New Delhi, Mar 16 (EFE).- India, with nearly 1 billion voters, is set to embark on the world’s largest voting process with its multi-phase general elections on April 19, the poll body announced on Saturday.

The voting will span six weeks, organized into seven phases, to elect 543 members for the lower house of parliament for five years, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said.

According to the ECI, the massive voting process in the country of 1.4 billion people will begin on Apr. 19. The subsequent phases are scheduled for Apr. 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.

Rajiv Kumar, the head of the poll body, told reporters that the counting of votes would begin on June 4.

Supporters of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party gather during a rally launching the party’s campaign for the upcoming general elections at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata, India, 10 March 2024. EFE-EPA/PIYAL ADHIKARY

Kumar said the staggered voting schedule was designed with consideration for geographical conditions, festivals, and school and college exams.

Approximately 970 million Indians are eligible to cast their votes at over 1.2 million polling stations, staffed by 15 million workers.

“We will take democracy to every corner of the country,” Kumar said. “It is our promise to deliver a national election in a manner that we… remain a beacon for democracy around the world.”

He said it would be a gigantic exercise of democracy that constitutes the largest electoral movement of people and materials in the world.

More than 5.5 million electronic voting machines will used in the process, said Kumar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party are vying for a third consecutive term, facing off against an opposition alliance spearheaded by the Indian National Congress.

Supporters of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party flash the victory sign as they gather during a rally launching the party’s campaign for the upcoming general elections at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata, India, 10 March 2024. EFE-EPA/PIYAL ADHIKARY

However, surveys have predicted a comfortable win for Modi, whose BJP has emerged as one of the richest political parties in the world with an estimated net worth of 65 billion Indian rupees, or $78.5 million.

A third consecutive term in office for Modi, 73, will make him only the second prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, to do so.

Modi has set ambitious goals for his BJP, aiming for 370 seats, and for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which it leads, targeting over 400 seats.

The ambition marks an increase from the 303 seats secured by the BJP and surpasses the 350 seats held by the NDA in the 2019 elections. EFE

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