India goes to the polls

A government guard keeps an eye on a polling site in the eastern Indian city of Karma. Media reports indicated that turnout was brisk in the morning but slowed as temperatures rose in the afternoon.  (Saurabh Das / Associated Press)

Voters wait their turn at a polling station in Varanasi, India. Polls indicate that the elections will probably leave India with a shaky coalition government.  (Manish Swarup / Associated Press)

Villagers bearing voting papers wait to cast ballots in Orissa state’s Kandhamal district, where the slaying of a Hindu fundamentalist leader last year sparked wide-scale violence against Christians.  (Biswaranjan Rout / Associated Press)

A woman casts her vote at a polling station near Varanasi, India. The national elections are staggered over a month for security and logistical reasons.  (Manish Swarup / Associated Press)

A voter displays her inked finger after casting her ballot near the Indian city of Varanasi. Early estimates indicated a fairly heavy showing nationwide, with most states reporting turnouts of more than 60%, authorities said.  (Manish Swarup / Associated Press)

Election officers seal electronic voting machines at the end of the first phase of polling in Varanasi, India. More than 1.3 million such machines will be used in the national elections.  (Manish Swarup / Associated Press)

A security worker helps carry voting machines that will be transported to a polling booth in Gaya, in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, on election eve. Indian voters will cast ballots Thursday in five-phase national elections that will span a month.  (Saurabh Das / Associated Press)

Congress Party Secretary Rahul Gandhi attends an election eve rally in Deoghar, in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. Behind him is a banner depicting his mother, Sonia, who is president of the Congress Party, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.  (Sasanka Sen / Associated Press)

Indian security personnel, some from police ranks, wait to be deployed to polling areas in Gaya, India. An estimated 714 million people are eligible to vote in India’s national elections, which will begin Thursday.  (Saurabh Das / Associated Press)

Hindu devotees participate in a prayer ceremony on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, India, on election eve. Thousands of paramilitary troops and police officers fanned out across parts of India to help ensure peaceful voting.  (Manish Swarup / Associated Press)

Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, wearing scarves bearing the Congress Party symbol, arrives for a news conference in Ahmadabad.  (Ajit Solanki / Associated Press)

Samajwadi Party candidate Nafisa Ali, center, speaks with party leader Amar Singh as actor and fellow party leader Sanjay Dutt looks on during an election rally in Lucknow, India.  (Manish A. / Associated Press)

A poll official carries electronic voting machines to be transported to ballot sites in Gaya, India. Polls indicate that neither the ruling Congress Party nor the main opposition, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, will win enough seats in the lower house of Parliament to rule on its own.  (Saurabh Das / Associated Press)

Polling officers check electronic voting machines in Hyderabad, India. More than 1.3 million such machines will be used in the national elections.  (Mahesh Kumar A. / Associated Press)

Paramilitary soldiers guard a church in Raikia, India. The city saw large-scale violence against Christians last year after the slaying of a Hindu fundamentalist leader in August.  (Biswaranjan Rout / Associated Press)