BJP eyes gains in south, east as sixth phase of voting starts

CHENNAI — India’s opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to make gains in two big states in the south and east that began voting yesterday in the sixth phase of a mammoth general election. Such gains could help the party build a stable majority in parliament.

With 814 million eligible voters, India is voting in phases over six weeks, with results expected on May 16. A little more than 180 million people turned out in 11 states yesterday for the second-biggest day of voting in the election.

Yesterday’s vote included the regions of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal as well as Indian-administered Kashmir.

A final set of opinion polls ahead of yesterday’s vote had predicted a strong showing by the BJP and its allies in Tamil Nadu in the south and West Bengal in the east that could make it less dependent on the two women who rule those states and who have proved in the past to be fickle coalition partners.

The Hindu nationalist-led BJP, led by prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, is riding a wave of public anger across India against the ruling Congress party over a slew of corruption scandals and a slowing economy.

Mr Modi’s party is also looking to make a dent in the south and east to pull off an outright majority — something no party has been able to achieve in nearly two decades.

“This election, we are expecting a significant contribution from the south,” said former BJP President Venkaiah Naidu, adding that the party wanted to lift its southern tally to 50 seats from 19 in the last election in 2009.

A regional party led by Ms JayaramJayalalithaa, the powerful Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, is expected to win the most seats, but not enough to sweep the state as Mr Modi’s aggressive campaign for an all-out majority makes inroads, said polls by India Today-Cicero and CNN-IBN this month.

In West Bengal, a third of voters picked Mr Modi as their first choice for prime minister ahead of state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who leads a regional group. Her party is expected to win the most seats at stake in the state.

Both Ms Jayalalithaa and Ms Banerjee are seen as belonging to parties to which Mr Modi could turn in the event that he falls short of a majority in the national vote.

However, both women are likely to extract their pound of flesh. In Ms Banerjee’s case, her left-leaning policies may run counter to Mr Modi’s reformist instincts.

“We are trying to get a majority of our own. Otherwise, we will have to take the support of regional parties and the day-to-day running of government will not be trouble-free,” said BJP General Secretary JP Nadda.

In Kashmir, hundreds of protesters yesterday hurled rocks at polling stations in the disputed Himalayan territory and shouted “Down with India!’’.

Indian forces used tear gas and wooden batons to disperse the protesters, but there was no disruption in the voting, said a police officer in the area.

Indian Kashmir elects only six members of the 543-member-strong Indian parliament, but voting there will take place over several days due to security concerns.

Rebels and separatist politicians have urged people to boycott the vote to show they do not recognise India’s sovereignty.

More than a dozen rebel groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India or a merger with Pakistan since 1989. Agencies