Indians start to vote in huge election dominated by jobs, Hindu pride and Modi
Nearly 64 percent voter turnout recorded in the first phase of the general election held on Friday (19)...
THE first of India’s almost one billion voters cast ballots on Friday (19) in the country’s multi-day election, as prime minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third term on the back of issues such as growth, welfare and Hindu nationalism.
The vote pits Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of two dozen opposition parties that promise greater affirmative action and more handouts while stressing what they call the need to save democratic institutions.
Nearly 970 million people are eligible to vote in the seven-phase exercise, the world’s largest election, which runs through the peak of summer until June 1, with results set for June 4.
Election Commission figures after polls closed on Friday’s first day of voting estimated voter turnout at nearly 64 percent, with the small northeastern state of Tripura top of the list at 80 percent and the northwestern state of Rajasthan at the bottom with 51 percent.
‘Polling for the first phase...recorded high voter turnout despite the heat wave,’ the panel said. ‘The voting percentage is likely to go up- wards when reports from all polling stations are obtained.’
Friday’s vote covered 166 million voters in 102 constituencies across 21 states and territories, from Tamil Nadu in the south to Arunachal Pradesh on the Himalayan frontier with China.
Opinion polls have suggested the BJP will easily win a majority, even though voters worry about unemployment, inflation and rural distress in the world’s most populous country and fastest growing major economy.
Hindu nationalism is a key election theme, especially after Modi’s consecration of a grand temple to Lord Ram in January on a site in Uttar Pradesh believed to be his birthplace, more than three decades after a Hindu mob destroyed a 16th-century mosque that had stood there, leading to nationwide religious riots.
In 2019, the Supreme Court handed over the land to Hindus and ordered allotment of a separate plot to Muslims to build a new mosque.
Critics accuse Modi’s government and party of treating India’s 200 million minority Muslims unfairly to please their hardline Hindu base - an accusation that both deny.
Modi aims to win 370 of parliament’s 543 seats, up from 303 in 2019, hoping for a two