UP

Indians vote in final phase of election

Home page Politics
12 Punto 14 Punto 16 Punto 18 Punto

Indians lined up to vote amid unprecedented security in the eastern state of West Bengal on Sunday as the final phase of a massive, staggered election got underway to decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns for a second term.

Axar.az reports citing Reuters.

Around 900 million Indians are eligible to vote in the seven-phase election, with vote counting to begin on Thursday.

The grueling, 39-day poll began in the wake of aerial clashes and escalated tensions with neighboring Pakistan, which Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used to focus its campaign on national security.

The main opposition Congress party and other regional blocs concentrated on the government’s economic mismanagement and inability to create jobs in their attempt to win voters.

However, the campaign turned increasingly personal and vitriolic in the final stages and clashes between rival groups marred polling in West Bengal.

India’s election commission suspended campaigning on Wednesday, a day early, after violence in the state’s capital, Kolkata.

Security was tight around voting stations in Kolkata and surrounding areas where people will cast their vote on Sunday. Around 57,000 policemen have been deployed and more than 400 quick response teams are on standby in case of any trouble, according to the chief electoral officer in Kolkata.

Amitava Ganguly, an employee of a private power utility, said there was polarization along communal lines in West Bengal.

“I have never seen such an election before,” Ganguly said.

The BJP is attempting to make inroads into West Bengal, which has the third highest number of parliamentary seats among Indian states, to offset likely losses elsewhere but has met stiff opposition from the regional Trinamool Congress party.

More than 100 million Indians are eligible to vote in the final phase, covering 59 seats in 8 states. India’s parliament has a total of 545 seats, out of which the BJP won 272 in the previous general election in 2014 to secure a single-party majority for the first time in around three decades.

Date
2019.05.19 / 14:37
Author
Axar.az
See also

President Aliyev sends condolences to Iraq over Al-Kut fire

Trump, Putin, Xi may meet at China’s WWII parade

Lebedev: Azerbaijan’s CIS absence only temporary

Azerbaijan voices support for Syria’s sovereignty

15 July is a lesson in freedom and unity

Azerbaijan boycotts CIS Economic Council meeting

Tehran trusts Yerevan to maintain strong bilateral ties

Pashinyan signals Armenia’s exit from CSTO early 2026

Baku as a possible mediator amid tensions in Syria

Georgia speaker accuses west of destabilization plans

Latest
Xocalı soyqırımı — 1992-ci il Bağla
Bize yazin Bağla
ArxivBağla