India votes in crucial phase of elections

PATNA (India) — Indians voted in the crucial third phase of national elections yesterday, with millions going to the polls in the heartland states that are essential to the main opposition Hindu nationalist party’s bid to end the 10-year rule of the Congress party.

Parts of sprawling Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra states, and the capital, New Delhi, were among the places holding balloting yesterday.

Nearly 110 million people were eligible to vote in the third phase of the elections in 11 of India’s 28 states and three federally administered union territories, with almost a fifth of the 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament up for grabs.

Polls show the Prime Ministerial favourite is Mr Narendra Modi and his opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is showing strong momentum with its promises of a surge in economic growth.

However, the BJP needs a big win in Uttar Pradesh, a politically important state with a population around the size of Brazil’s that sends more lawmakers to parliament — 80 — than any other. India’s 1.2 billion people include about 150 million Muslims and they form a significant minority in Uttar Pradesh.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the governing Congress party chief, and her son Rahul Gandhi, the party’s vice-president, voted yesterday in New Delhi where their party was routed in a regional election in December.

Besides the Congress party and BJP, the vote is also crucial for the future of India’s anti-corruption party, led by Mr Arvind Kejriwal.

The Aam Admi Party, or Common Man’s Party, scored a stunning upset in the New Delhi election, launching Mr Kejriwal to the national stage. He has led protests and hunger strikes to highlight his fight against government corruption over the past two years. The party is contesting nearly 400 parliamentary seats.

Suspected Maoist rebels, who have urged a boycott, briefly disrupted voting in their strongholds in eastern Bihar state and neighbouring Chhattisgarh, carrying out acts of violence despite thousands of security forces fanning out in the area. Two police officers were killed in an election-related attack by Maoist militants in Bihar.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the rebels India’s biggest internal security threat. They operate in 20 of India’s 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry. AGENCIES