India to go to polls from April 11; tension with Pakistan seen boosting Modi

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) - India will hold a general election in seven stages starting on April 11, the election commission said yesterday, in what will be the world’s biggest democratic exercise with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to benefit from tension with Pakistan.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora told reporters that about 900 million voters would be eligible for the polls, about 15 million between the ages of 18 and 19 years.

Until a few weeks ago, a shortage of jobs and weak farm prices were seen as denting Modi’s popularity.

But pollsters say his ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a clear advantage over opposition parties after India’s armed forces clashed with those of arch rival Pakistan last month, triggering a wave of patriotic fervour across the country of 1.3 billion.

“For the first time I will vote for Narendra Modi, because I like what he has done against Pakistan,” said Anjali Tivari as she was picking up her son from school in Mumbai.

“I’m impressed. He gave the right answer to Pakistan.”

Modi touted his government’s achievements in a series of tweets after the announcement.

“I hope this election witnesses a historic turnout. I particularly call upon first time voters to vote in record numbers,” Modi tweeted.

India says its warplanes killed “a very large number of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders, and groups” of militants in a camp run by Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammad in northeastern Pakistan on Feb. 26.

The militant group claimed a suicide bomb attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in the disputed region of Kashmir on Feb. 14, and India accused Pakistan of complicity.

Pakistan rejected the suggestion it was linked to the attack and said no one was killed in the Indian air strike.