In the fourth round of a seven-week general election, India held voting on Monday, amid increasingly aggressive campaigning focused on religious and economic divides.
Nearly one billion people are eligible to vote in this seven-phase election, which got underway on April 19 in the most populous country in the world. Votes are scheduled to be counted on June 4.
In an election that will pit his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of more than two dozen opposition parties, including chief rival Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is vying for a rare third term in office.
Voting has begun. "I appeal to all to vote for a decisive government," declared Amit Shah, the nation's interior affairs minister and a close aide to Modi.
Monday is election day for 96 seats spread across 10 states and territories, with 177 million voters eligible to participate. In the southern and eastern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha, where the BJP is weaker than in other regions of the nation, there are a lot of seats.
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Election turnout is being closely monitored because slightly lower numbers in the first three phases have sparked worries about voters' disinterest in a contest lacking a compelling focal point. With maximum temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) or higher in many areas of the nation, the effect of hot weather on voting is also being monitored.
Opinion polls had predicted a landslide victory for the BJP and its allies, but the lower turnout has cast doubt on that possibility.
According to analysts, Modi changed the focus of his campaign after the first phase from his economic record to accusing the Congress of preparing to extend welfare benefits to minority Muslims at the expense of underprivileged tribal groups and Hindu castes as a result of the lower turnout.
The BJP disputes the claim made by the Congress that it made any such pledge and that Modi is alarmed by the turnout.
India is home to 1.4 billion Hindus, or around 80% of the world's population, but it also has 200 million Muslims, making it the world's third largest Muslim population. According to surveys, the biggest concerns among voters are rising prices and unemployment.
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The Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, is advocating for increased representation and welfare programs for India's underprivileged and impoverished populations. They claim that during Modi's ten-year term, wealth inequality has increased, a claim that the government has rejected.
The Supreme Court granted temporary bail to Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, the national capital territory, and a prominent opposition figure, enabling him to campaign, giving the opposition INDIA alliance, led by the Congress, a boost ahead of Monday's vote.
As a fervent opponent of Modi, Kejriwal was detained in a liquor policy graft case one month prior to the elections, which led to claims that the Modi administration was using the probes and arrests to discredit the opposition.
Kejriwal refutes the accusations of corruption, while the government maintains that it has no bearing on law enforcement.
