In the India Parliamentary elections have begun. Some 970 million eligible voters were asked to vote for the lower house at more than one million polling stations. More than 500 seats are up for grabs. Voting began on Friday morning in 102 constituencies in 21 states and so-called Union Territories, as announced by the Election Commission.

The election lasted six weeks due to the size of the country – with 1.4 billion people, India is the most populous country in the world. Results are expected on June 4. Opinion polls predict a victory for the Hindu nationalist party that supports the Prime Minister, the BJP Narendra Modi in advance.

Economic growth and authoritarian tendencies

This means that the 73-year-old leader, who is very popular among the people, could rule for a third term of five years after ten years in power. Modi's biggest challenger is Rahul Gandhi of the Congress Party, which controlled much of India's independence from Britain in 1947.

Under Modi's leadership, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world. Instead, the opposition points to problems such as high unemployment and inflation, huge gaps between rich and poor, and widespread corruption. Critics also accused the head of government of using instruments of state power in particular against the opposition: Before the elections, several opposition leaders were arrested, among other things, on corruption charges.