Tirupati:
As soon as the sun goes down, noise levels shoot up in the temple town of Tirupati, in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor District.(
India Votes 2014: Full Coverage)
Even the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party will contest one of the few Lok Sabha seats reserved for a member of the Scheduled Caste.
The Congress camp, where some young children are singing paeans to its candidate, has wound up its campaign well before the deadline.
Congress leader and sitting Member of Parliament Chinta Mohan is seeing his own personal likeability challenged by the anti-incumbency factor and the anti-Congress sentiment prevalent in the region after the split of Andhra Pradesh.
But Mr Mohan claimed that members of the minority community were apprehensive about the coalition between the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP.
'I have worked for the development of Tirupati, people know that," he said.
His rival from the YSR Congress is Varaprasad -- a media-shy, retired IAS officer from Chennai -- and former police officer K Jairam from the BJP.
"The UPA government had announced an international airport and railway station for Tirupati but nothing has been done. My first priority would be to star work on the railway station and airport," Mr Jairam said.
This centre of pilgrimage for the devout from across the country is Rayalseema's most developed city. It also has one of Andhra Pradesh' oldest universities, an airport and two of its biggest business houses.
But stalled infrastructural projects for airports and power plants have become focal isues in these elections.
As politicians on the campaign trail make tall promises of immediate development, Tirupati residents are genuinely worried about what the future holds
'What is the fate of next generation of students? Where are the opportunities for education and employment," asked Professor W Rajendra, Vice Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University.
He also rued that the political landscape is full of former Congress members who are merely contesting under a different political party this time.