Off the Starting Block on the Indian Elections with Sky News

I hadn't even left my house this morning when I heard that six Border Security Force paramilitaries had been killed in Naxalite/Maoist attacks on the first day of election voting in India; a salutary reminder of the hinterland to this election cycle; the fourth I am reporting on.

The death toll looks likely to rise.

I was once given permission to embed with the BSF for an investigation into high-altitude warfare wireless communication. The BSF is deployed along India's porous borders and works alongside other military units of varying hues. I was given access to its control rooms, signals areas and mountainous outposts. I observed some interesting charts and maps along the way.

For Sky Active I recorded an Indian election primer for viewers, for Sky News I spoke about security and the different parties and possible outcomes, and I also recorded an interview for Sky News Radio - they supply the news for many commercial stations all over the UK now.

I like the fact that at this point in the game, none of us can predict anything except for the unlikelihood of a clear majority- the magic number of 272 seats needs to be reached by one party for that to happen- in a 543-seat scenario.

Great fun, and its only tea-time. And on no sleep, after monitoring the news from India through the night.