Could Sandy cost Obama key election states?

Superstorm Sandy's effect on election day in those states next Tuesday.

Less than a week before the US presidential elections,political pundits are eyeing two key states,Pennsylvania and Virginia,struggling to recover in the wake of the monster storm.

Superstorm Sandy’s effect on election day in those states next Tuesday is just speculation at this stage,but both are vital to President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney’s White House ambitions.

Pennsylvania,solidly Democratic for the past two decades,appears to suddenly have come into play — even though Obama is leading his Republican rival by 49.5 per cent to 44.8 per cent in an average of polls there by the RealClearPolitics website.

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But the president’s support is drawn heavily from metropolitan areas of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh,and less from more conservative rural areas. Havoc on city streets,if widespread outages continue,might depress turnout and could see Romney gain an edge.

Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes could prove crucial in the “every vote counts” tight race to the 270 electoral college votes needed for victory.

Scenting a shift in the air,two Republican super PACs were set to spend some USD 3.2 million flooding the Keystone State with television ads in a last minute all-out push,the Philadelphia Inquirer said.

Police personnel seen to control the situation during a massive protest over the statehood demand and the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule, in Leh on Wednesday. (ANI Video Grab)

Statehood protest takes violent turn in Ladakh, BJP office set ablaze in Leh

India5 hr ago

Protests in Ladakh turned violent as students and youth organisations demanded statehood and Sixth Schedule status. Two elderly protesters fainted, prompting a shutdown call. A BJP office and security vehicle were set on fire. Activist Sonam Wangchuk urged for a peaceful approach. The demand for Sixth Schedule status is due to Ladakh's tribal-majority population and direct central administration.

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