As India’s marathon 2009 Lok Sabha election hits the fourth phase, Delhi buzzes with Sonia Gandhi and Sheila Dikshit voting in key seats. Millions queue across 85 constituencies, defying West Bengal violence that claims two lives. With Congress and BJP eyeing coalition chaos, voter turnout tests democracy’s pulse—from Kashmir boycotts to Rajasthan rivalries—in this pivotal democratic showdown.
Polling stations across India have now closed in the fourth and penultimate stage of the country’s sprawling five-phase general election, one of the world’s largest democratic exercises. On this pivotal Thursday, millions of eligible voters—part of a national total exceeding 714 million—headed to the polls in 85 constituencies spanning seven states and the bustling federal territory of Delhi.
The marathon vote, stretched over weeks to manage security and logistics across the vast nation, pits the incumbent Congress-led United Progressive Alliance against the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a patchwork of regional players. Analysts predict neither major party will secure an outright majority in the 543-seat Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament), setting the stage for intense coalition negotiations once results are tallied on May 16. Smaller parties and independents could hold the balance of power in the horse-trading that follows.
This phase unfolded with relative calm, a welcome contrast to earlier violence. Tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed nationwide to safeguard the 828,804 polling centres. However, tensions flared in West Bengal, where clashes between supporters of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the opposition Trinamool Congress left two dead and over 15 injured. In Burdwan district, a Trinamool worker was killed, while a Marxist supporter met a similar fate in Murshidabad. BBC correspondent Subir Bhaumik in Kolkata noted a massive security blanket amid brisk turnout, describing it as the toughest test yet for the Communists, who have governed the state uninterrupted for over three decades.
In Delhi, all seven parliamentary seats were contested, with Congress having dominated six in the 2004 polls. The capital buzzed early as high-profile figures cast their votes. President Pratibha Patil joined the queues, followed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Gandhi’s daughter, Priyanka, emerged from the booth optimistic: “I hope the Indian voter is voting for a party and a prime minister who are serious about development and leading the country forward.”
Yet, not all areas saw enthusiasm. BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder reported from Gurgaon’s IT and banking hub that many young professionals, absorbed in the city’s high-octane economy, had failed to register. In contrast, rural voters lined up patiently from dawn. Voter turnout remained a concern; BBC India editor Sanjeev Srivastava observed that the first three phases had seen disappointingly low participation, and Thursday appeared to follow suit.
Further north, in Indian-administered Kashmir, the mood was starkly different. Separatists issued a boycott call, decrying the elections as a rubber-stamp on disputed rule. Srinagar’s streets lay eerily empty after a two-day shutdown in the Muslim-majority valley. While last year’s state polls saw some defiance with strong turnouts, this federal vote drew widespread compliance with the protest. Initial reports suggested minimal polling in the region.
Other hotspots included Rajasthan, where the BJP’s 2004 sweep of 21 out of 25 seats made every vote critical in the national tally. Punjab saw a brief suspension in Ferozepur after a Congress supporter was shot dead in a bizarre dispute over a mobile phone. In Bihar, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh—states voting in staggered phases—queues formed steadily despite the heat.
Among the day’s marquee candidates were heavyweights like External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee (Congress, West Bengal), Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD, Bihar), and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav (Uttar Pradesh). Their fates, alongside thousands of others, hung on the ballots of farmers, urban migrants, and first-time voters navigating the world’s biggest electorate.
The election kicked off on April 16 amid Maoist attacks in the east and center that claimed at least 17 lives. Subsequent rounds on April 23 and 30 passed more peacefully, but the specter of unrest lingered. With the fifth and final phase set for May 13, and the new parliament due to convene by June 2, India braces for a verdict that could reshape its leadership amid economic slowdown and security challenges.
As the BBC’s election train crisscrosses the nation, correspondent Soutik Biswas captured the stakes in Bengal: “Today’s polling is the toughest ever for the Communists.” Across the country, from Delhi’s malls to Kashmir’s valleys, the ballot box became a barometer of hope, frustration, and the enduring pulse of democracy.
