India's election begins for its 814-million registered voters

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http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-india-election-20140407,0,4699110.story

India's election begins for its 814-million registered voters
By Tanvi Sharma and Shashank Bengali
April 7, 2014, 7:28 a.m.

NEW DELHI — Balloting began Monday in the world’s largest election, as Indian voters frustrated by an economic slowdown and political mismanagement were expected to drum the ruling Indian National Congress out of power.

Six weeks of staggered voting began with residents in a handful of remote northeastern constituencies going to the polls. It was the first of nine days of balloting with 814-million registered voters spread across India's 935,000 polling stations.

Preelection polls predicted a resounding win for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, whose prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, has captured the country’s attention with a pro-business, anti-incumbency message. But Modi also is dogged by decade-old accusations that he didn’t intervene to stop communal riots that killed 1,000 people, mostly minority Muslims, in the western state of Gujarat, where he has been chief executive since 2001.

The polls suggested that Modi’s BJP will capture the most seats in India’s 543-seat lower house of parliament, although likely not enough to win an outright majority, forcing it into a coalition with smaller parties. Results are expected May 16.