Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Focus on opposition BJP as India votes in 3rd round
Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:14am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Shilpa Jamkhandikar
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Millions of Indians began voting in the third round of a general election on Thursday in several states seen as key to the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party's bid to win power from the Congress-led ruling coalition.
The financial hub Mumbai began voting just months after an attack by Islamist gunmen that killed 166 people and inflamed tensions with nuclear-armed Pakistan, a security issue the BJP has used to criticize the government for being soft on terrorism.
The BJP appears to be trailing its main rival in a staggered, month-long election that could produce a weak coalition government as India grapples with the global economic slowdown and a spate of militant attacks in the past year.
More than 144 million people were eligible to vote on Thursday in a round that covers BJP strongholds in western and central India, as well as the insurgency-hit Kashmir valley.
The BJP will hope to get a big haul in the western state of Gujarat where one of the party's biggest stars, the controversial chief minister Narendra Modi, has been touted as an exemplar of the party's campaign of development and good governance.
Both main parties may need the support of regional players to form a government after the world's largest democratic exercise, in which 714 million people from a myriad of castes, religions and ethnicities can vote, ends on May 13.
While India's main vote battle is between Congress and the BJP, a coalition of smaller parties known as the "Third Front" has an outside chance. That worries many investors who see the bloc as an unknown quantity if it comes to power.
The BJP needs to fulfill its potential in stronghold states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka on Thursday to boost its chances of forging a winning coalition, said Swapan Dasgupta, a political analyst with links to the party.
OPPOSITION STRONGHOLDS
"All in all, it's a big day for the BJP. They're fighting in their strongholds or places where they feel they can make inroads," he said.
The BJP scored a narrow victory over Congress in Gujarat, which counts for 26 out of 543 seats in the national parliament.
Modi, tipped to eventually take over from the party's candidate for prime minister, the 81-year-old L.K. Advani, is seen as the driving force behind Gujarat's economic success story and appeals to the party's large Hindu vote bank nationwide.
The BJP will hope to build on what the business-friendly Modi achieved at state level.
But Modi's image -- and the BJP's -- may be tarnished as he is under investigation for allegedly turning a blind eye to some of India's worst religious riots, in which around 2,500 people, mainly Muslims, died in Gujarat in 2002.
Advani is running in his constituency in Gujarat, which is among nine states voting on Thursday. Others include the populous states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal along with insurgency-hit Jammu and Kashmir. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Focus on opposition BJP as India votes in 3rd round
Green Business
Reuters Green Business
Reuters introduces a new section dedicated to the emerging green technology sector, featuring five people to watch in the business of green and our global green portfolio. Full Coverage
More International News
Obama says Pakistan internal threat grave
| Video
Mexico visitors head for home as flu fears spread
A year on, Myanmar cyclone survivors struggle to rebuild
North Korea threatens nuclear tests over U.N. move
At least 10 dead in Azeri college shooting: report
More International News...
Editor's Choice
Swine Flu: An in-depth look at the virus, with the latest stories, facts and videos. Full Coverage
How serious is swine flu?
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Swine flu prompts Mexico to shut down economy | Video
Film critics take sharp claws to "Wolverine"
Fear a high school reunion? Hire a stripper
First Mexico fatal flu victim sought help for days
Obama says Bush-approved waterboarding was torture
Michelle Obama joins People "most beautiful" list | Video
Redstone says U.S. on brink of bull market
WRAPUP 6-Chrysler talks seen on the rocks as deadline looms
WHO warns flu pandemic imminent | Video
Mexico Senate OKs bill to legalize drug possesion
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Swine flu alert level raised
Pakistan's battle for control
U.S. reports first swine flu death
Swine flu cases increase in Europe
Michelle gets top marks in first 100
U.S. GDP tumbles worse than thought
Amish county bank thrives in crisis
Pig cull in Egypt to halt swine flu
Obama marks 100 days
The Guantanamo legacy
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.