More than 10 per cent of the world's population goes to the polls as ONE BILLION set to vote in six-week Indian election in ballot that will test the limit of Narendra Modi's political prowess

India went to the polls yesterday in an election that is expected to take as long as six weeks.

Voters began queuing at polling stations in the first 21 states to hold ballots, which stretch from the Himalayan mountains to the tropical Andaman Islands.

Nearly 970 million voters – more than 10 per cent of the world's population – will elect 543 ­members to the lower house of parliament over staggered rounds of voting.

The voting ended at 6pm and the turnout was estimated at around 60 per cent of 66.3 million eligible voters in the first round, the election authority said.

By comparison, India's 2019 national election registered the highest turnout – 67.11 per cent – in the history of Indian parliamentary elections.

The second round will be held on April 26, and turnout is expected to increase over the course of the voting. 

The votes will be counted on June 4. when all of India's 28 states have cast their votes.

Authorities said the voting was largely peaceful on Friday, although media reports said some supporters of Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress party clashed in Chhindwara, a city in central India. 

Some workers of the BJP and the All India Trinamool Congress clashed in West Bengal state on Thursday night. 

Some injuries were reported, but the election authority did not give any details. 

This election is considered one of the most consequential in India's history and will test the limits of Narendra Modi's political dominance.

If Mr Modi wins he will be only the second Indian leader to retain power for a third term, after Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister.

Most polls predict a win for Mr Modi, who has championed an assertive brand of Hindu nationalist politics, and his BJP.

They face a broad opposition alliance led by the Indian National Congress and powerful regional parties.

It is not clear who will lead India if the opposition alliance, INDIA, wins the election.

The alliance's more than 20 parties have not put forward a candidate, saying they will choose one after the results are in.

The election comes after a decade of Mr Modi's leadership, during which the BJP consolidated power through Hindu-first politics and economic development.

Mr Modi has ratcheted up Hindu nationalist rhetoric on the campaign trail and has sought to present himself as a global leader.

His ministers tout him as the steward of a surging India, while his supporters celebrate his campaign promise to make India a developed nation by 2047 when it marks 100 years of independence.

Critics warn that Mr Modi has turned increasingly illiberal and could use a third term to undermine India's democracy.

His Hindu nationalist politics, they argue, has bred intolerance and threatens the country's secular roots.

The alliance has promised to arrest the democratic slide it says India has witnessed under Mr Modi's rule. 

They accuse Mr Modi of sidelining elected ministers in favour of trusted bureaucrats and using tax authorities and the police to harass critics and opposition parties.

Christophe Jaffrelot, who has written about Mr Modi and the Hindu right, said: 'Modi has a very authoritarian mindset. He doesn't believe in democracy. He doesn't believe in parliamentarianism.'

Mr Modi insists that India's commitment to democracy is unchanged. 

He told a Summit for Democracy meeting in New Delhi in March that 'India is not only fulfilling the aspirations of its 1.4 billion people, but is also providing hope to the world that democracy delivers and empowers.'