Srinagar, Apr 8 : A major tragedy was averted last night, when the police recovered a powerful EID (Improvised Explosive Device) planted by militants in an open field near the railway track in Jammu and Kashmir''s Anantnag District.

Local police officials informed on Wednesday that the explosive device, weighing 25 kgs, was planted by militants at Bijbehara, 45 kilometres from Srinagar.

The police promptly defused the device before it could cause any harm.

The elections in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency are to be held on April 30.

New Delhi, Apr 8 : United States Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke arrived in New Delhi late last night and is expected to brief the Indian leadership about his recent visit to Pakistan and President Obama''s new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Holbrooke is being accompanied by the Chairman of the U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.

Holbrooke will meet with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan.

New Delhi  - Lal Krishna Advani, who fled to India from Pakistan as a refugee and emerged as the country's top Hindu nationalist leader, has brought about a marked transformation in India's political scene over the past two decades.

The 81-year-old leader of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Advani has helmed the rise of the BJP largely on the basis of Hindu-Muslim tensions and a campaign to have a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Ram built on the site of a demolished mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya.

New Delhi  - Elections in India, conducted once every five years, are generally held in a staggered manner to allow adequate security and logistical arrangements so the huge electorate, which nearly equals the population of Europe, can vote freely.

The polls, made a daunting task due to the expanse of India, are to be held in five phases from April 16 to May 13 to ensure the movement of millions of security and election personnel. Results were expected May 16.

New Delhi  - Who will be India's next prime minister? With general elections days away, analysts predicted yet another hung Parliament in which smaller parties could call the shots and anyone could be kingmaker and any kingmaker could be king.

There seems to be no clear majority in sight for any single party or for the two main coalitions - the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In such a scenario, a leader with the backing of several political parties with a combined strength of 270 members in the 545-member Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament, could become the next prime minister.

New Delhi  - The world's largest election in India is expected to provide a stimulus of sorts to the country's slowing economy as political parties splurge hundreds of millions of dollars on loud and colourful campaigns and even arrange liquor and cash to bribe people for their votes.

The spin-off effects of nationwide campaigns are already giving a boost to businesses and industry as more than 100 billion rupees (2 billion dollars) is expected to be pumped into the system in the five-stage election over the month between April 16 and May 13.