AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his ballot Tuesday in India's ongoing general election after giving several campaign speeches.
Turnout so far has dropped significantly compared with the last national poll in 2019, with analysts blaming widespread expectations that Modi will easily win a third term and hotter-than-average temperatures heading into the summer.
Modi walked out of a polling booth early morning in the city of Ahmedabad while holding up a finger marked with indelible ink, flanked by security personnel and cheered by supporters.
"In the grand ritual of democracy, everyone contributing their share deserves congratulations," Modi told reporters.
"Once again, I tell Indians... to come in huge numbers to vote and celebrate the festival of democracy."
The premier's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win the election convincingly.
Modi remains widely popular a decade after coming to power, in large part due to his government's positioning of the nation's majority faith at the centre of its politic.
India's election is conducted in seven phases over six weeks to ease the immense logistical burden of staging the democratic exercise in the world's most populous country.
Much of southern Asia was hit by a heatwave last week that saw several constituencies vote in searing temperatures.
In the city of Mathura, a three-hour drive from New Delhi, temperatures crossed 41 degrees Celsius on polling day, and election commission figures showed turnout dropping nearly nine points to 52 percent from five years earlier.
But India's weather bureau has forecast more hot spells to come in May and the election commission formed a task force last month to review the impact of heat and humidity before each round of voting.
Modi told reporters after leaving the polling station that he encouraged voters to drink "as much water as possible". "The more water you drink, the better your health and energy levels are maintained," he said.
Severe heat was forecast for several locations voting on Tuesday including the states of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. In Agra, where afternoon temperatures reached 42 degrees Celsius, resident Taslim Warsi said that her mother had skipped voting because "the heat is just too much".
More than 968 million people are eligible to vote in the Indian election, with the final round of polling on June 1 and results expected three days later. — AFP
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