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India election: Modi votes as millions go to polls in seventh phase India election: Narendra Modi accused of poll law violation as millions vote
(about 3 hours later)
Narendra Modi, the man tipped to be India's next prime minister, has voted in his home state of Gujarat in the seventh phase of the general election. India's Election Commission has accused the main opposition BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of violating the election code.
He cast his vote at a school in the city of Ahmedabad. All 26 seats are up for grabs in the state. He violated poll laws by flashing his party's symbol and making a political speech while voting was going on in the seventh phase of the election, it said.
Mr Modi was greeted by cheering crowds lining the streets and on rooftops as he arrived at the polling station. Mr Modi addressed journalists and supporters after casting his vote in his home state of Gujarat.
Andhra Pradesh is also voting on Wednesday for the last time as a united state before it is divided. He later posted a "selfie" of his inked finger on Twitter.
It is among seven states and two union territories sending 139 million eligible voters to make their choice between some 1,300 candidates contesting 89 seats on Wednesday. India's general election, with 814 million eligible voters, is the world's biggest exercise in democracy and the governing Congress party is battling the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for power. Mr Modi is ahead in all the opinion polls.
India's general election, with 814 million eligible voters, is the world's biggest exercise in democracy and the governing Congress party is battling the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for power. He was greeted by cheering crowds lining the streets and on rooftops as he arrived at the polling station in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's biggest city. Voting was held in all 26 seats in the state.
But it is the BJP's Mr Modi who is ahead in all the opinion polls. Andhra Pradesh also voted on Wednesday for the last time as a united state before it is divided on 2 June.
Surging crowds Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh were among seven states and two union territories where 139 million eligible voters had to make their choice between some 1,300 candidates contesting 89 seats on Wednesday.
Mr Modi took a "selfie" of his inked finger after voting and flashed a small lotus flower, his party's symbol, to cheering crowds. In trouble
"The BJP will form a stable government in Delhi soon," he said. "The BJP will form a stable government in Delhi soon," Mr Modi said after casting his vote.
"The Congress party has already conceded defeat... It is the end of the mother-son government," he added, in a reference to the Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul."The Congress party has already conceded defeat... It is the end of the mother-son government," he added, in a reference to the Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul.
He waved to his supporters flashing victory signs as he left. The police had a difficult time keeping the surging crowd at bay as they tried to reach Mr Modi. But photographs of an upbeat Mr Modi holding a small white lotus flower, shown on television screens across India, have landed him in trouble with the Election Commission.
But Mr Modi's display of the party symbol appears to have landed him in trouble, with the Election Commission accusing him of violating the election code and ordering the authorities to register a case against him. The commission said it had seen the video recordings of Mr Modi's speech and that it was evident that it was "a political speech intended and calculated to influence and affect the result of elections in the constituencies voting today". It has now ordered the authorities to register a case against him.
Mr Modi is standing for election in two seats - in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi as well as from Vadodara in Gujarat. If he wins both seats, he will have to relinquish one. A spokesperson for the BJP said Mr Modi had done nothing wrong and that the party would respond to the Election Commission notice.
Andhra Pradesh - where voting for state assemblies is also taking place - is a key battleground for the general election. If found guilty, Mr Modi could be sent to jail for up to two years or asked to pay a fine, or both, but correspondents say it is unlikely to happen.
The 17 parliamentary constituencies going to the polls on Wednesday will be part of the newly created state of Telangana next time round. Voting for the remaining 25 parliamentary seats which will constitute Andhra Pradesh after the state is split in two will be held on 7 May. Mr Modi is standing for election in two seats - in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi as well as Vadodara in Gujarat. If he wins both seats, he will have to relinquish one.
The main contest in the state is between the Congress party and the regional Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) - both are taking credit for the creation of Telangana and both are likely to benefit from the general belief that they helped set up the new state, BBC Hindi's Zubair Ahmed reports from Hyderabad. In Andhra Pradesh - where voting for state assemblies is also taking place - brisk polling was reported through the day.
"We will have jobs for our children. We will have uninterrupted supply of safe drinking water and electricity. We will have schools. The future of our children and grandchildren in the new state will be bright," Uttarapally Yadamma, a resident of an impoverished village near Hyderabad city, said. A large number of veiled Muslim women and old men sporting flowing beards stood in long queues waiting patiently for their turn to cast vote, BBC Hindi's Zubair Ahmad says.
In Hyderabad city, scores of people complained that their names were missing from the voters' list and in some polling centres electronic voting machines did not work.
The 17 parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh going to the polls on Wednesday are to be part of the newly-created state of Telangana.
Voting for the remaining 25 parliamentary seats which will constitute Andhra Pradesh after the state is split in two will be held on 7 May.
The marathon general election, which began on 7 April, will conclude on 12 May. Votes will be counted on 16 May.The marathon general election, which began on 7 April, will conclude on 12 May. Votes will be counted on 16 May.