Voting begins .... world’s most populous country goes to 7-phase polls ::: Namo being the front-runner

Union Minister and #BJP candidate from #Dibrugarh #LokSabha constituency, #SarbanandaSonowal casts his vote at a polling station in #Dibrugarh.  #Assam Jatiya Parishad (#AJP) president #LurinjyotiGogoi is the #opposition's candidate for this seat

In the first phase, polling is being held on all seats in Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), 

Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1). Besides, there is voting in 12 seats in Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh, six in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Maharashtra, four in Bihar, three in West Bengal, two in Manipur, and one seat each in Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh.

The world’s most populous country go to the polls, with Narendra Modi’s BJP the front-runner in vote that ends on 1 June

Poster -- in Chhattisgarh (AFP snap) 

Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections has begun on 102 seats spread across 21 states and Union Territories. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X stating: "I particularly call upon the young and first time voters to vote in large numbers. After all, every vote counts and every voice matters".   

BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is seeking a third successive term under PM Modi, the Opposition is hoping for a change in fortune as they are contesting the polls forming an umbrella alliance, I.N.D.I alliance.

All eyes will be on Tamil Nadu, where voting is taking place in all 39 Lok Sabha seats. 

BJP is hoping for miracles in the southern state.   

Over 969 million eligible voters – more than 10% of the world’s population will exercise their franchise in seven phase voting that ends on June 1. 

They represent the largest electorate anywhere and will include 18 million first-time voters.

More than 2,600 political parties are registered in this election. 

The Hindu nationalist policies of Modi is said to have shaped the political and cultural landscape of the country over the past decade. 

Congress veteran P Chidambaram and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat cast their votes in Chennai and Nagpur, respectively. Chidambaram exuded confidence in the INDIA bloc sweeping all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu.  

Union Ministers in the fray in the first phase -- Nitin Gadkari, Sarbananda Sonowal, Bhupendra Yadav, Kiren Rijiju, Sanjeev Baliyan, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, L Murugan and Nisith Pramanik.

Besides them, BJP's Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai, former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, DMK's Kanimozhi and Congress's Gaurav Gogoi are also in the fray.

Of the 102 seats going to polls on Friday, the NDA had won 41 seats in the 2019 elections while the Congress-led UPA bloc emerged victorious in 45 constituencies. This time, however, six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.