Vajpayee completes 4-year as PM

Analysts say the 78-year-old has managed to hold together a rather unwieldy coalition of two-dozen parties and is preparing for what could perhaps be his last electoral battle.

Five key states go to the polls in November-December followed by parliamentary elections, set for October next year but which may be advanced to February.

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"Shining India" is how Vajpayee's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is projecting its achievements of the past four years.

An advertisement placed in major newspapers Monday sought to highlight that prices were stable, telephone connections and cooking gas supplies were available on demand, taxes were friendlier and housing loans easier.

On the economic front, stock markets are witnessing a bull run and the privatisation process is on track, though disrupted sometimes by court orders or by the political opposition.

Vajpayee's tenure has, however, been marked by tensions with nuclear rival Pakistan and the two came close to their fourth war when Islamic militants attacked the Indian parliament building in December 2001.