Clashes mar Indian polls

An Indian soldier helps an elderly voter to a polling station

ROZA, India -- Clashes marred voting as residents in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh went to the polls in an election that will test support for the government during its stand-off with nuclear foe Pakistan.

Supporters of competing Indian political parties fired guns, beat one another with wooden sticks and set cars on fire as voting took place in the country's most populous -- and most politically important -- state.

A dozen political workers were hurt in Uttar Pradesh where the election for state legislature is being closely watched.

Along with Uttar Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states Punjab and Uttaranchal, and federally-controlled Manipur, are all choosing new assemblies. But the voting is being done in stages in a bid to allow security forces to travel to different parts of the states to curb violence.

Since Uttar Pradesh's 99 million voters outnumber the electorate of many countries, the polls to elect 403 lawmakers there are being held in three phases.

A defeat there for the party of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee could prompt some coalition partners at the federal level and members of his Cabinet to switch sides, though national elections are not due until 2004.

Despite the high security, election-related violence has also marred the small northeastern state of Manipur, which has a history of being racked by separatist rebellion and has been under federal control since riots last year.

Suspected separatist rebels gunned down two paramilitary soldiers and wounded five others at a polling station there, H. Sandhu, the deputy inspector general of police, told The Associated Press.

Clashes common

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Violence is common during Indian elections, and officials deployed hundreds of thousands of police and paramilitary forces for the state legislative polls Thursday in Manipur and in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. The forces were also deployed to ensure fair voting.

Exit polls from Wednesday voting in the northern state of Punjab predicted a major defeat for Vajpayee's right-wing coalition. That means the prime minister will face a critical test of his popularity in the voting in Uttar Pradesh.

The polling by independent television channels said the main opposition Congress party, led by Sonia Gandhi, was likely to win more than two-thirds of the seats in the Punjab legislature.

Vajpayee's party was also facing a tough challenge in Uttaranchal and Manipur.

High turnout

Voters climb a tree to get a better view of a politican's speech

Election officials said nearly 55 percent of voters cast ballots in Uttar Pradesh, which has produced seven of the nation's 10 prime ministers since independence from Britain in 1947.

Turnout was 90 percent in Manipur and 50 percent in the tiny, mountainous northern state of Uttaranchal, where voters are electing a legislature for the first time since it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh last year.

National security and the fight against terrorism have emerged as major issues in the run-up to the polls.

India and Pakistan have put their troops on high alert along their 1,800-mile border since a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13.

The elections also highlight the enduring caste divide that continues to affect politics in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP campaign has focused on the Pakistan row and the threat from Islamic militants. But this has not swayed voters who seem more concerned about bread-and-butter issues and corruption.

Although official counting only begins on February 24, opinion polls show the BJP struggling and likely to lose control in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.