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Jayalalitha

For sheer vibrancy, there is nothing to match Tamil Nadu politics. There have been sops galore in the ongoing elections; colour TVs, free rice, cows, gold coins for the poor. But for sheer originality, this one takes the cake: an Independent candidate in Nagapattinam, the area worst-affected by the tsunami, has said that he will ensure such a tragedy does not recur.

THE GOOD

In West Bengal, it is the young who rule the roost. 215 candidates are below 35 while 479 are in the age group of 35-45. Only 10 candidates are over 75.

THE BAD

The Trinamool Congress has the highest number of alleged murderers: 29. Congressmen do better in petty cases: 20 are charged with theft.

AND THE RICH

The CPI(M) is a poor man's party with rich members. At least three of its candidates are crorepatis. The Congress has nine crorepatis in its list while the Trinamool has five.

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A HELPING HAND: Gopi (right) campaigning for Achuthanandan in Kerala

Actors in other south Indian states have gone on to pursue successful political careers, some even going on to become chief ministers. Voters in Kerala, however, have traditionally shunned the filmy types. So what was the popular Malayalam hero Suresh Gopi doing in north Kerala last week? He arrived in Ponnani to campaign for the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate M.P. Gangadharan, a former state minister. "I am apolitical. I am doing this only because the candidate is my uncle", said the National Award winner actor. Next stop was Malampuzha where the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate is the CPI(M) leader and local favourite V.S. Achuthanandan. Lest you think he came only to boost the morale of the hapless UDF candidate, perish the thought. "I admire him and his battles against all ills that plague our society", he said of the LDF's chief ministerial hopeful. That's truly apolitical.

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Bhattacharya

Buddha is the best. Who says so? The CPI(M) certainly thinks its chief minister in West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharyar jobab nei. There is evidence to suggest that even the people of West Bengal think their chief minister is the best. Now comes the ultimate accolade for a Communist from the state's industry titans. A survey conducted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce found 78 percent of the state's entrepreneurs feel Bhattacharya is the best bet to foster a positive business environment in the state.

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Kumar

"The Centre takes one step forward, two backward, and the situation is awkward."
M. VENKAIAH NAIDU
BJP VICE-PRESIDENT

"Jayalalithaa needs to take rest, not for her sake but for the sake of the people."
M. KARUNANIDHI
DMK PRESIDENT

"If I am doubletongued, what about Vaiko who did two U-turns in two years?"
P. CHIDAMBARAM
UNION FINANCE MINISTER

POLL STARS
Free and Fair

If Bihar had one, West Bengal had two. Election Commission observer K.J. Rao became a legendary figure during the Bihar polls last year, but West Bengal has found two poll heroes in Deputy Election Commissioner Anand Kumar and the state's Chief Electoral Officer Debashis Sen. But even heroes have their share of bad luck. Kumar was gheraoed by irate voters who turned up at the booths only to find their names missing from the list.

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Karunakaran with son Muralidharan

In the year since he left the Congress much has happened in the life of 88-year-old K. Karunakaran, the former Kerala chief minister. Last year, he walked out of the party, set up his own outfit and, oddly enough, named it DIC(K), touring the length and breadth of the poll-bound state hurling vitriol at his old colleagues in the Congress. But as the elections neared, the DIC(K) entered into an alliance of convenience with the Congress. If Karunakaran's utterances of the recent past are any indication, he already wants to move out of the alliance. On May Day, the first anniversary of formation of DIC(K), he made the first candid admission that his party would have been better served had it continued to oppose the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). "We would not have been groping in the dark as we are now", he said. For someone of his age, he is still sprightly, but appears tired when he says, "It is difficult to seek votes for the UDF which has run the worst government in the state's history". Son K. Muralidharan, who is the president of DIC(K) and until a few months ago was one of the harshest critics of the Oommen Chandy-led UDF Government, is, however, more circumspect. For once, he has distanced himself from dear dad's stance; that's because he is trying his electoral fortunes as a UDF candidate.

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Napolean (right)

The vibrant media in Tamil Nadu looks as polarised as the election itself. At one end is the Sun Network that straddles TV, radio and print as propaganda tools for the DMK. Then there is the channel with the giveaway name Jaya TV, a microphone for the ruling AIADMK. Polarisation within the media has its own share of reasons. The fledgling DMK paper Dinakaran, priced at Re 1, is already closing the million circulation mark while Kungumam, a Tamil weekly from the same group, with sops like shampoo and toothpaste freebies has consolidated its position in the weekly segment. Sun TV is undoubtedly the undisputed leader and its Sumangali Cable Vision essentially controls cable distribution in the state. In an age when information is power, the Sun's virtual monopoly is already working in its favour. If media power alone could decide things, the DMK would win haands down. But in elections, it is the meek who sometimes inherit the state Assembly.

KEY CONTEST
The Big Fight

The prestigious Mylapore constituency in Chennai is all set to witness a high-profile poll battle. There is a screen villain, a comedian and a former IAS officer, besides two NRIs, battling it out in one of the oldest constituencies in the city. The DMK candidate and Tamil reel-life badman Napolean is pitted against the AIADMK's S.ve Shekher and the BJP's V.S. Chandralekha. A former civil servant, "'America" Narayanan, has also thrown his hat into the ring as has Santhanagopal Vasudev from Lok Paritran, a party floated by IIT alumni.

-with inputs from Swagata Sen, S.S. Jeevan and M.G. Radhakrishnan