The largest parliamentary elections on planet Earth have started in India. Almost 1 billion voters can take part in them.
At seven in the morning local time (04:30 Minsk time), 187,000 polling stations opened in 102 electoral districts in 21 states.
At this first stage of the elections, more than 166 million local residents will be able to cast their votes.
According to TASS, taking into account the size of the country, the number of voters (almost a billion) and security considerations, the elections will be held in 7 stages.
The final stage of the grand event is scheduled for June 1. The election results will be announced by June 4.
At the first stage, which started on April 19, it will be determined who will receive 102 seats in the lower house of parliament, which includes 543 seats. 1,625 candidates entered the race.
Political scientists call the favorites the ruling Indian People’s Party, whose leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third consecutive term as head of government.
The ruling party competes with the opposition alliance INDIA, which unites 28 national and regional parties.
The second phase of elections will be held on April 26 in 89 constituencies spread across 13 states.
Earlier, the opposition won the parliamentary elections in South Korea.
