May 23, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 17, 1429

BANGALORE, May 22: Several million people voted amid heavy security on Thursday in the last phase of a state ballot seen as a key test of the national ruling Congress party ahead of general elections next year.

The Congress-led federal coalition government is under pressure to tame rising food prices and provide more aid to farmers hit by higher input costs.

Its rival Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking to capitalise on Congress party woes by attempting to win southern Karnataka state, normally governed by a coalition, on its own.

Victory among the contested 69 seats at stake on Thursday and in the overall vote could provide the BJP with a boost to its bid to unseat Sonia Gandhi’s Congress party in general elections due by May next year, an analyst said.

“The third phase of polling is critical for national parties Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the outcome could make or mar their prospects of securing a majority to form a single-party government,” political analyst Sandeep Shastri said.—AFP