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| Tuesday, 2 March 2004 |
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Indian national polls to be held in stages NEW DELHI, Monday (AFP) Indian voters will go to the polls in national elections to be held in four stages in April and May that are seen as likely to return the ruling Hindu nationalist-led alliance to power. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government sought early elections to capitalise on a booming economy and peace moves with Pakistan. The polls in which 675 million people can vote will be held in four stages on April 20, April 26, May 5 and May 10, Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy told reporters in the capital Sunday. Results of the elections that opinion polls suggest will result in a landslide win for the BJP-led alliance will be known on May 13. "Let India shine" in the conduct of these elections, he said, borrowing from a BJP slogan as he urged parties to comport themselves with dignity, refrain from violence and choose candidates with good records. "We do not want elections to be conducted on the basis of violence or personal attacks," Krishnamurthy said. Parliament was dissolved February 6, paving the way for the polls to be held ahead of the expiry of the government's five-year term on September 30. In a bid to appeal to the mainstream, the BJP has downplayed its Hindu revivalist roots and is hoping India's strong economic resurgence and bumper crops after a bountiful monsoon will lead to its re-election. Since sweeping three state polls in December, the government has announced a slew of vote-grabbing economic steps and a big media campaign, titled "India Shining," highlighting what it says is a "feel-good" sentiment in the country. While pitching Vajpayee as India's "best" prime minister material and consensus builder, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said the BJP would seek votes based on the government's track record. "The coalition government led by Vajpayee has provided security and development with good governance," Advani told an election rally on Sunday in southern Karnataka state. "We are coming to you based on our accomplishments." Congress, last in power in 1996, has pledged good governance and to preserve India's secular identity which it says the BJP has jeopardised. |
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