On Friday, the 19th of April, voting started in India in the world’s largest election, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a historic third term, likely fuelled by the country’s economic growth, his welfare initiatives, personal popularity and Hindu nationalism, reports Reuters.
The huge event, which will be attended by nearly a billion voters, will be held in seven phases in the world’s most populous country during the height of summer.
The polls will close on the 1st of June and the votes will be counted and the results announced on the 4th of June.
On Friday, 166 million voters in 102 polling stations in 21 states and territories, including Tamil Nadu in the south, Arunachal Pradesh on the Himalayan border with China and the most populous Uttar Pradesh in the north, will cast their ballots in the largest of the seven phases.
Voters started queuing at polling stations well before they opened at 7:00 a.m. local time amid tight security, including elderly people who needed assistance to reach polling booths.
In the election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is up against an alliance of twenty opposition parties challenging the prime minister with promises of increased affirmative action, more benefits and, they say, the need to rescue democratic institutions from Modi’s dictatorial regime.
Despite concerns about unemployment, inflation and hardship in rural areas in India’s booming economy, polls show the BJP will confidently secure a majority.
The focus is on whether the BJP can improve on its 2019 victory and to what extent.
“I appeal to all those who want to vote … to exercise their voting rights in record numbers,” Modi wrote on X minutes before voting began.
He particularly urged young people and first-time voters to cast their ballots, stressing that “every vote matters and every vote counts”.
If Modi wins, he will be only the second Indian Prime Minister to be elected three times in a row.
Hindu nationalism is the main theme of the elections and critics accuse the Modi government and the BJP of discriminating against India’s Muslim minority to satisfy their Hindu supporters, but both Modi and the BJP deny this.
The opposition alliance INDIA described the elections as an ideological battle to preserve constitutional and democratic principles, with Congress party members criticising the BJP for diverting attention from important issues such as unemployment and inflation.
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