Voting begins for third phase of LS polls

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New Delhi: Voting for the third phase of elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in 107 constituencies spread across nine states and two Union Territories began at 0700 hrs IST.

There are 1,567 candidates including 101 women in the fray including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate LK Advani, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav, veteran Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta, Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia and former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh.

The political fates of all these candidates lies in hands of over 14 crore voters who will cast their votes at 1.65 lakh polling stations out of which 15,000 have been identified as Naxal-affected.

While Sonia is seeking her second re-election from the Lok Sabha constituency of Rae Bareli, Advani is trying his luck from the Gandhinagar seat that he has been representing since 1991.

Deve Gowda is trying his luck from Hassan in Karnataka, Sharad Yadav is contesting from Madhepura in Bihar and Gurudas Dasgupta is standing from Ghatal in West Bengal.

Jyotiraditya Scindia is in the fray from his old seat Guna in Madhya Pradesh, whereas Jaswant Singh has moved from the deserts of Rajasthan to the cool environs of Darjeeling in West Bengal.

Voting is also taking place for all the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, in what is the city's first election after the horrific terror attack on the city in November last year. The big question is how 26/11 as a poll issue will affect voters.

Lok sabha elections Phase III factoids

Number of seats going to polls: 107 across 11 states/UTs

Number of polling stations: 1, 65,112

Number of electors: 14,40,02,265

Number of Candidates: 1,567

Number of women candidates: 101

Nomber of EVMs: 1,72,760 (control units) and 2,27,294 (ballot units)

Number of political parties participating: 135

Number of Independents participating: 752

Number of Naxal-affected polling stations: 15,193

Villages declared vulnerable and likely to be intimidated: 19,763

Troublemakers identified for the third phase: 45,843

Phase III: The X-factors

Will Gujarat results give Narendra Modi and the BJP real momentum?

Will the Left suffer reverses in West Bengal for the 1st time in three decades?

Will Lalu Yadav be able to stop the Nitish Kumar roller coaster?

Will Deve Gowda be able to help Third Front ambitions?

Will the BJP build on its success in Assembly Polls in Madhya Pradesh?

Will 26/11 affect voting patterns in Mumbai-Thane?

Can Mayawati's BSP emerge as the single largest party in UP?

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Who’s worth what?

Lal Krishna Advani The BJP's PM-designate is worth Rs 25,000 in cash in 2009 in comparison to Rs 15,000 in 2004. The former deputy PM’s bank deposits are worth Rs 1.04 cr now as opposed to Rs 24.95 lakh in 2004. Advani's investments have seen a decrease from Rs 14.80 lakh in 2004 to just Rs 5,000 now. Advani's worth in jewellery has increased from Rs 7 lakh in 2004 to Rs 16 lakh now even as the Advani family doesn’t own any cars. Advani's properties in NCR and Gandhinagar have seen an increase in value from Rs 85 lakh in 2004 to Rs 2.35 crore now. All in all, the net worth of Advani has increased from Rs 1.3 crore in 2004 to Rs 3.55 crore in 2009.

Nafisa Ali: The former Miss India, and Samajwadi party's Candidate from Lucknow owns Rs 1.12 lakh in cash in 2009 as opposed to Rs 23,000 in 2004. Nafisa's bank deposits have increased from Rs 52 lakh in 2004 to Rs 1.4 crore in 2009. Her worth in jewellery has not seen much of a change while her investments are up from Rs 29.43 lakh in 2004 to Rs 1.08 crore now. Nafisa's worth in vehicles is up from Rs 80,000 in 2004 to Rs 20.05 lakh now. The value of Nafisa's properties has increased from Rs 1.13 crore to Rs 2.66 crore in 2009. In total she is now worth Rs 5.6 crore.

Milind Deora: Congress MP, fighting to retain the Mumbai South Constituency is worth Rs 3.5 lakh in cash now in contrast to Rs 22,000 five years ago. Deora's bank deposits have increased to Rs 58.59 lakh in 2009 from Rs 15.43 lakh in 2004. His investments have increased from Rs 41.50 lakhs to Rs 6.28 crores and so has his worth in Jewellery from Rs 3.71 lakh to Rs 1.22 crore. Milind now owns three vehicles valued at Rs 20.28 lakh. But he still owns no property. The value of Deora's worth as part owner of various enterprises has shown an almost two fold increase from 2004's Rs 4.39 crore to Rs 8.86 crore in 2009. The total worth of the 32-year-old is up from Rs 5 crore in 2004 to Rs 17.18 crore now.

Mallika Sarabhai: The Independent candidate facing off L K Advani is worth Rs 11.49 lakh in cash. She has no bank deposits and her worth in jewellery is just about Rs 5,000. She's invested about Rs 1.92 crore though she owns no vehicles. Her property is worth Rs 1.75 crore and her worth in other assets such as claims in interests are worth Rs 2.22 crore. Her net worth is Rs 6 crore.

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