India’s mammoth general elections have begun, marking the start of a seven-phase democratic exercise that will span over six weeks.

The first phase of voting commenced Friday, with voters casting their ballots across 102 constituencies in 21 states and union territories.

Voters will be electing representatives for the 543 seats of the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of parliament.

The party or coalition that secures a majority will form the next government.

With some 969 million registered voters eligible to participate, the election is set to be the world’s largest democratic exercise.

The results of this election will be announced on June 4.

(This is a developing story)

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