INDIA?S top politicians raced on yesterday to woo voters in giant northern heartland states after exit polls after the first round of voting suggested the Hindu nationalist-led coalition was set to return to power.

Fighting to save the fortunes of her party, Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born head of the main opposition Congress party, headed for a campaign swing through the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, which holds the key to power.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee?s Bharatiya Janata Party has campaigned on a feelgood platform of economic growth and peace with Pakistan. Congress says the average Indian has not benefited from economic reforms. Both Gandhi and Vajpayee have their political constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, which votes on Monday in the third phase of the world?s biggest election involving more than 670 million people and which ends on May 10.

Vajpayee, who has urged voters to give him a decisive mandate, met his campaign managers to put the finishing touches to election strategy for Uttar Pradesh and the neighbouring state of Bihar, which together account for more than a quarter of parliament seats. ?The first phase of voting has been encouraging for us, it will help us do well in the subsequent states,? said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a BJP spokesman. Electronic voting machines are being used nationwide for the first time, and have been transported by helicopter, bullock-cart, elephant and camel to reach remote polling booths.

The ruling BJP-led coalition would return to power but with a reduced majority, a late night television poll said, on the basis of Tuesday?s vote for just over a quarter of seats in parliament. The exit poll, conducted by NDTV and the Indian Express newspaper, said the alliance would win between 260 and 280 of the 545 seats in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament.

Vajpayee?s coalition now holds 287 seats, more than the halfway mark of 273 required to rule. The BJP has played down its hardline Hindu image and campaigned instead on a platform of peace and prosperity. The Congress, which says reforms have not benefited enough Indians, has long accused the BJP of a deep-seated bias against the country?s 120 million Muslims and says the party remains a threat to India?s secular character.

The votes will be counted on May 13 and results are expected later that day. India?s financial markets have soared in the last year on the back of reforms and the strong economy, with the rupee at a four-year high.