alias ‘Raosaheb’ Shekhawat of Congress is pitted against party rebel Sunil Deshmukh.<br /><br />Troubled opposition<br /><br />In Haryana, the Congress is seeking a second term in office on the plank of development. The opposition is a house divided here with the BJP snapping the tie-up with Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD and the Bahujan Samaj Party coming out of an alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress. <br /><br />The opposition highlighted issues like inflation and power shortage in rural areas during the campaign. <br /><br />The Congress appears confident of getting a fresh mandate from the state’s electorate due to absence of any anti-incumbency factor and also because of the fragmented opposition. On the last day of the campaigning, Sonia Gandhi rounded-off her party’s campaign by addressing rallies at Nuh and Jhajjar. Rajnath Singh addressed three rallies on the last day at Ballabgarh, Bahadurgarh and Dadri. <br />INLD president and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala campaigned vigorously in a bid to reclaim the Jat constituency, which has shown signs of shifting towards the Congress in recent elections. <br /><br />The Congress appears to be on a strong wicket in Arunachal Pradesh where Chief Minister Khandu Dorjee is among three party candidates elected unopposed.<br /><br />In Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party has been battling hard to retain its position after a poor showing in the Lok Sabha polls. <br /><br />The Shiv Sena-BJP combine has also been leaving no stone unturned to wrest power in the state. Counting of votes will take place on October 22. <br /></p>
<p> <br />The canvassing saw top leaders of the Congress, the BJP and other major players of regional parties hitting the campaign trail in a big way. The electioneering was occasionally marred by personal attacks.<br /><br />Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertook whirlwind tours of the three states, where the party is making all-out efforts to retain power.<br /><br />Personal attacks<br /><br />Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu campaigned vigorously in all the three states. <br /><br />The campaign in Maharashtra saw personal attacks with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray calling Shiv Sena Working President Uddhav Thackeray a ‘snake’ and Chief Minister Ashok Chavan dubbing Raj a ‘frog’. Raj also mimicked the Congress president at a poll rally, drawing a sharp reaction from the party.<br /><br />Amravati constituency in Maharashtra has come into focus as President Pratibha Patil’s son Rajendra alias ‘Raosaheb’ Shekhawat of Congress is pitted against party rebel Sunil Deshmukh.<br /><br />Troubled opposition<br /><br />In Haryana, the Congress is seeking a second term in office on the plank of development. The opposition is a house divided here with the BJP snapping the tie-up with Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD and the Bahujan Samaj Party coming out of an alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress. <br /><br />The opposition highlighted issues like inflation and power shortage in rural areas during the campaign. <br /><br />The Congress appears confident of getting a fresh mandate from the state’s electorate due to absence of any anti-incumbency factor and also because of the fragmented opposition. On the last day of the campaigning, Sonia Gandhi rounded-off her party’s campaign by addressing rallies at Nuh and Jhajjar. Rajnath Singh addressed three rallies on the last day at Ballabgarh, Bahadurgarh and Dadri. <br />INLD president and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala campaigned vigorously in a bid to reclaim the Jat constituency, which has shown signs of shifting towards the Congress in recent elections. <br /><br />The Congress appears to be on a strong wicket in Arunachal Pradesh where Chief Minister Khandu Dorjee is among three party candidates elected unopposed.<br /><br />In Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party has been battling hard to retain its position after a poor showing in the Lok Sabha polls. <br /><br />The Shiv Sena-BJP combine has also been leaving no stone unturned to wrest power in the state. Counting of votes will take place on October 22. <br /></p>