India held voting in the fourth phase of the seven-week general election amid religious and inequality rhetoric, Reuters reported.
Voting began on April 19 in seven phases. Nearly one billion people are eligible to vote, with ballots scheduled to be counted on June 4. However, electoral rhetoric is heating up amid economic inequality and religious divisions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term in a vote in which his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces an alliance of more than two dozen opposition parties, including its main rival Congress.
Elections for 96 seats in 10 states and territories are being held on Monday, with 177 million people eligible to vote. Turnout is being closely monitored, as a slight drop in the first three phases has raised concerns about a lack of voter interest in an election without a major central agenda.
The hot weather also affected the vote. Maximum temperatures are around 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) or higher in many parts of the country.
Declining turnout
The lower turnout raised doubts about whether the BJP and its allies could win a landslide victory. Analysts argued that the lower turnout prompted Modi to change the course of his campaign after the first phase.
He shifted the focus from his economic performance to accusing the Congress of planning to provide welfare benefits to Muslim minorities at the expense of disadvantaged tribal groups and Hindu castes. The Congress denied such promises and claimed that the turnout just shocked Modi.
About 80 per cent of India’s 1.4 billion people are Hindus. Despite this, the country also ranks third globally in terms of Muslim population at around 200 million.
Polls show voters are most concerned about unemployment and rising prices. The Rahul Gandhi-led Congress advocates social welfare programmes for India’s poor and underprivileged, arguing that property inequality has worsened over the past 10 years.
