By Hugo Barcia
Ahmedabad, India, May 7 (EFE).- Millions of Indian voters stood in lines outside polling stations on Tuesday, enduring the scorching sun to take part in the third phase of the protracted general elections, marked by a low turnout.
By 5 pm, a little over 60 percent of over 172 million eligible voters had cast their votes in parts of 12 states to elect 93 lawmakers in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament.
Comparatively, the revised voter turnouts in Phase 1 and Phase 2 were 66.1 and 66.71 percent respectively.
The lower turnout in the third phase was partly due to the unusually hot weather and the persisting heatwave that has engulfed much of the Indian peninsular region.
Temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Celsius in these areas, with the India Meteorological Department warning that the regions will remain engulfed in the heatwave until the weekend.
Voters were urged to take precautions and advised to wear light and loose-fitting clothing and stay hydrated.
The Election Commission of India said it had set up heat mitigation arrangements at polling stations by providing water, electrolytes, and canopies at each polling station.
“Minimum facilities like water, shed, toilets, ramps, volunteers, wheelchairs, and electricity are in place to ensure that every voter, including elderly and persons with disabilities, can cast their vote with ease,” the poll regulator said.
“Special attention has been given to measures to deal with hot weather conditions.”
India’s once-in-five-years general elections are usually held in April and May – the heart of the hot Indian summer.
But this year, India and its neighboring regions are experiencing one of the hottest summers on record, which caused several deaths in South Asia.
Still, the sizzling sun didn’t deter millions of enthusiastic Indians from participating in the world’s largest democratic spectacle, engaging tens of millions of poll officials and 5.5 million electronic machines to record electoral choices of nearly a billion eligible voters.
“It is our basic right to vote. The temperature was high but i wanted to come (out to vote),” an enthusiastic voter, Keshavlal Dharamsingh. told EFE outside a polling station in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
A woman in her 50s echoed the sentiments. “We all have to celebrate this festival of democracy. We have to vote for our nation.” she said, but did not reveal her name.
The seven-phase voting period is scheduled to conclude on June 1 with counting to take place on June 4.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a record third consecutive term in office.
One of the highlights of the third phase of the voting was Gujarat – the home state of the two most powerful men in India – Modi and his closest confidant, Home Minister Amit Shah.
Shah’s electoral fate was sealed as he sought re-election from Gandhinagar, the regional capital of Gujarat.
Modi and Shah voted early on Tuesday, followed by the prime minister’s trademark walk outside the polling center, flaunting his indelible ink mark on his left-hand index finger.
The prime minister posed and smiled for the fluttering camera lenses, as a crowd of hundreds of supporters chanted his name,
“Long Live India” and “Jai Shri Ram,” a battle cry of Hindu nationalists.
Modi, known for alleged anti-Muslim hate speeches, lived up to his pet election strategy.
“We must decide what is the route we want to take – Ram Rajya (a euphemism for Hindu Rashtra) or vote jihad,” he said, referring to Muslims and alleging that their vote against his party was like a jihad for them.
The campaign by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has been marked by anti-Muslim rants that the prime minister has spearheaded to dissuade people from voting for an opposition bloc led by the Indian National Congress.
The opposition has alleged that Modi’s campaign has been communally divisive and promotes religious hatred.
“They have promoted hatred for political gain,” former Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, the mother of Modi’s main challenger Rahul Gandhi, said in a video message posted on X.
“Their focus is only on gaining power at any cost,” the widow of assassinated former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, said.
“Youth unemployment, crimes against women, and discrimination against Dalits, Adivasis, and minorities have all reached unprecedented levels” under the Modi government, she said. EFE
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