All-India Congress Committee general secretary Ahmed Patel was joined by former Chief Minister Chhabildas Mehta and Narhari Amin in flashing photocopies of a recent fiat, reportedly circulated among the lowest level of officials, directing the compilation of voters' lists and absent voters, they alleged that the party planned to cast bogus votes according to the list.

``The central observers have been apprised of this development, which is a gross violation of the rules'', Mehta and Amin told Express Newsline.

``The BJP has now trying to win attention in any which way. Consider the rallies taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on the Vande Mataram issue. It is propaganda for the BJP if the party flags and banners are anything to go by'', Mehta said.

The Congress has also complained about the damage to its hoardings and posters by suspected Janata Dal workers in Netrang taluka and BJP workers in the Ankleshwar taluka.

Expressing similar fears of strong-arm tactics nd persecution, State Janata Dal president Chhotubhai Vasava, the third angle in this keen triangular contest, said his party workers, too, had been threatened by both the rival parties.

State Health Minister Ashok Bhatt, who is camping here to campaign for the party, dismissed the allegations, claiming it was the insecurity of the Congress and the Janata Dal that was making them raise such charges against the ruling party.

Apart from the allegations and counter-charges, all three parties expressed confidence that they would come out with flying colours in Wednesday's polling. If the Janata Dal is harping on the abolition of poverty, removal of corruption and communalism, the Congress is holding the BJP responsible for everything that has gone wrong in the past eight months, ever since the party ascended to power in the State and at the Centre.

The BJP, meanwhile, is describing the Dal candidate as an ``extortionist'' and the Congress of dividing the country on the basis of caste and religion and of criminalising politics. State Home Minister Haren Pandya, State BJP spokesman Bharat Pandya and party general secretary Vijay Rupani accused the Congress of diverting the attention of voters by introducing the ``imagined'' charges.

Meanwhile, Director General of Police C P Singh, Acting Home Secretary J Mahapatra visited various parts of the constituency and said that the police was making all possible efforts to ensure free and fair polls.

They said more than 7,000 policemen, home guards and paramilitary personnel had been stationed in the constituency and special preventive and corrective measures adopted. Singh was accompanied by Vadodara Range Special IG of Police D D Tuteja and two DSPs Hasmukh Patel (Narmada) and N D Solanki (Bharuch).