Support for India's scandal-hit govt collapses

The popularity of India's embattled Congress-led government, buffeted by corruption, high inflation and slowing economic growth, has fallen sharply among voters, a new poll said Saturday.
The poll was carried out after 74-year-old self-styled Gandhian campaigner Anna Hazare ended his anti-corruption fast last weekend that shook the government by galvanizing huge public support.
India's main Hindu nationalist opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would gain 32 percent of the votes across the country if general elections were held now, the STAR News-Nielsen opinion survey suggested.
Congress, led by 78-year-old Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would garner just 20 percent of votes in the poll of 8,926 respondents taken in 28 cities. Other voters favoured regional parties or were undecided.