India to hold five state votes

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will hold five state elections between November and December, votes that will test the political temperature before a general election in early 2009, the election commission said on Tuesday. The ruling Congress party, hit by inflation and perceived weak government leadership, has been losing ground to the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state elections over the last year. The BJP will be the incumbent in western state of Rajasthan and the central states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, offering a chance for Congress to regain some political ground. Incumbent governments in India often do badly in... [read full story]