India goes to polls in biggest voting day

BANGALORE: India hosted its biggest day of voting today with the ruling Congress party battling to stem a further slide in the polls against opposition Hindu nationalists after another week of damaging headlines.
Voters lined up today morning in 121 constituencies across a dozen states on the sixth day of staggered voting in an election which ends on May 16.
Over 195 million voters are eligible to cast ballots, with the key battleground states of northern Uttar Pradesh and southern Karnataka in play.
"It is a very important election, as it will decide the country's future, the idea of India and its philosophy," billionaire candidate Nandan Nilekani said in Bangalore.
Nilekani, co-founder of IT outsourcer Infosys, is standing for Congress in the city where inflation, corruption and slow economic growth are key issues.
Congress is widely expected to lose to opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is being led by hardline Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi.
Faced with a new survey this week showing for the first time the BJP and its allies reaching a majority in parliament, the ruling Gandhi political dynasty has sharpened its attacks on Modi.
Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, whose daughter Priyanka and son Rahul are also on the campaign trail, told voters Wednesday that Modi represented a "dangerous combination of religious fanaticism, power and money".
Rahul, who has dropped earlier reluctance to target Modi personally, has accused him of "crony capitalism" in Gujarat, which Modi has run since 2001.
Priyanka has accused the BJP of trying to divide the country on religious grounds.
She has also been sucked into a war of words with her estranged cousin Varun who is standing for the BJP, accusing him of a "betrayal".
Senior BJP figure Arun Jaitley has seized on the bickering and predictions that Congress will suffer its worst ever result.
"The family charisma has faded away," he said in a statement on Monday. – AFP