Indian election process shortened

The election commission in India has brought forward by nearly a week the date of vote-counting in the general election, following pressure from political parties.

An election official said votes would be counted on March-the-Second, with the result expected the following day.

Parties had objected to a three-week gap between the start of polling and announcement of the result.

Rescheduling of the count will mean that a few constituencies in Kashmir and north-eastern India will go to the polls well after the result for the rest of the country is known.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service