November 30, 2003	Sunday	Shawwal 5, 1424

NEW DELHI, Nov 29: India’s prime minister made a last ditch effort on Saturday to woo voters in Delhi as a new opinion poll showed the ruling Hindu nationalists were set to lose elections in the country’s capital.

“Our government has kept inflation under control. Employment opportunities are rising,” Atal Behari Vajpayee told a rally in a middle-class suburb.

“People are seeing the development that is happening in the country. We want to change the face of Delhi.”

According to an opinion poll conducted by The Times of India daily, carried out last week, the main opposition Congress party is set to win with a majority of 37 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly.

Campaigning ends on Saturday for Monday’s polls where voters will choose governments in critical northern states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi — all held by Congress, which leads the national opposition.

But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is tipped to win the big heartland state of Madhya Pradesh and is locked in a close contest in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh ahead of national elections due next year, other poll surveys have shown.—Reuters