NEW DELHI. Mar 2: Hindu nationalists today made early gains at the start of the count in Indian elections, officials said, with an expert speculating they might even win a majority, reports AFP.

The nationalists Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP. Indian People's Party) was leading in 15 out of 36 constituencies from across the country. Six of these had previously been held by its rivals.

Seven BJP allies were leading in seven other seats, two of which held by anti-nationalist parties.

Exit polls suggested the Hindu nationalists would top the polls but fall short of an overall majority.

Election analyst Prannoy Roy, however, said the early trends showed the BJP was poised to win at least 250 seats in the 545-member parliament and could even reach a majority

with its allies.

"It will be inching closer and closer to the 250-mark." said Roy, India's most respected election expert.

They can even get a majority if this trend continues." Candidates for the Congress, the nationalists "main opponents. were struggling in many areas. They led in four constituencies. small groups and independent candidates had forged ahead in 10.

Earlier AP says, after a vote marred by violence, security was tight Monday as counting began in Indian parliamentary elections a right-wing Hindu nationalists party is expected to win.

In all, 543 seats are at stake, with two remaining filled by appointment. Counting was underway for 527 races. Tn others, voting has not yet been held or challenges to balloting have delayed counting. Trends pointing

to a winner were expected to be clear late Monday or early Tuesday.

The Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s position as the largest party in the last parliament bolstered its claims to being in the best position to give India a stable government. with voter discontent over political uncertainty a key campaign issue. Exit poll results released after the fourth day of voting Saturday indicated the BJP would win the most seats in parliament, but not the clear majority needed to govern without partners.

The elections in the world's largest democracy — some 300 million voters turned out — was staggered over four days over the last two weeks, to allow security troops time to move to different trouble spots. Voting in another six races is scheduled Saturday and June 21. With the current federal budget

expiring March 31. officials can't wait until all the votes are in before moving to seat a new government.

Violence erupted on each of the four voting days held so far. On Saturday, eight people were killed in election-related violence, bringing the death toll to at least 84. Another 58 people died in a series of bombings in the southern city of Coimbatore on the eve of first balloting on February 16, but it was not yet clear whether those deaths were linked to the elections.

Monday, roads leading to counting stations were closed and police and party representatives stood guard as election officials began the counting process by shuffling ballots from different polling stations to assure the first results did not reflect geographical trends.

The ballot mixing was expected to take several hours, said Sajeev Pandey.