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India set to announce parliamentary election dates

04 March 2014 22:36 (UTC +04:00)

The commission spokesman Rajesh Malhotra said the election dates would be unveiled at a news conference in New Delhi on Wednesday morning.

Sources say India's elections are expected to be held in several stages between April and May.

"The probable dates for the commencement of polling are between April 7 and 10," Indian media outlets quoted an unnamed official from the election commission as saying on Tuesday.

The landmark polls put Narendra Modi, the prime ministerial candidate for India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the Indian National Congress-led government that has lost popularity because of corruption scandals.

Corruption scandals and harsh economic decisions have made the government very unpopular recently with people accuse the party of becoming arrogant due to holding political power over the past eight years.

This is while India’s ruling Congress Party has held massive rallies in recent months across the capital New Delhi to drum up support for the government and reclaim its lost position.

The Congress Party leaders are trying to convince the public about the importance of their controversial economic reforms.

Meanwhile, India's main opposition leader, Modi, has strongly criticized the government foreign policy.

He has vowed a tough stand against arch-rival Pakistan if his party wins parliamentary elections this year.

Modi has also branded Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as too weak to raise the issue of attacks on the Indian soil, which New Delhi blames on Pakistani-based militants.