Uttar Pradesh, India (BBN)-Amethi, a stronghold of India's governing Congress party, is among 64 seats voting in the eighth phase of the mammoth general election on Wednesday.

The seat, held by party leader Rahul Gandhi, has been at the centre of a row after the main opposition BJP's candidate for PM held a rally there, reports BBC.

Narendra Modi blamed the Gandhi dynasty for Amethi's "backwardness" and said he wanted to change it.

A 97-year-old man, among India's oldest voters, will also vote on Wednesday.

Shyam Saran Negi, a retired teacher in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, has voted in every single election since 1951 – when India held its first general election after gaining independence from British rule.

With 814 million eligible voters, India's election is the world's biggest exercise in democracy and the governing Congress party is battling the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for power.

Modi is ahead in all the opinion polls.

TIGHT SECURITY

Uttar Pradesh, where Amethi is located, returns more MPs than any other and is often described as India's battleground state. Authorities in the high-profile seat held by Rahul Gandhi are taking no chances with security.

A large number of police and paramilitaries are deployed in the town and on its borders with the neighbouring districts of Sultanpur and Lucknow, BBC Hindi's Nitin Srivastava reports from Amethi.

Campaigning closed there on Monday evening after visits by Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka, as well as senior BJP leaders backing their candidate, former television actress Smriti Irani, our correspondent adds.

There are 34 candidates in Amethi, including Hindi poet Kumar Vishwas of the new anti-corruption Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party (AAP).

Amethi has been held almost continuously by the Gandhi dynasty since 1980 – Mr Gandhi's mother Sonia had previously represented the constituency, as did his father Rajiv, who was prime minister from 1984 to 1989.

And although the BJP is expected to do well nationally, Gandhi is defending a massive majority in Amethi. He won over 70 percent of the vote there in 2009. The BJP candidate came third with less than 10 percent.

Wednesday is the second last polling day in India and voting will be held in seven states, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Indian-administered Kashmir.

More than 95 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots at more than 107,000 polling centres.

The general election, which began on 7 April, will conclude on 12 May. Votes will be counted on 16 May.

BBN/ANS/AD/07May14-10:00am (BST)