Modi faces test in Chhattisgarh

India yesterday began the first of five state elections to be held in coming weeks, important tests for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he plots a course that he hopes will ensure him victory in a general election due by May.

Voters in the central state of Chhattisgarh went to the polls yesterday to elect representatives for 18 of the state assembly's 90 seats in a staggered poll complicated by logistical problems and left-wing guerrillas.

The state of about 26 million people has been ruled by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2003, and he will be hoping to hold on to power.

"Some unholy people have handed guns to children who should have pens in their hands," Modi told a rally in the state on Friday, referring to the rag-tag guerrillas battling government forces from forest hideouts.

The final phase of voting in Chhattisgarh, which is known for its coal, iron ore and bauxite reserves, will be on November 20.

Modi's other big tests will be in the neighbouring central state of Madhya Pradesh and in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, where Congress is expected to emerge victorious.