New Delhi  - Lal Krishna Advani, who fled to India from Pakistan as a refugee and emerged as the country's top Hindu nationalist leader, has brought about a marked transformation in India's political scene over the past two decades.

The 81-year-old leader of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Advani has helmed the rise of the BJP largely on the basis of Hindu-Muslim tensions and a campaign to have a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Ram built on the site of a demolished mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya.

New Delhi  - Elections in India, conducted once every five years, are generally held in a staggered manner to allow adequate security and logistical arrangements so the huge electorate, which nearly equals the population of Europe, can vote freely.

The polls, made a daunting task due to the expanse of India, are to be held in five phases from April 16 to May 13 to ensure the movement of millions of security and election personnel. Results were expected May 16.

New Delhi  - Who will be India's next prime minister? With general elections days away, analysts predicted yet another hung Parliament in which smaller parties could call the shots and anyone could be kingmaker and any kingmaker could be king.

There seems to be no clear majority in sight for any single party or for the two main coalitions - the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In such a scenario, a leader with the backing of several political parties with a combined strength of 270 members in the 545-member Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament, could become the next prime minister.

New Delhi  - The world's largest election in India is expected to provide a stimulus of sorts to the country's slowing economy as political parties splurge hundreds of millions of dollars on loud and colourful campaigns and even arrange liquor and cash to bribe people for their votes.

The spin-off effects of nationwide campaigns are already giving a boost to businesses and industry as more than 100 billion rupees (2 billion dollars) is expected to be pumped into the system in the five-stage election over the month between April 16 and May 13.

New Delhi - Grandmaster-level chess is a snap compared to the calculations and combinations involved in India's 15th general election.

Seven national parties, 47 regional parties and more than 400 smaller parties are engaged in frenetic activity, building and breaking pre-poll ties in efforts to come up with a winning combination in the mammoth electoral exercise beginning April 16.

New Delhi - In the biggest democratic exercise on the planet, India plans month-long elections beginning April 16 when almost one-sixth of humanity selects its government as the country faces its toughest economic and national security challenges in recent years.

In the complex, five-phase polls marked with a colour and fervour unmatched in the world, an electorate larger than 714 million people are to elect 543 parliamentary representatives from 35 states and union territories, six major religions and several regional languages.