The main focus of the election will undoubtedly be on the two main coalitions led by the Indian National Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), although this year regional parties making up the "Third Front" are expected to play a crucial role as neither of the big hitters are thought capable of gaining an absolute majority.
Also in the limelight will be Rahul Gandhi, who many see as a Prime Minister in waiting. He is the fourth in the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, which has ruled India for most of its 62 years since gaining independence in 1947.
For many years he appeared to stay away from politics. Now, however, he has taken to the streets and is trying to shore up support for the Indian National Congress Party.
On the other side of the political fence is Rahul’s cousin, Varun Gandhi who has been supporting the BJP since 2004.
Varun was recently released on bail from prison after being accused of inciting religious tensions. He is accused of saying he would “cut off the hands” of anyone who dared to harm the country’s Hindu majority.
Other members of the BJP, which promotes a Hindu nationalist ideology, have been arrested for similar comments. Ashok Sahu, a BJP candidate in Orissa, was arrested earlier this week for making a hate speech against Christians, in which he blamed them for last year’s murder of Hindu radical Swami Lakshmanananda.
The murder sparked anti-Christian pogroms which killed dozens of Christians and left thousands more homeless. Sahu claimed that the riots were justified because of last year’s murder, despite the fact the Maoist rebels claimed responsibility for killing Lakshmanananda.
The source of this hatred towards Christians comes from a misguided sense of what it means to be an Indian. Organisations such as the BJP follow the concept of Hindutva, in which the idea that one can be an Indian but not a Hindu is considered unthinkable.
This ideology has extremely dangerous implications for minorities in India such as Christians and Muslims. The only ideology similar to this in style in the Western world would be that of groups like the British National Party, or taken to its most extreme level, Nazi Germany.
In early 20th century Europe, many welcomed the rise of nationalist ideoligies such as Nazism in Germany and Fascism in Italy. It was seen as a way to rebuild countries whose confidence and power had been shattered, and as protection from the forces of Communism.
