India to hold five state votes, test for government

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 elections.

The northeastern state of Mizoram is run by a local regional party, while Delhi is in the hands of Congress.

The BJP is campaigning on the need for a tougher central government, such as harsher anti-terrorism measures to combat suspected Islamist bomb attacks and Maoist insurgents.

The BJP also has a history of introducing more pro-market reforms than the left-of-center, secular-leaning Congress party, although in opposition it has opposed most of the government's reform measures.

Chhattisgarh, one of the states most hit by a Maoist insurgency, could test whether voters punish Congress on what many Indians see as lax government security policies.

The election commission said it was still discussing an election date for Indian Kashmir.

The disputed Himalayan region has in the past two months witnessed some of the biggest pro-independence demonstrations since a separatist revolt against Indian rule in 1989 and there has been pressure to suspend the state election due this year.

Separatists say they will boycott any state election.

More than 40 people have been killed by security forces and more than 1,000 hurt in this year's protests.

(Reporting by C.K Nayak; Writing by Alistair Scrutton; Editing by Bill Tarrant)