Officials counted votes Friday in five Indian state elections where the ruling Congress party is hoping to make crucial gains despite battling corruption scandals and protests over food inflation, as AP reported. In the most-watched race, Congress and its ally Trinamool Congress were expected to win in West Bengal, unseating a Communist government that has held power for 34 years in India's fourth most-populous state. Congress and its partners had appeared ripe for defeat following protests against food inflation and the arrests of high-level officials and lawmakers linked with Congress on corruption charges. But exit polling released by Indian media after weeks of voting suggested Congress and its regional coalition allies would take at least two crucial states: southern Kerala and West Bengal in the east. Both victories would come by ousting Communist-led alliance, vindicating Congress' national drive to open markets and push financial reform.
