BJP confident of election victory

The BJP leadership is confident of an absolute majority

The president of the Bharitiya Janata Party (BJP), Venkaiah Naidu, predicts India's governing coalition will win a "comfortable majority".

The BJP leader said his alliance would win more than 300 of the 543 seats in the country's general election.

Mr Naidu was speaking after the BJP leadership considered its strategy for the final day's voting next Monday.

The Bombay stock exchange rose on exit poll news of the coalition's improved performance in Wednesday's voting.

We will get a comfortable majority Venkaiah Naidu, BJP President

Mr Naidu, speaking after a two-hour meeting of BJP leaders in Delhi on Thursday, brushed aside suggestions by some exit polls that the BJP-led alliance would only get a simple majority, and that more, smaller parties, would have to be wooed.

Rally

The prospect that the National Democratic Alliance would be return to government led to a rally for Indian shares.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's main index rose to a one-week high of 5,752.51 points reversing earlier falls amid concerns that economic reforms would slow if a weak coalition was returned.

A final round of voting will be held on Monday and votes for all stages will be counted next Thursday.

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Monday's vote will be concentrated on north India, including the capital Delhi, the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and the remaining part of Uttar Pradesh still to vote.

But the BJP has a marginal presence in many of the states voting on Monday and analysts say it will need a strong showing from its allies to withstand the opposition.

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

Voting has now been completed for 361 seats out of the 543-member lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha.

Stray violence

Some 50-55% of voters cast their votes on Wednesday, although the turnout in Anantnag, the lone constituency in Indian-administered Kashmir to vote, was much lower at 16%.

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

The BBC's Altaf Hussain, who was in Anantnag, said most polling stations were deserted while some of those who turned out alleged they had been coerced into voting by Indian army troops.

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

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

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