Here’s what you need to know about the world’s largest democratic election kicking off in India

Millions of Indians are voting in a six-week long national election in a referendum on Narendra Modi, the populist prime minister who has championed an assertive brand of Hindu nationalist politics. The voters will cast ballots in the first round of voting across 21 states. Over 970 million voters will elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for five years during the staggered elections that will run until June 1. The votes will be counted on June 4. (AP Video by Piyush Nagpal)

NEW DELHI (AP) — The world’s largest democratic election could also be one of its most consequential.

With a population of over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s general election pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, against a broad alliance of opposition parties that are struggling to play catch up.

Over 50 countries go to the polls in 2024

The 73-year-old Modi first swept to power in 2014 on promises of economic development, presenting himself as an outsider cracking down on corruption. Since then, he has fused religion with politics in a formula that has attracted wide support from the country’s majority Hindu population.

India under Modi is a rising global power, but his rule has also been marked by rising unemployment, attacks by Hindu nationalists against minorities, particularly Muslims, and a shrinking space for dissent and free media.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at an election campaign rally in Meerut, India, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at an election campaign rally in Meerut, India, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

FILE- Newly elected lawmakers from India's ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party raise their hands in support of Narendra Modi being elected their leader in New Delhi, India, May 25, 2019. India's 6-week-long general elections begin on April 19, 2024, and results will be announced on June 4. The voters, who comprise over 10% of the world's population, will elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for a term of five years. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

Lawmakers from India’s ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party raise their hands in support of Narendra Modi being elected their leader in New Delhi, India, May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

HOW DOES THE ELECTION WORK?

The six-week-long general election started Friday and results will be announced June 4. The voters, who make up more than 10% of the world’s population, will elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for a five-year term.

The polls will be held in seven phases, and ballots will be cast at more than a million polling stations. Each phase will last a single day with several constituencies across multiple states voting that day. The staggered polling allows the government to deploy tens of thousands of troops to prevent violence and transport election officials and voting machines.

India has a first-past-the-post multiparty electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins. To secure a majority, a party or coalition must breach the mark of 272 seats.

India uses electronic voting machines.

FILE- Election officers carry Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) on board a ferry to cross the Sowansiri river to reach a polling center on the eve OF elections in Majuli, India, March 26, 2021. The 6-week-long general elections will begin on April 19, 2024, and results will be announced on June 4. While voters in the United States and elsewhere use paper ballots, India uses Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

Election officers carry Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) on board a ferry to cross the Sowansiri river to reach a polling center on the eve OF elections in Majuli, India, March 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

WHO IS RUNNING?

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and his main challenger, Rahul Gandhi of the Indian National Congress, represent Parliament’s two largest factions. Several other important regional parties are part of an opposition bloc.

Opposition parties, which have been previously fractured, have united under a front called INDIA, or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, to deny Modi a a third straight election victory.

The alliance has fielded a single main candidate in most constituencies. But it has been roiled by ideological differences and personality clashes, and has not yet decided on its candidate for prime minister.

Most surveys suggest Modi is likely to win comfortably, especially after he opened a Hindu temple in northern Ayodhya city in January, which fulfilled his party’s long-held Hindu nationalist pledge.

Another victory would cement Modi as one of the country’s most popular and important leaders. It would follow a thumping win in 2019, when the BJP clinched an absolute majority by sweeping 303 parliamentary seats. The Congress party managed only 52 seats.

FILE- Leaders from the opposition INDIA alliance sit for a press briefing in Mumbai, India, Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. The opposition has united under a front called INDIA. The acronym, which stands for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, comprises India’s previously fractured opposition parties that are aiming to deny Modi a third straight win in the 2024 elections. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

Leaders from the opposition INDIA alliance sit for a press briefing in Mumbai, India, Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, photo, a man holds a brick reading "Jai Shree Ram" (Victory to Lord Ram) as bricks of the old Babri Mosque are piled up in Ayodhya, in the central Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Most pre-poll surveys suggest Modi is likely to win the 2024 elections comfortably, especially after he opened a Hindu temple built on the ruins of the historic mosque in northern Ayodhya city in January, which fulfilled his party’s long-held Hindu nationalist pledge. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

In this Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, photo, a man holds a brick reading “Jai Shree Ram” (Victory to Lord Ram) as bricks of the old Babri Mosque are piled up in Ayodhya, in the central Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Most pre-poll surveys suggest Modi is likely to win the 2024 elections comfortably, especially after he opened a Hindu temple built on the ruins of the historic mosque in northern Ayodhya city in January, which fulfilled his party’s long-held Hindu nationalist pledge. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

WHAT ARE THE BIG ISSUES?

For decades, India has clung doggedly to its democratic convictions, largely due to free elections, an independent judiciary, a thriving media, strong opposition and peaceful transition of power. Some of these credentials have seen a slow erosion under Modi’s 10-year rule, with the polls seen as a test for the country’s democratic values.

Many watchdogs have now categorized India as a “hybrid regime” that is neither a full democracy nor a full autocracy.

The polls will also test the limits of Modi, a populist leader whose rise has seen increasing attacks against religious minorities, mostly Muslims. Critics accuse him of running on a Hindu-first platform, endangering the country’s secular roots.

Under Modi, the media, once viewed as vibrant and largely independent, have become more pliant and critical voices muzzled.Courts have largely bent to Modi’s will and given favorable verdicts in crucial cases. Centralization of executive power has strained India’s federalism. And federal agencies have bogged down top opposition leaders in corruption cases, which they deny.

Another key issue is India’s large economy, which is among the fastest growing in the world. It has helped India emerge as a global power and a counterweight to China. But even as India’s growth soars by some measures, the Modi government has struggled to generate enough jobs for young Indians, and instead has relied on welfare programs like free food and housing to woo voters.

The U.N.'s latest Asia-Pacific Human Development Report lists India among the top countries with high income and wealth inequality.

FILE- Workers use machinery at a coastal road project construction site in Mumbai, India, Aug. 26, 2021. With a population of over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s 2024 general election pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, against a broad alliance of opposition parties that are struggling to play catch up. India's large economy is among the fastest growing in the world. The UNDP’s latest Asia-Pacific Human Development Report says that India has emerged among the top countries with high income and wealth inequality. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

Workers use machinery at a coastal road project construction site in Mumbai, India, Aug. 26, 2021. The UNDP’s latest Asia-Pacific Human Development Report says that India has emerged among the top countries with high income and wealth inequality. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

FILE- Indians crowd ticket counters at the railway station in Ahmadabad, India, Oct. 23, 2011. With a population of over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s general election that begins April 19, 2024, pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, against a broad alliance of opposition parties that are struggling to play catch up. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)

Indians crowd ticket counters at the railway station in Ahmadabad, India, Oct. 23, 2011. With a population of over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s general election that begins April 19, 2024, pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, against a broad alliance of opposition parties that are struggling to play catch up. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters wear masks of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally addressed by Modi in Meerut, India, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters wear masks of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally addressed by Modi in Meerut, India, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Saaliq is a reporter based in New Delhi, India