After intense campaigning by political parties, polling in 91 Lok Sabha constituencies across 20 states and Union Territories began Thursday in the first of the mega seven-phase electoral exercise. Voting for Assembly polls is also being held in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and some seats in Odisha simultaneously.

The eight constituencies in western UP that go to polls will be closely watched as there is a lot riding on the outcome. Three Central ministers, General V K Singh, Mahesh Sharma and Satyapal Singh, and one former minister, Sanjeev Balyan, are fighting to retain their seats. The April 11 poll will be the first major test of whether the Gathbandhan of Mayawati’s BSP, Akhilesh Yadav’s SP, and Ajit’s RLD actually work on the ground.

Also, a total of 14 parliamentary constituencies out of 25 in the eight northeastern states will vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, campaigning continues with political leaders trading barbs at each other. Addressing a poll rally Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi trained guns at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying he was "burdened" with "Bofors sins" of his late father and therefore wrongly accusing others of corruption. Gandhi, on the other hand, buoyed by a Supreme Court order on the Rafale deal earlier in the day, filed his nomination from a second constituency Amethi. He said the apex court order had made it “clear” that there was corruption in the fighter jet deal and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a debate on it.

The attempt to stitch a grand alliance of opposition parties to defeat the BJP appears to have hit a roadblock just ahead of elections, with Gandhi and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee hitting out at each other in separate rallies. The Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena, an outfit floated by Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, also decided to sever its ties with the grand old party and asked the legislator to resign from it.