Polling will be held in 137 parliamentary constituencies spread across 11 states, including the politically significant Uttar Pradesh, in which over 172 million citizens are eligible to vote.

Voters will decide the fate of prominent leaders like Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, Defense Minister George Fernandes, former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, etc.

In all, 1,278 candidates are in the fray in this phase.

The fortunes of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will also be decided in the assembly polls to Andhra Pradesh,along with Karnataka and Orissa.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2004)