As around 55 per cent of the 90 million voters trooped out to exercise their franchise to elect a government of their choice in Raipur, Delhi, Bhopal and Jaipur, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today reviewed the possible post-poll scenario with party leaders including Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The 90-minute meeting at his residence this morning also discussed the winter session of Parliament beginning tomorrow, party sources said. Sources said the overall political scenario and electoral prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chhattisgarh were discussed.
The Prime Minister leaves for Nigeria for a meeting of the Commonwealth on December 4, the day the results of the Assembly elections are expected to be announced. As adroit parliamentary management will be required no matter what the outcome, a long meeting to thrash out how to handle various issues became necessary.
Polling started on a downbeat note this morning but picked up as the sun came out. Some naxalite violence was reported in Madhya Pradesh. While Delhi recorded a good voter turnout, polling was equally high in Chhattisgarh, where naxalites, who had given a boycott call, snatched electronic voting machines (EVMs) in one constituency triggering an exchange of fire with the police.
In Madhya Pradesh, where over 50 per cent of the total 37.8 million electorate cast their votes, a woman was killed in Bhind. She was caught in a crossfire between two rival groups.
The situation in the two star constituencies of Delhi
