Leaders on whirlwind tours as campaign for India polls' 1st phase to end today

MAJOR Indian political parties continued to campaign aggressively on Tuesday (17), which was the final day of canvassing for the first phase of the national elections beginning Friday (19). One hundred and two seats across 21 states and Union Territories of India will go to elections in this phase. The popularly elected Lok Sabha or the Lower House of the Indian parliament has 543 seats and whichever party/alliance wins 272 of them get to form the government.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Indian National Congress were also campaigning in different parts of the country. Prime minister Narendra Modi was set to address election rallies in the two north-eastern states of Assam and Tripura, both of which are governed by his Hindu nationalist party.

Five constituencies in Assam (out of 14) and one in Tripura (out of one) will vote on Friday.

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Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also having a packed schedule in campaigning for their party during the day. The former started the day with a joint press conference with Akhilesh Yadav, former chief minister of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the supremo of the Samajwadi Party, an ally in the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) that has challenged Modi's BJP in this election. The event was held in Ghaziabad in the Uttar Pradesh.

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Gandhi was also set to visit the southern state of Karnataka and hold two rallies there.

Priyanka, on the other hand, would hold a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, which is going to polls in the first phase. She held a colourful roadshow in Tripura on Tuesday (16).

Six constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, India's most crucial political state as it sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha, are going to polls on Friday.

Other top ministers such as road transport minister Nitin Gadkari were campaigning in Nagpur, his own constituency in the western state of Maharashtra which will go to the polls in the first phase.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh was holding meetings in the southern state of Kerala where the BJP has never won a parliamentary seat and is keen to reverse history this time. All 20 constituencies in Kerala will go to polls on April 26, when the second phase will be held.

In all, the upcoming elections will be held in seven phases till June 1 and the results will be announced on June 4.