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India has held the latest phase of its mammoth general election. Women voters waited patiently in line to cast their votes in Manglipattu, north of Madras

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Here in the southern city of Mangalore, enthusiastic crowds queued from dawn to cast their ballots.

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Exit polls since voting began on 20 April have shown a lead for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's coalition, but by a slimmer margin than initially predicted.

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Rahul Gandhi was mobbed as he visited a polling station in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, where he is standing for the opposition Congress party.

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His sister, Priyanka, met supporters in the neighbouring constituency of Rai Bareilly. She is not running in the election but has been campaigning hard for the Congress.

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In north-eastern Assam state, Muslims and Hindus of Bengali origin, Lalung tribesmen and ethnic Assamese put their divisions aside to vote.

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Voters turned out in large numbers in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, where Defence Minister George Fernandes has his constituency.

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Tyres were set alight in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, where separatists have called for a boycott of the polls.

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There was also tight security in the financial capital, Bombay, to prevent outbreaks of violence.