Campaigning for final phase of LS polls ends today

Campaigning for the final phase of Lok Sabha elections ends today across nine states and Union territories, even as political groupings strove to make friends out of foes ahead of the May 13 polls.

Congress' P Chidambaram and Mohammed Azharuddin, BJP's Maneka Gandhi, Varun Gandhi, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Vinod Khanna, DMK's T R Baalu, A Raja, Dayanidhi Maran and M K Azhagiri, MDMK's Vaiko, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and SP's Jayaprada are among the prominent candidates in this phase of election.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which contested the elections in Andhra Pradesh as part of the Third Front, yesterday appeared in the company of NDA leaders at a public meeting in Ludhiana.      

The Left Parties, whom Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had sent feelers to for a post-poll tie-up, have indicated that they too were keeping options open.      

"Let the elections be over. Let the results come...After May 16, we will see," said CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, whose party had withdrawn support to the Congress-led UPA over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.      

Elsewhere, Jayalalithaa denied that the AIADMK was in secret talks with others for an alliance.      

Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, BJP's Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sajjad Gani Lone of the People's Conference and Tamil actor M Karthik are also among the prominent contestants in the final leg.