India, the march towards the largest elections in history has begun

The key points

• First round on April 19th, results will be announced on June 4th
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is favored and seeking a historic third term
• The Supreme Court does not spare criticism of the government and State Bank of India

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From our correspondent – NEW DELHI

The most impressive elections in the history of humanity will take place over 7 days spread over 6 weeks during which the 968 million Indians who have the right to vote, equivalent to more than 10% of the world population, will be able to choose the composition of the next lower house of Parliament and, consequently, the political color of the future government. The start of this mammoth political-logistical exercise is scheduled for April 19th, the results will be announced on June 4th. There are 543 seats up for grabs, 2,400 participating parties, 1.2 million seats, one favorite.

According to all polls, the Hindu nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi he is in fact destined to receive the third consecutive mandate – reaching the primacy of the founder of the Gandhi political dynasty, Jawaharlal Nehru – and confirming the dominion over vast (and populous) regions of the country of the Hindus gathered under the banner of the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP.

For months, Modi, 73 years old, has been crisscrossing India far and wide, inaugurating bridges, temples and highways and putting his face on every possible welfare program aimed at the poorest sections of the population. In recent weeks he has set himself the goal of winning 370 seats with his party and over 400 with his coalition. A victory of similar proportions would allow him to change the Constitution in a less secular sense than the one in force.

Challenging him will be a coalition of parties which, despite having been losing pieces for months, continues to count on two dozen acronyms and which is riddled with internal tensions such as to significantly reduce its electoral appeal. He is there to guide it Rahul Gandhison of Rajiv, grandson of Indira and great-grandson Nehru, the last heir to Asia’s longest-running political dynasty that ruled India for 54 of its 76-year post-colonial history.