Indians line up for election marathon

India braced yesterday for marathon elections expected to throw up an unstable coalition government at a time when the country needs strong leadership to pull through an economic downturn.

Neither of the two main national parties - the incumbent Congress and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party - is seen as capable of securing an absolute majority in the five-stage polls beginning today.

With a myriad other parties expected to grab up to 50 per cent of the 543 parliamentary seats on offer, the final result will kick off an intense period of political horse-trading as the big players rush to form a working coalition.

"At the moment, congress seems to have the advantage as more parties appear willing to do business with it," said Mahesh Rangarajan, a professor at Delhi University.

"But if the Congress party falls short of 135 seats on its own, then finding partners will be difficult. I wouldn't say it's wide open but it's certainly an open situation."

Today's first phase of voting will take in large swathes of northern and eastern India, including areas beset by a range of violent insurgencies involving tribal rebels, Maoist guerrillas and Muslim militants. In order to ensure voter safety, more than two million security personnel will be rotated around the country over the five phases of balloting that end on May 13.

The leading candidates for Prime Minister are both veterans. The incumbent, Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party, is 76, while his main challenger, the BJP's L.K. Advani, is even older at 81.

The prospect of a shaky coalition of disparate allies is hardly an appealing one, with any new government facing key national security concerns and a sharp economic slowdown after years of soaring growth.

The only viable alternative to a Congress or BJP-led coalition, is provided by a loose alliance of left-leaning and regional parties called the Third Front.

Negotiations are ongoing, but the alliance may join forces with Mayawati Kumari - the self-styled champion of the lower castes who has made no secret of her ambition to become India's first "untouchable" Prime Minister.

Many of the more than 700 million registered voters are expected to make their choices along religious and caste lines or on the basis of strictly regional issues that impact their daily lives.

During a rally in Mumbai on Tuesday, Prime Minister Singh urged voters to remember they were taking part in a nationwide election and to elect a "national party which has a reach all over the country, like the Congress".

Mr Advani, meanwhile, played up BJP accusations that the Congress-led government had been weak on terrorism.

"It is only a matter of time before the Taliban reaches India's borders," he warned, accusing Congress of doing "nothing worthwhile" to tackle the terror menace.

The campaign has become heated at times, and on Monday the Election Commission condemned unnamed party leaders for speeches "inciting communal hatred". One high-profile candidate, Varun Gandhi - a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty - was jailed after threatening to cut off the hands of anyone who dared harm India's majority Hindus.

The regions voting today include sensitive areas of Kashmir near the Pakistan border and northeastern states on the frontier with Bangladesh. "We have heightened our vigilance along the borders. Infiltration attempts are a serious matter," said the head of the paramilitary Border Security Force, M.L. Kumawat.