UPDATED: India votes in 1st phase of long polls seen as test for Modi
A local leader of Andhra Pradesh state's ruling Telugu Desam party who police identified as Sidda Bhaskara Reddy was killed in a confrontation with supporters of a regional opposition party, YSR Congress. Violent clashes were also reported elsewhere in the state, where voters are casting ballots for 25 members of India's lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha, and 175 state assembly seats.
With Modi as their frontman, the BJP won a clear majority in 2014 elections. Under the leadership of political dynasty scion Rahul Gandhi, India's National Congress party, which ruled the country for about half a century since the 1947 independence, has struggled to coalesce India's many opposition parties into a coherent effort that could go head-to-head with the BJP. Surveys show the ruling party projected to come out first again in this year's polls, though with a smaller mandate.
And Modi's critics say his party's Hindu nationalism has aggravated religious tensions and violence against Muslims and other minorities in constitutionally secular India. In the northern Baramulla area, many people said they came out to vote only to express their disapproval of the BJP, calling it an "anti-Muslim" and "anti-Kashmiri" organization. The BJP's election manifesto promised to scrap decades-old special rights for Kashmiris under India's Constitution that prevent outsiders from buying property in the territory.
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