Vajpayee tipped for return in world’s biggest elections

THE world’s largest democracy begins polling its citizens today from cities to remote Himalayan valleys for parliamentary elections.

The people of India are expected to re-elect the governing coalition, thanks to a booming economy and peace prospects with neighbouring Pakistan.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance, which is a multi-party bloc headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, claims credit for an economy likely to grow more than 8% this year.

Vajpayee has also successfully run a broad-based coalition for its full term in an era of fractious politics.

However, he surprised his allies in the final campaign moments by saying he would prefer an outright majority for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“My worry now is, if we are again saddled with a 22-party coalition ... such a situation is better avoided,” he said.

Vajpayee, who has been elected to parliament nine times, has been India’s prime minister since 1998.

The BJP has aggressively tried to shed its image of being opposed to Muslims, the largest minority that makes up more than one-tenth of the Hindu-majority nation of more than one billion people.

Hindus and Muslims alike are enthusiastic about Vajpayee’s recent efforts to normalise relations with India’s rival Pakistan and resolve the decades-old dispute between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

The opposition Congress party, which headed India for nearly four straight decades under the leadership of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, faces an uphill battle in the staggered, five- phase elections that run from today through to May 10.

Congress claims India’s rural poor have been left behind by the government’s push for economic growth.

Opinion polls have predicted Vajpayee’s coalition will return to power, though some surveys now predict a closer fight than the runaway sweep projected earlier.

The BJP was not expected to win an outright majority. But the popular leader was expected to head any coalition formed after the election.

Security has been stepped up ahead of the first phase of voting, with 140 seats up for grabs across 14 states today.

The logistics of the world’s biggest elections are so complicated that they must be staggered over three weeks, enabling police and resources to move from one place to another.

In the first phase alone, more than 400,000 police and troops are being deployed to prevent election-related violence, according to state officials.

By the time that polling is completed, some four million officials, including police officers and soldiers, will have been dispatched.

And more than 660 million registered voters will have had the opportunity to cast their ballots.