MILITANTS struck polling sites with grenades, rifles and bombs yesterday as Indians from Goan beaches to Himalayan mountains voted in a crucial third round of elections that will decide the fate of opposition leader Sonia Gandhi and her son, first-time candidate Rahul.

India’s parliamentary elections today entered a crucial third round that will determine the fate of opposition leader Sonia Gandhi and her son, first-time candidate Rahul, the latest member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to enter politics.

Suspected Maoist rebels have murdered three politicians and looted a police station in southern India, officials said today.

Opposition parties stalled work in India’s Parliament today, demanding the resignation of Gujarat state’s chief minister for failing to stop the recent bloodshed between Hindus and Muslims.

G.M.C. Balayogi, the speaker of the Indian Parliament’s lower house, was killed today in a helicopter crash in southern India where he had attended a peace rally. He was 50.