India election: Voting starts on biggest polling day --- Indians are voting in the biggest day of the general election pitting the ruling Congress party against the main opposition BJP. -- Nearly 200 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in 121 seats in 12 states, including Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. -- The nine-phase vote began on 7 April and will conclude on 12 May. Votes will be counted on 16 May. -- More than 814 million Indians are eligible to vote in the polls. -- Polling has been already completed in 111 seats, and voter turnout in most states has been higher than in 2009. -- Thursday is one of the most critical days of voting spread across 12 states, from Indian-administered Kashmir in the north, to the information-technology hub of Bangalore in the south, Rajasthan in the west and the tea-growing Himalayan town of Darjeeling in the east, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder. -- "I want a clean government. One that is corruption free and that can take decisions in the interest of our country," a young woman voter in Rajasthan's Jaipur city told our correspondent. -- A young man said he was voting for BJP as its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi "represented change". -- A Muslim voter, however, said people should vote for a "leader who will represent all communities, one who will take everyone along". -- With over 40 million voters eligible to cast their ballots in all of its 28 seats on Thursday, the southern state of Karnataka is a key battleground. -- Bangalore South is one of the keenly contested seats in the state with Congress party's Nandan Nilekani, BJP's Ananth Kumar and the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Nina Nayak as candidates. -- Mr Nilekani is the billionaire co-founder and former CEO of Infosys, one of India's largest IT services firms, while Mr Kumar is a former federal minister. --- The main contest in the elections is between the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, and the BJP, led by the charismatic and controversial Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi. -- The Congress party has promised "inclusive growth" if it returns to power, with a raft of welfare schemes, including a right to healthcare for all and pensions for the elderly and disabled - More, BBC, at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-27045770