RAIPUR, India (AFP) — A part of India's Maoist rebel-hit east voted in state elections Friday, the first of a string of elections seen as a mini-referendum on the ruling Congress Party ahead of national polls next year.
Security was tight in impoverished Chhattisgarh state, the base of ultra-leftist rebels described by the government as the biggest threat to India's internal security.
The Maoists appeared determined to disrupt the polls, with three policemen escorting ballot boxes injured by a bomb hidden in a food box, according to officials.
Officials in Raipur, the state capital, said 40,000 police and soldiers had been deployed at polling stations.
About half of the 8,879 polling booths have been designated "sensitive" or "hyper-sensitive," with voting also taking place in the Maoist strongholds of Dantewada, Bijapur and Bastar in the densely forested south of the state.
India's ruling Congress party, currently the opposition party in the state, has made the Maoist insurgency its major election issue.
"Law and order is a major problem. It is an extension of the state being unable to harness youth energies fully. It is the unemployed youth who are major recruits into the Maoist ranks," said Congress spokesman Tom Vadakkan.
Incumbent Chief Minister Raman Singh, of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been luring voters with the promise of cheap rice for all if he wins.
Voting has been split into two stages, with the remaining areas to vote next week.
A total of six states will vote before the end of the year against a backdrop of rising food prices and growing concerns over the impact of the global financial crisis on India's economy.
The elections in Chhattisgarh will be followed by polls in central Madhya Pradesh, the capital Delhi, remote Mizoram in the northeast and the western desert state of Rajasthan.
The insurgency-affected region of Jammu and Kashmir will vote in a seven-part election starting on Monday that is likely to see low turnout due to a boycott called by separatist leaders opposed to Indian rule.
The ballots are regarded as a litmus test of the popularity of the Congress-led government, which has to call a general election by May 2009 at the latest.
The BJP governs in three of the states voting but analysts say anti-incumbency sentiment may be offset by anger with the federal government over high inflation.
India has started to feel the pinch from the global financial crisis, with exports and manufacturing slowing, GDP growth forecasts cut and job losses expected.
"The importance of these elections starting with Chhattisgarh is twofold. The results could determine timing of general elections," said Neerja Choudhury, a syndicated columnist.
"If the Congress party does well, it could call general elections as early as February. On the other hand, if the BJP does manage to beat the anti-incumbency factor and does well, it will emerge as a strong alternative to the coalition present government," she said.
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