Bharatiya Janata Party chief M Venkaiah Naidu's luncheon press conference featured the usual Andhra gastronomic delights, generously garnished with humour during the press conference.

"Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna is a decent man but I am going to Bangalore to give him a warm send-off," Naidu told reporters, referring to the exit polls, which say the BJP will replace the Congress in the state.

"Karnataka will be the gateway of success for the BJP," Naidu declared.

A senior lady scribe silenced him by asking, "Are you also going to Hyderabad to give (Andhra Pradesh chief minister) Chandrababu Naidu a warm send-off?"

The same exit polls say the other Naidu is on a sticky wicket.

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Candlelight vote

The polling booth in Barh where Railway Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar cast his vote had no electricity and the voting was conducted in candlelight.

Coming out of the booth after casting his vote, Kumar took a dig at the Bihar government saying the candlelight symbolised the progress made by Bihar under the RJD regime.

Patna dispatches

Shatrughan Sinha, who lives in Mumbai, cast his vote at a booth in the state capital Patna along with his elder brother, whose name, Dr Bharat Sinha. All the Sinha boys are named after King Dashrath's sons.

An old lady with both her legs amputated came on crutches to a booth in Boring Road in Patna to cast her vote.

Many voters at booth 92 and other places in Patna had to return dejected as their names did not figure in the voters list. Their photo identity cards did not help their cause.

This one takes the cake: A Home Guard at a booth in Kankerbagh in Patna had a difficult time loading his rifle complaining he had learnt about handling the weapon during training way back in 1973.

Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh