GHAZIABAD, INDIA – APRIL 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets supporters during a roadshow in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India on April 6, 2024. India’s 2024 general election will be the world’s largest democratic election, with more than 969 million registered voters, exceeding the combined populations of the European Union, the United States and Russia. (Photo by Elke Scoliers/Getty Images)
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India heads to fourth phase of seven-week voting on Monday popular suffrageAs campaign rhetoric has become more strident on economic disparities and religious divisions.
The world’s most populous country begins voting on April 19 in a seven-phase process with nearly 1 billion people taking part eligible to votethe counting of votes will take place on June 4.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a rare third consecutive term in a poll that pits his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of more than two dozen opposition parties, including archrival Congress.
“I appeal to everyone to vote for a decisive government,” Home Minister Amit Shah, a powerful aide to Modi, said as voting began.
Voting will take place on Monday in 96 seats across 10 states and territories, with a total of 177 million people eligible to vote. A large number of seats are in the southern and eastern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, where the BJP is not as strong as in other parts of the country.
Turnout is being closely watched as it fell slightly in the first three phases, raising concerns that voters were disinterested in an election without a strong core issue. There is also concern about the impact of hot weather on voting, with maximum temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) or higher in many parts of the country.
Lower turnout has question Can the BJP and its allies win the landslide victory predicted by polls?
Analysts say low turnout prompted Modi to change strategy After the first phase, his campaign shifted focus from his economic record to accusing Congress of plans to expand welfare benefits to minority muslims at the expense of disadvantaged tribal groups and caste Hindus.
The Congress denied making any such promise and said Modi was upset about the turnout, something the BJP denied.
About 80% of India’s 1.4 billion people are Hindus, but it also has the world’s third-largest Muslim population, about 200 million people.Survey shows voters are most concerned about Unemployment and rising prices.
Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Congress is planning Better representation and welfare programs for India’s poor and disadvantaged have pointed to rising wealth inequality during Modi’s decade in office, a charge the government denies.
The Congress-led opposition Indian Alliance got a shot in the arm ahead of Monday’s polls when the Supreme Court gave temporary bail A letter was sent to Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of the national capital Delhi and the main opposition leader, allowing him to campaign.
Kejriwal, a fierce critic of Modi, was arrested a month before the election in a liquor policy corruption case, sparking accusations that Modi’s government was trying to weaken the opposition by: Investigations and Arrests.
Kejriwal denies the corruption charges, which the government says will not affect law enforcement agencies.
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