India holds the first stage of a staggered general election on Thursday just as the economy is hit by a slowdown and with polls showing the main national parties may struggle to form a stable coalition. The ruling Congress party-led coalition appears to lead against an alliance headed by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, but both may need the support of a host of smaller regional parties to win office. More than 140 million people can vote on Thursday in polls that cover some of India's poorest and most insurgency-ridden states. The government has deployed more than two million security personnel across India as Maoist rebels have stepped up attacks on forces and threatened voters. New Delhi said it was also on heightened alert for militant infiltrations from Pakistan. The outcome will be known on May 16 after five stages. India's elections are notoriously hard to predict and polls have been wrong in the past. Exit polls are banned for the election. In Varanasi, the northern town known for its Hindu gurus, political party offices were teaming with supporters making last minute preparations. Banners and bunting fluttered from rooftops and many activists were seen moving around in cars and on motorbikes plastered with their party symbols and mugshots of their candidates. “There is a lot of excitement over tomorrow's voting. The leaders come to see us once in five years, they have come this time as well,” said Lal Babu Yadav, a farm hand in Mahanpur in Uttar Pradesh state. An array of castes, religions and ethnicities add up to the 714 million people eligible to vote in the world's largest democratic exercise, where ancient ties still play a large role at the ballot box Congress is wooing voters with populist measures such as food subsidies and farm loan waivers in a country were hundreds of millions live below the poverty line.
