In India Modi Campaigns on a platform of better Infrastructure and better toilets

India is holding voting for an election which will take 5 weeks to complete. Elections in India are held every 5 years. The ruling United Progressive Alliance, a coalition led by the Congress Party, has run into a series of scandals and economic roadblocks in the last few years. Polls show that most Indians are looking for a change, and that the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, stand to benefit.

Mr. Modi has sought to distance himself from religious politics. Facing off against Rahul Gandhi, the 43-year-old scion of India's powerful Nehru-Gandhi political clan, whose Congress party has governed India since 2004, Mr. Modi has positioned himself as a champion of economic development and no-nonsense government. He cites growth and industrialization under his leadership in Gujarat and says all of India will enjoy the same if he becomes premier.

"I am known to be a Hindu-nationalist leader," Mr. Modi said in one of his first speeches after becoming the prime ministerial candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. But "my real thought is toilets first, temples later."

Hindus make up 80% of India's population and Muslims 13%.

"Electricity in every home, toilets in every home, education for children, hospitals for the elderly. Brothers and sisters, can't we do this in our country?" Mr. Modi asked the rally. "We need to make this happen together."

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