Voters headed to the polls Monday morning in the final phase of India’s marathon election, with the hardliner Narendra Modi widely expected to lead his Hindu nationalists to victory after 10 years of Congress party rule.
Modi, of the right-wing opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, will be vying to win his seat in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi five weeks after the start of the world’s biggest election which has been marred by religious divisions and personal attacks.
Modi urged voters to turn out in record numbers on Monday to throw the scandal-plagued Congress party, run by India’s most famous political dynasty the Gandhis, from power after 10 years in charge.
“People are tired of false promises, corruption and the same old tape-recorded messages,” Modi said in a blog after campaigning officially ended on Saturday night.
