Indians vote in insurgency-hit northeast region

GAUHATI, India (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people have started voting in India's national elections in insurgency-wracked remote northeast amid tight security.

The multi-phase voting across the country runs until May 12 and results announced on May 16.

The main Hindu opposition, with strong momentum on promises of a surge in economic growth, appears to be leading the race to wrest power from the Congress party after 10 years in power.

The four states covered in the second phase of voting on Wednesday include Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its territory.

The decades-old border dispute between India and China is not a direct election issue. The giant neighbors, who fought a bloody war in 1962, have been holding talks to settle the dispute since the 1980s.