India heads to the polls in world’s biggest election

Polls will open Friday for the first phase of India’s marathon general election, kicking off a vote in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to win a rare third consecutive term.

Polls opened Friday for the first phase of India’s marathon general election, kicking off a vote in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to win a rare third consecutive term. About 969 million people are eligible to vote in the biggest election in human history, with polling taking place in seven phases over the next six weeks in the world’s most populous country. The nationwide vote is considered among the most consequential in decades as Modi’s powerful right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims for an outright majority and a mandate to widen its development and Hindu-nationalist policies established during its 10-year rule. Those policies have transformed India economically and culturally, and BJP rule has been defined by a pull away from India’s secular foundation, which was built on the democratic values of justice, liberty, equality and secularism — toward Hindu majoritarianism. The BJP’s campaign manifesto centers on job creation, anti-poverty programs such as expanding food handouts and housing schemes, and national development with particular focus on women, the poor, farmers and young people. On the world stage, Modi wants India to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, will push to bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics and aims to land an astronaut on the moon.