Prominent are Baramulla and Kupwara sectors of Kashmir, presently the site of trigger happy militants; the 19 districts of south Bihar, which include areas where the Naxalites (MCC) and the Ranbir Sena rule the roost and the Andhra Pradesh districts where the People's War Group (PWG) has unleashed a violent poll boycott campaign, blasting police stations and escaping with weapons. Also a headache is the troublesome Bastar area of Madhya Pradesh adjoining Andhra and a few districts in western Uttar Pradesh where lawlessness is the norm.

North Block is taking no chances. In Bihar, it has augmented the strength of paramilitary forces by as much as 30 per cent. Earlier, some 100 companies were pressed into service for Jehanabad, Chatra,Hazaribagh, Palamu, Nawadah, Lohardaga, Kodarma and about a dozen more constituencies where authorities fear a major outbreak of violence. But recently, as a senior official disclosed, ``We reviewed the situation and decided to rush 30 more companies.''

In Andhra Pradesh, elections in the violence-wracked districts of Nizamabad, Warangal, Adilabad, Karimnagar and Khamana will be held under the direct supervision of 8,000 armed security personnel sent by the Union Home Ministry, sources said. In Bastar, owing to its large size, some 4,000 personnel have been stationed to ensure smooth polling.

Security personnel, across the board, have been deployed in the five states. The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CrPF)--the mainstay of Central forces--are rubbing shoulders with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP), Subsidiary Security Bureau (SSB) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in and around the polling booths.

``We have spared nobody, at the cost ofstretching our resources to the limit'' remarked a North Block official involved with the deployment of central forces.

The last elections saw an additional 150 companies rushed to the trouble-spots of Jammu & Kashmir. This time, however, more than this strength is concentrated only in Baramulla and Kupwara, where militants have struck big in the past few weeks by attacking security forces' camps. Observers admit that the scales are tilted a bit towards the militants' side, mainly due to the forested patches around Kupwara and towards north of Baramulla, that is stretches of Bandipur, Gurez and Anantnag which still provide them safe havens.

Western Uttar Pradesh, considered unsafe even on normal days, is being readied for tomorrow's elections in a major way. Authorities fear communal trouble in Agra, Aligarh, Bulundshahr and the Khurja belts of the state. A similar feedback about the situation has been received from Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) where BJP's firebrand leader Uma Bharti is trying her luck for thefirst time.

Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued in parts of Bihar and western UP. Security has also been beefed up in Andhra Pradesh, where polling will be held simultaneously for 97 Assembly seats.

Polls in Hoshangabad and Vidisha constituencies of Madhya Pradesh have been postponed due to heavy rains. Elections will however take place in 12 other Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

In another violence-prone constituency, Varanasi in UP, shoot-at-sight orders have been issued and paramilitary forces and state police have been deployed in strength to ensure that the polls are conducted without disruption.