As the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearership contest gets hotter and hotter, campaign managers for the two candidates, Professor John Evans Atta Mills and Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, have targeted the 130 would-be delegates from the Eastern Region for their votes.

Prof. Mills was the first candidate to visit the region to talk to party executives, supporters and sympathisers at the end of the visit, the impression was created that he had gained a lot of supporters.

But when Dr. Kwesi Botchwey took his turn, the contest became keener as those delegates who had openly declared their support for Mills seemed to have changed their minds.

A couple of weeks after information had gone round that Dr. Botchwey had neutralised Prof. Mills' influence in the region with his more effective campaign strategies, panic gripped the Mills followers in the region.

As it started creating headaches for them, they invited the founder and leader of the NDC, ex-President Jerry John Rawlings, to do the last-minute campaign for them.

"I would not have had any problem if the contest were to be between two good friends or two bad friends.

The contest is between a good friend and a bad friend, hence I have to create the distance between them for Mills to win," Rawlings made his reason clear.

What followed was what some observations described as panic campaign. Dr. Ben Kumbour, Member of Parliament (MP) for Lawra Nandom, who accompanied Rawlings, advised the would-be delegates to refrain from disclosing matters concerning the up-coming congress to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) officials.

According to him, the officials have been going round to find out from delegates whom they would vote for and why."Please vote for Prof. Mills because it would be very costly to erect new billboards with a new person's photographs on them," pleaded Alhaji Huudu Yahaya.

The fact, however, is that most of the Mills presidential campaign billboards in the region have been spoilt by the weather while some others have been removed. A clear example is the one at Bunso Cocoa College, which has been defaced.

A Chronicle study showed that, in spite of the call on delegates to accept whatever bribes are given them, spend and vote for Mills, some of them were not convinced as they said, "It is time to bring fresh air into the party."

Before the Koforidua "crusade" ex-President Rawlings sought to justify his positive defiance theory by telling NDC delegates in the Volta Region at Akatsi to vote "The candidate who is dedicated to the cause of the party."

Though his message was geared towards convincing the delegates to vote for Professor J. E. Atta Mills, he was quick to say that he had worked with both Atta Mills and Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, adding that he would be prepared to co-operate with the winner so as to recapture power in the 2004 elections.

Most of the delegates saw the personal involvement of the ex-president in Prof. Mills' campaign trail as a violation of the party's constitution. They postulated that the former president's "corner-man" role in the Mills campaign is an attempt to save his "Darling Boy" from a humiliating defeat by Dr. Botchwey, who has won the hearts of the Volta delegates.

Ex-President J. J. Rawlings acknowledged that the practice of internal democracy had put the NDC in high spirits and it is envisaged that the party comes out more united after the congress.

He prayed that the campaign for the party's flagbearership would be dealt with decency and civility so that the unity and peace in the party will not be dented.

The founder of the NDC appealed to the two aspirants to exhibit a new sense of comradeship during their quest for the nod on December 21, 2002, so that whoever emerges the winner can be easily marketed for the 2004 general elections.

But one delegate from Keta, who preferred not to be identified was worried about the stance taken by the founder of the party because "the presence of Dr. Rawlings at Akatsi is undoubtedly the presence of Prof. Mills since the two of them are one."

Earlier in the day, former President Rawlings attended a funeral service of the late Wotordzor, a staunch member of the NDC at Agornu, near Akatsi.

He was accompanied by Hon. Doe Adjaho, Member of Parliament (MP) for Avenor, Hon. Dan Abodakpi, MP for Keta and Lt. Col. (Rtd.) Charles Kofi Agbenaza, MP for Ketu South.