Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Big turnout for India's giant election

INDIANS thronged to vote on Thursday (11) at the start of a mammoth general election, with prime minister Narendra Modi seeking a second term after campaigning on a plank of national security following hostilities with neighbouring Pakistan.

People trekked, rode bicycles and drove tractors to polling stations in the world's biggest democratic exercise, with nearly 900 million eligible to vote during seven phases of balloting spread over 39 days. Vote-counting is set for May 23.


"I've never missed my vote in my life," said Anima Saikia, a 61-year-old woman in the northeastern state of Assam, who was among early voters in the first phase.

"This is the only time we can do something. The game is in our hands right now."

Boosted by a surge in nationalist fervour after February's antagonism with Pakistan, Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held the advantage going into the election, opinion polls showed.

But distress over growing unemployment and weak farm incomes in rural areas, home to two-thirds of Indians, is expected to shrink the BJP alliance's majority from the 2014 election.

"He's improved India's global standing, and taken revenge against our enemies," mobile telephone shop owner Sachin Tyagi, 38, told Reuters near a polling station in northern Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.

"I am happy with Modi-ji but the employment situation could be improved," he added, using an honorific suffix.

The Election Commission told a news conference that by 5 p.m., an hour before polling closed, voter participation was highest in the eastern state of West Bengal at almost 81 percent.

By 6 p.m., the large southern state of Andhra Pradesh had a turnout of 73 percent, while nearly 64 percent of those eligible had voted in Uttar Pradesh, the state that sends the most lawmakers to Parliament.

While tension with Pakistan has fuelled nationalist sentiment, political analysts say the BJP has soft-pedalled its agenda to spread Hindu culture in a country where a fifth of the 1.3 billion population belongs to other religions.

One of the Uttar Pradesh constituencies voting was Muzaffarnagar, where Hindu-Muslim riots killed 65 people months before the last election.

"Modi has worked, but not done enough for us," Shadab Ali, a Muslim first-time voter, told Reuters. "We want development. I've voted for development."

The main opposition Congress is leading the fight against the BJP, partnering with smaller parties in some places and elsewhere going it alone, hoping to bank on the charisma of its president, Rahul Gandhi.

On Thursday, it raised concerns over security for Gandhi, saying there could have been an attempt to assassinate him this week when he met reporters in his Nehru-Gandhi family's home district in Uttar Pradesh.

A suicide bomber killed Gandhi's father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, during election campaigning in 1991. His grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her bodyguards while prime minister.

In a letter, Congress told the home ministry a green laser had been pointed at Rahul Gandhi's head seven times during the meeting, and that feedback from former security personnel suggested it could potentially have come from a sniper gun.

The home ministry dismissed the fears, saying the "green light" was from a mobile phone used by a Congress photographer.

After the polls closed, a student was killed in clashes between youths and Indian troops in the Baramulla parliamentary constituency in the frontier district of Kupwara in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior police officer said.

In Andhra Pradesh, a scuffle between supporters of two regional parties turned violent, killing at least one person and injuring four, Reuters' Indian partner ANI said.

Roads were bare and shops and schools shut in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir after separatists called a strike in protest against the election.

As voting began, Modi said the mood was firmly in favour of his National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP. "NDA's aim is -- development, more development and all-round development," he said on Twitter.

Congress, which promised jobs and "Love over Hate" in its own rallying cry on Twitter, wrested three key states from the BJP in state polls in December by promising to waive the outstanding loans of distressed farmers.

It has sought allies among regional parties to defeat the BJP over its economic record, but pollsters say Modi's tough stance on Pakistan boosted support for the ruling party.

Aerial clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours followed a suicide attack in February by a militant group based in Pakistan that killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir.

An average of four opinion polls showed the BJP alliance on course to win 273 of the 545 seats in parliament's lower house, a much-reduced majority from the more than 330 it won in 2014.

(Reuters)

More For You

National Trust sets vision to heal
nature and engage more Asians

Lisa Nandy, Steve Reed, René Olivieri and Hilary McGrady at a National Trust event marking its 130th anniversary

National Trust sets vision to heal nature and engage more Asians

THE National Trust, which is seeking to broaden its appeal to British Asians, is marking its 130th anniversary with a renewed commitment to restoring nature and widening access under a 10-year strategy.

Its director-general, Hilary McGrady, also aims to inspire more people to get involved in caring for the country’s natural resources.

Keep ReadingShow less
 7/7 bombings

The King said the public should draw on the 'extraordinary courage and compassion' shown in response to the attacks. (Photo credit: X/@RoyalFamily)

Starmer and King Charles pay tribute on 20th anniversary of 7/7 bombings

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer and King Charles on Monday paid tribute to the unity shown in the aftermath of the 7 July bombings in London, as the country marked 20 years since the attacks.

On 7 July 2005, four Islamist extremists carried out suicide bombings at Aldgate Station, Edgware Road, King's Cross and Tavistock Square. The attacks killed 52 people and injured hundreds more.

Keep ReadingShow less
Navroop Singh

Navroop Singh was convicted of five charges including rape and was sentenced on July 4 at Isleworth Crown Court. (Photo credit: Metropolitan Police)

Man jailed for life over rape and attempted rape in west London

A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for rape, attempted rape and firearm offences following a Metropolitan Police investigation in west London.

Navroop Singh, of Mellow Lane East, Hayes, was convicted of five charges including rape and was sentenced on Friday, July 4 at Isleworth Crown Court. He must serve a minimum of 14 years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lepra

'The 100 Club offers a powerful way to support and scale-up this work,' said the organisers.

Lepra launches 100 Club to support community-based leprosy detection

LEPRA launched its first high-value giving network, the 100 Club, on June 26. The event was held at Quilon Restaurant in London and brought together philanthropists, business leaders and supporters of the charity’s work.

The event was hosted by Kalpesh Solanki, Group Managing Editor of Asian Media Group and President of the 100 Club. Remarks were delivered by Lepra’s Chair of Trustees Suzanne McCarthy and CEO Jimmy Innes, who spoke about the organisation’s ASPIRE project.

Keep ReadingShow less
family-centre-iStock

Currently, one in four families with children under five do not have access to local children’s centres or Family Hubs. (Representational image: iStock)

£500 million plan to expand family services across England

THE UK government has announced the nationwide rollout of Best Start Family Hubs across every local authority, aiming to support 500,000 more children by 2028.

The hubs are intended to offer easier access to family services and reduce pressure on parents.

Keep ReadingShow less