[HIGHLIGHTS] India: general elections begin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely favored

India began voting this Friday, as part of the general elections. The opposition is struggling, and the current Hindu Prime Minister Narendra Modi is almost guaranteed to win.

In total, 968 million Indians are expected to elect the 543 members of the lower house, more than the total population of the United States, the European Union, and Russia combined. The elections run until June 1, with more than a million polling stations across the country. Ballots will be counted on June 4. Results are usually announced the same day. A 2023 Pew survey indicated that Narendra Modi was still very popular after two terms as Prime Minister. The results of the elections will not be announced until after June 4, when the results are announced by the Election Commission. The election results will be announced on June 5. The vote will be held in seven phases, starting on June 1 and ending on June 8. The first phase of the poll has seven seats, the second phase has seven, and the third phase has seven. Rahul Gandhi, 53, whose father, grandmother, and great-grandfather all served as prime minister, was briefly removed from Parliament last year after being convicted of defamation. He accuses the government of a certain democratic backsliding and criticizes its appeals to India's majority faith. Narendra Modi's mandates were marked by "a pattern of repression aimed at undermining democracy and civic space," denounced the rights association CIVICUS in a report on Wednesday. The Congress, which ruled the country almost continuously for decades after India's independence, is a shadow of its former self and governs in only three of the country's 28 states. Its leaders formed a coalition with more than twenty regional parties to confront the BJP and its well-oiled and generously financed electoral machinery. But the bloc is beset by disputes over seat-sharing deals and suffered the defection of one of its leaders to the government. Western countries are rushing to court this potential ally to fight against the growing assertiveness of China, a great rival in the region.