Indians set to oust Congress Party

Indian voters, worried about jobs and angry about corruption, look set to turf out the ruling Congress Party in the world’s biggest election starting today in favour of the opposition Hindu nationalists under hardliner Narendra Modi.

After 10 years of leftist rule by Congress and the Gandhi family dynasty, surveys show the young and increasingly aspirational electorate yearning for change, frustrated about the country’s direction and irked by higher food prices.

Modi, a hawkish three-times chief minister from western Gujarat state, has risen through the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become the leading prime ministerial candidate.