2 soldiers killed in 3rd phase of India’s elections

Suspected Maoist fighters blew up a jeep carrying paramilitary soldiers, killing two and wounding three others early Thursday and causing a suspension in voting in some parts of eastern Bihar state in the third phase of India's national elections, police said.

The soldiers were patrolling a forest in a suspected Maoist stronghold in Munger district when their jeep hit a land mine nearly 145 miles southeast of Patna, the state capital, police officer Jitendra Rana said.

Maoist fighters have urged people to boycott the elections in the region.

Voting was suspended at a dozen polling stations in the area hit by the insurgents because of the safety threat, Rana said, but started as scheduled in other parts of Bihar state.

Millions of people are voting in the third phase of the elections, covering parts of 11 of India's 28 states. The multiphase voting across the country runs until May 12, with results for the 543-seat lower house of parliament announced May 16.

The main Hindu opposition, with strong momentum on promises of a surge in economic growth, appears to be leading the race to end the Congress party's 10 years in power.

Sonia Gandhi, the governing Congress party chief, and her son Rahul Gandhi, the party's vice president, voted in the Indian capital, New Delhi, where their party was routed in a regional election in December.

Besides the Congress party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the vote is also crucial for the future of India's anti-corruption party, led by Arvind Kejriwal.

The Aam Admi Party, or Common Man's Party, scored a stunning upset in the New Delhi election, launching Kejriwal to the national stage. He has led protests and hunger strikes to highlight his fight against government corruption over the past two years. The party is contesting nearly 400 parliamentary seats.

The threat of insurgent attacks is always a shadow over Indian elections, although voting in the first two phases in parts of the insurgency-racked states in the northeast of the country on Monday and Wednesday were mainly peaceful, with thousands of soldiers guarding voting stations.

On Wednesday, Maoist fighters killed three soldiers in a gun battle in central Chhattisgarh state a day before voting started there.

In March, fighters killed 15 government soldiers and one civilian in their deadliest raid in Chhattisgarh in almost a year, ambushing dozens of troops and police guarding construction workers.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the rebels India's biggest internal security threat. They operate in 20 of the country's 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry.

The Associated Press