Who will be India's next prime minister or kingmaker in coalition discussions? Al Jazeera profiles the main players.
Known for his mild-mannered leadership style, his political critics consider him just a proxy for Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party. Although he has never won a popular election (he is a member of the Rajya Sabha or upper house of parliament), Singh enjoys widespread support because of his intellect, simplicity and reputation for honesty.
He is credited with overseeing the rise of the BJP as a major political force and is reputed to be an efficient administrator.
Elected to parliament the following year, she turned down the post of prime minister after taking her party to a surprise election victory in 2004. Opposition's attempts to discredit her because of her foreign origin seem to have failed, and her influence over the party and its government was never in doubt.
Like his parents, he initially refused to take up a leading position in the Congress, but is now considered an important leader who can hold together the party. He is seen as the party's main hope to attract the youth vote in a demographically young country. Although he has been trying hard to connect with the poor in the nation's vast hinterland, he is yet to prove himself in the rough world of Indian politics.
Re-elected to power after resigning from his post after the riots, he is credited with making Gujarat one of the most business-friendly and prosperous states in India. He served as the BJP's general secretary from 1998 to 2001.
Her Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded dozens of upper-caste candidates in this election to broaden her support base. This former school teacher's pro-poor stance is in sharp contrast to her personal wealth and penchant for lavish birthday celebrations.
He has friends in rival political camps and being the head of the Indian cricket board gives him considerable influence in a country that loves the game.
The lower castes and minorities are his support base and that puts him in direct competition with Mayawati, who has a similar base. They have alternated in power in Uttar Pradesh since the mid-1990s. Although not part of the current Congress-led government, he helped to prop it up from the outside when the Communists withdrew support in 2008.
While she has shown support for the Third Front of regional and left-wing parties, she could back either of the two main coalitions if need be. In 1998, she pulled out of the BJP-led government, forcing fresh polls. A former film star, she entered politics in 1982 with the backing of former co-star and state chief minister, MG Ramachandran.
He is accused of ignoring the rural poor in his haste to push through urban development. Maoist rebels, powerful in some parts of his state, once came close to assassinating him while he was in office as chief minister. Although his party has been a key BJP ally, it is fighting this election on its own. Naidu will have a big role in national politics if his regional party does well in what is seen as a swing state.
Observers say he has brought some order to India's most crime-ridden state, where kidnappings had almost become a cottage industry of sorts. He has been a minister of transport and agriculture in the federal government.
It is still unclear whether he can work the same magic as NT Rama Rao did more than 25 years ago when he launched his Telugu Desam Party and within months engineered a landslide victory over a well-entrenched Congress. Like Rao (NTR for his fans), Chiranjeevi is hugely popular and he launched his party as recently as August 2008. Even if his party does not sweep the elections, it threatens to further divide the votes in a state hitherto split largely between the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party.
Yadav, 62, served as chief minister of the eastern Bihar state from 1990 to 1997, on the strength of strong support from backward castes and Muslims, until he was forced to resign over corruption charges. His critics in Bihar accuse him of neglecting administration, retarding economic progress and playing caste politics during his rule. But Yadav's earthy charm and ready wit have endeared him to Indian popular culture and the media.
Patnaik also blamed the BJP for last year's deadly anti-Christian riots in Orissa. He is now being wooed by the left-leaning Third Front. Patnaik, 63, whose sister Gita Mehta is a well-known author, joined politics in the 1990s after the death of his politician father. Politics aside, Patnaik is known for his interest in the arts and is the author of several coffee-table books on India.
He began his career as a scriptwriter for Tamil films but cemented his political credentials through participation in the Dravidian movement and anti-Hindi protests. While winning every election that he has fought during his 60-year political career, Karunanidhi, 85, has battled corruption charges and claims of backing the LTTE, Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil rebels. The rapid rise of his son MK Stalin through the DMK ranks has also fuelled dissent and nepotism accusations. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Enrolment in govt schools significantly rose post pandemic: Mizoram
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