KAIRANA/CHENNAI, India, April 19 (Reuters): Indians began voting on Friday in the world’s largest election as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a historic third term on the back of issues such as growth, welfare, Hindu nationalism and personal popularity. The vote pits Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of two dozen opposition parties that promise greater affirmative action and more handouts while stressing what they call the need to save democratic institutions. “Modi will come back to power, because apart from the religious push, his other work, in areas such as safety and security, is good,” said Abdul

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta reserved its verdict after hearing the response of Election Commission on the pleas. The petitioners have also sought reversal of the poll panel’s 2017 decision to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with an opaque glass through which a voter can see the slip only when the light is on for seven seconds. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission,

Nongriat, India, April 18 (Reuters): India was preparing on Thursday for the world’s largest general election, as polling officers clambered up hills, travelled deep into areas riven by violent insurgencies and crossed rivers to reach millions of voters across the sprawling nation. The first vote in the seven-phase election will be cast on Friday, with results set for June 4, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks set to win a historic third term in the face of a straggling opposition challenge. The Election Commission has to set up more than 1 million polling stations for the nearly two-month duration, with