Britons on Thursday voted in what is billed as the most tightly contested general election since the World War II which could lead to a hung Parliament, though latest opinion polls gave a clear edge to opposition Tories over the ruling Labour as well as Liberal Democrats.
The polls will also decide the fate of a record 89 Asian origin candidates, including those from India. The Conservative Party, which is eyeing to capture power, has fielded 30 members from the community.
Prominent among them are Keith Vaz, who has represented Leicester East for Labour for the last 23 years, and his sister Valerie Vaz, a lawyer, who is contesting on a Labour ticket from Walsall South.
Polling stations opened at 7 am local time and the voters have until 10 pm to exercise their franchise, and moderate polling was recorded in most of the 649 constituencies till evening. Over 44 million people were registered to vote for nearly 4,150 candidates in 649 constituencies.
Polling in one constituency - Thirsk and Malton - has been delayed until May 27 because of the death of one of the candidates during the campaign. First results are expected at 11 pm local time.
The vast majority of constituencies will count votes and declare results overnight. As the polling began, police commenced a probe into alleged fraudulent postal voting and false registration of voters' addresses.
As well as chosing MPs for the House of Commons, voters will also elect councillors in 164 local authorities across England. A record 89 Asian origin candidates are in the fray including 30 from the Conservative party.
In the 2005 elections, there were 68 such candidates and the highest number of ethnic minority MPs - 15 - were declared elected.
In the current elections, Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have nominated a record 22 women of South Asian descent. There has been no Asian woman MP till now and last parliament had 15 Asian and Black MPs, all male.
A string of eve-of-election opinion polls gave David Cameron's Conservatives a clear lead over Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
But they still suggest the Tories may not reach the level of support they need to claim an overall majority in the 650-member House of Commons.
Cameron is likely to form a coalition government with MPs from Northern Ireland. The result is the most uncertain in any election since 1992 and there is the first real prospect of a hung Parliament in almost 30 years. According to the last polls of the campaign, Cameron is within touching distance of a Commons majority with the Tories set to make massive gains from Labour.
Image: Conservative Party leader David Cameron and wife Samantha leave after voting near Witney in Oxfordshire in England.
Photograph: Reuters
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