India vote passes crucial phase

The prime minister cast his vote in Lucknow

Several key states have voted in India's marathon general election with turnout estimated at around 50-55%.

Wednesday's voting was concentrated in the northern Hindi heartland - a stronghold of the ruling BJP - where elections are often won or lost.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was upbeat about winning a majority after casting his vote in his constituency of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh state.

In neighbouring Bihar, and Jammu and Kashmir, violence again marred polling.

Mr Vajpayee said he believed his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would pass the 272-seat mark to retain its majority.

Not a single vote has been cast in the first two hours of voting Bashir Ahmed Wani Indian-administered Kashmir Voting in Bihar's badlands Slow vote in Lucknow

"Yes, I am confident," he told reporters after turning out early to cast his ballot.

Exit polls have indicated that the BJP is going to be the biggest party in the 543-seat parliament, but short of an overall majority.

Correspondents say the main opposition Congress party appears to have done better so far than many had expected.

Voting has already been completed for 278 seats in two earlier main phases of voting, with a final phase scheduled for 10 May.

Grenade attacks

BBC News Online's Soutik Biswas says long queues of voters were to be seen in Lucknow, with many women among them.

India's Election Commission says initial reports indicate that 50% of voters cast their ballots in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, 50-55% in Madhya Pradesh and 52-55% in Rajasthan.

WEDNESDAY VOTING 107 million voters eligible Seven states voting 900 candidates 108,000 polling stations 83 constituencies Snapshots of Wednesday's voting

Two people were reported dead in poll-related violence in Bihar, where there were some reports of ballot fraud.

The BBC's Ayanjit Sen says he witnessed some people apparently casting several votes in a polling station in Khagaria constituency.

Only 16% of voters turned out in Anantnag in Indian-administered Kashmir, where separatists are boycotting the election.

Two grenade attacks at polling stations in the constituency left one person dead and 11 others wounded, five of them police.

Most polling stations were deserted.

"Not a single vote has been cast in the first two hours," Bashir Ahmed Wani, the poll official in one station told the BBC.

But in the desert state of Rajasthan, the BBC's Abhishek Prabhat reports that enthusiastic voters lined up two hours before the polls opened in Guda Bishnoi village.

Hindi heartland

The politically-influential Hindi heartland states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were all voting on Wednesday.

Together they account for more than a third of the seats in parliament.

Are exit polls reliable? Why the elections matter Map: Who votes when

Correspondents say Wednesday's vote is crucial to the BJP because it needs to improve on its performance in Uttar Pradesh while retaining support in its strongholds in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Businessman Vishal Tiwari told BBC News Online he had voted for the BJP in Lucknow.

"Hinduism is now strong in India. And Vajpayee should become the prime minister again. We want to be a developed Hindu nation," he said.

The opposition Congress Party has been energised with the entry of the latest member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting the polls from the family seat of Amethi.

Voting in Uttar Pradesh concludes on 10 May. But in Bihar, Wednesday was the final day of polling.

North-east

Voting was also brisk in the remote states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, in India's north-east.

Local residents wearing traditional colourful shawls trekked into polling stations along roads patrolled by police and armed troops.

Many of the 1,000 polling stations in the mountainous states have no roads and poll officials had travelled on foot or on elephant-back for several days to access them.

Indian air force helicopters were used to drop men and materials in other parts of the state.

Fewer than 700,000 people were eligible to vote for Arunachal Pradesh's two parliamentary seats, while little over a million could vote for Nagaland's lone parliamentary seat.

The vote has been staggered over four main phases to allow a massive security operation around the country.

Counting of votes will take place on 13 May, with results expected the same day.

For the first time in India's history, all the votes are being cast electronically.