Final phase of voting starts in India's elections

Indians voted in the seventh and final phase of national elections on Sunday, wrapping up a six-week-long grueling campaign as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party seeks another five-year term, The Associated Press reported.

Voters voted for MPs in the 13 constituencies of the northern state Punjab, 13 in northern Uttar Pradesh, nine in the eastern state of West Bengal, eight each in central Madhya Pradesh state, eastern Bihar state, and four in the hilly northern state of Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and one in union territory of Chandigarh in north India, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Final counting is scheduled for May 23.

All told, more than 100 million Indians were eligible to decide the fate of 918 candidates in the polls, according to the Election Commission of India. More than 112,000 polling stations were set up to ensure smooth elections.

Pre-election poll surveys by the media indicate that no party is likely to win a majority of 543 seats in Parliament. Modi's Bhartiya Janta Party, or BJP, which won a majority of 282 seats in 2014, may need some regional parties as allies to stay in power.

In Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, voters started lining up outside polling stations early on Sunday morning to avoid scorching heat, with temperatures reaching up to 38 C. Armed security officials stood guard in and outside the centers amid fear of violence.

Voters were also up early in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh state, where election workers arranged for drinking water, shade and fans to cool down voters.

"I straight away came from morning walk to cast my vote and was surprised to see enthusiasm among the voters," said Ramesh Kumar Singh, who was among the first to vote. "There were long queues of people waiting patiently to cast their votes, which is a good sign for democracy," he said.

Modi is contesting for a second consecutive term of five years. The BJP has been facing challenges from the opposition Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has produced three prime ministers. Congress and other opposition parties have challenged Modi over an unemployment rate that is above 6 percent and farmers' distress aggravated by low crop prices.

Modi's boldest policy steps, such as the demonetization of high currency notes to curb black-market money and bring a large number of people into tax net, proved to be economically damaging, AP reported. A haphazard implementation of "one nation, one tax" goods and services tax also hit small and medium-size businesses.

(China Daily 05/20/2019 page11)