Polls have closed in the first phase of the month-long general election in India just as the economy is hit by a slowdown.
Indians voted in their tens of millions at the start of a process so complex and spread out that 6m civil and security personnel are needed to keep it on track.
The latest polls show that the main national parties may struggle to form a stable coalition.
Polls suggest the ruling Congress party-led coalition is leading against an alliance headed by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but both may need the support of smaller regional parties to win office.
More than 140m people were eligible to vote today in polls that cover some of India's poorest states.
The government deployed more than 2m security personnel across India as Maoist rebels have stepped up attacks on forces and threatened voters.
Domestic security concerns were highlighted soon after polling opened when Maoist rebels launched attacks in several eastern states, killing at least 18 people, including 10 troopers and five election workers.
The Maoists, who say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribal people and landless farmers, have been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the biggest overall threat to India's stability.
Counting will take place on 16 May.
India's elections are hard to predict and polls have been wrong in the past. Exit polls are banned for the duration of the election.
714m people will be eligible to vote at some point during the staggered poll.
Election facts
India consists of 28 states and seven so-called 'Union Territories', the latter consisting of two groups of offshore islands, notably the Andaman and Nicobar islands, the shared city of Chandigarh – capital of both Punjab and Haryana – and three territories made up of former Portuguese and French colonies.
Goa, itself a Portuguese colony until 1961, is the only territory added to India following independence in 1948 to have been granted full statehood.
The capital, Delhi, is also a Union Territory.
The current elections cover the full membership of the Indian parliament, the Lok Sabha, as well as State Assembly elections in three states: Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim.
Voting will take place in five phases across the country, with some states completing their polls on a single day, and others voting on each of the five dates from now until 13 May.
Voting today is in 124 of the 543 constituencies, with 5,649 candidates seeking election across the country.
A total of 828,804 polling stations will operate on some or all of the polling dates.
Full details of the dates and electoral regulations, together with maps and lists of candidates, can be found on the website of the Election Commission of India, www.eci.nic.in.
