New Delhi (dpa) – Polls opened Monday in India’s eastern states of Assam and West Bengal where Premier Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking at making gains after a setback in local elections last year.
Elections will also be held in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the federal territory of Pondicherry next month and votes will be counted for all states on May 19, the Election Commission said.
An election official seals an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to be used for the first phase of Assam Assembly election in Jorhat district of Assam state, India, 01 April 2016. Thousands of Indian voters will elect legislators for the 126 seats contested in 25,000 polling stations in Assam state in two phases on 04 and 11 April 2016 respectively. Polls opened Monday in India’s eastern states of Assam and West Bengal where Premier Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking at making gains after a setback in local elections last year.
Some 170 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots in one of the biggest tests of popular opinion since the 2014 general election when Modi led his party to a decisive win.
The BJP is not in power in any of the states due to vote, however, and the elections are being closely watched to see if the party is able gain ground in regions where it has been traditionally weak.
Opinion polls have indicated that the BJP stands its best chance in Assam where it could defeat the Indian National Congress. The issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigration has dominated regional politics and the BJP has vowed to halt the influx if voted into power.
Regional parties are expected to put up a strong showing in West Bengal and the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Left-wing parties and Congress are the main contenders in Kerala in the south.
The BJP suffered humiliating defeats in elections in Delhi and Bihar last year.
Modi has been criticized for not living up to his promises of faster development, job creation and bringing key economic reforms to propel growth.
