The world's largest democracy is holding parliamentary elections over the next 5 weeks to determine the make up of India's 543 member legislative body. More than 750 million are eligible to vote which accounts for the long voting period.At issue are local matters:The elections take place as a worldwide financial crisis begins to clip India's economic growth, but the campaign has been dominated by debates over religion, caste, poverty and a host of local issues. Every party has appealed to voters by promising bundles to the poor, from an expansion of a federal jobs program to free television sets to families below the poverty line. Here in Andhra Pradesh, one of 17 states where voting began Thursday and turnout was reported at 65 percent, several parties apparently presented would-be voters with incentives to go to the polls - cash for women, half-liter bottles of liquor for men. The state's chief electoral officer, I.V. Subba Rao, said an estimated $5 million in cash had been seized...(Read Full Post)