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Indian parties

campaign trail,

15,000 in the fray

NEW DELHI: Indian political parties have hit the campaign trail in the world's largest democracy, with a record 15,000 candidates in the parliamentary polls, officials said on Monday.

The Election Commission said the number of candidates for the 545-seat Lok Sabha, lower house of parliament, was the highest in an Indian general elections since independence in 1947.

A total of 8,699 candidates fought the last polls in May-June 1991.

Most parties launched into their election campaigns as soon as the deadline for candidates' withdrawal ended on Saturday, election officials said.

The first phase of the election battle was expected to be low key with public rallies and house-to-house canvassing. But "things will pick up very soon," said Sushma Swaraj, a leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian People's Party.

The staggered polls will be held on April 27, May 2 and May 7. Balloting in Kashmir will also be held on May 23 and 30.

Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, who faces an uphill struggle with opinion polls predicting a hung parliament, will launch his re-election campaign late Monday.-APP/AFP