Final phase soaked in rain, sun & snow

An ocean storm with winds of 80km an hour lashed the southernmost state of Kerala, tearing down political parties' banners and drenching electoral lists.

In Kashmir, workers had to be airlifted to six polling stations in Ladakh, a Buddhist region bordering Tibet, as roads were inaccessible by snow even in May.

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Most of the 215 million Indians eligible to vote Monday on the final round of national elections sweltered in the middle with the temperature reaching 42 degrees (108 Fahrenheit) at midday in New Delhi.

Rusty fans were set up to keep cool the sweaty, serpentine queues of voters across north and central India amid reports of people collapsing from the heat. In the northern state of Punjab, one polling officer died of a heart attack on the job, officials said.

In Kerala, many voters said they were more concerned with the aftermath of the cyclone, which has killed three people and left 2,000 homeless, than in the election in the diehard leftist stronghold.

The pounding rain snapped banners and photographs of candidates as voters were shielded by blue and yellow plastic sheets roped to trees and electric poles.

P.J. Thomas, the chief electoral officer in Kerala's capital Trivandrum, said the rains were a "bit of a hamper" but said turnout could still reach the city's historic average of 70 percent as the showers cleared.

Near beaches lined by coconut trees, barefoot fishermen took shelter from the rain under the roofs of closed shops or along their docked boats.

"The sea has been choppy and rough for the last whole week," said N. Francis, a 31-year-old fisherman. "Still, we have to risk our lives and go out. If we do not work we cannot feed our children."

"If I find time after I finish my work I will go and vote," Francis said. "For the moment voting is not high on my list."

Fellow fisherman Antony Verghese, 75, agreed.

"Politicians promise a lot and deliver little. Last time, I voted. This time I went to the polling station and found my name is missing. I don't know why. It's not that I'm bothered," said Verghese, sitting near his small motorised boat.