New Delhi (Union)
Yesterday, India began its six-week general elections, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters in the seven-stage poll to “exercise the right to vote in record numbers,” especially young people and those voting for the first time in their lives.
Modi said, via the “X” platform, that “every vote is valuable and every vote is important.”
Yesterday morning, a long queue formed in front of the polling station in Haridwar, which is one of the first cities where voting began and is located on the banks of the Ganges River.
Ganga Singh, a 27-year-old rickshaw driver, said: “I am happy with the direction the country is taking and I cast my vote with my country’s prosperity in mind, not my personal well-being.”
In total, 968 million Indians will be invited to elect 543 representatives to the lower chamber of Parliament, more than the total population of the United States, the European Union and Russia combined. The first phase of the elections ended yesterday at 18:00 Indian time (12:30 GMT), before the next six phases between April 26 and June 1. The electoral process took place without significant problems in general.
Votes will be counted across the country on June 4. The results are usually announced on the same day.
Narendra Modi, 73 years old, remains very popular after two terms during which India increased its diplomatic influence and economic weight.
An opinion poll issued by the Pew Institute last year reported that 80 percent of Indians have a positive view of Modi after nearly a decade in power.
His Bharatiya Janata Party, known as the BJP, achieved two landslide victories in 2014 and 2019. Under Modi's rule, India became the fifth largest economy in the world, ahead of the United Kingdom.
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