India begins general elections

On April 19, Indian voters officially began participating in the general election in 21 states and territories to elect the 18th Lower House of Parliament. The election process consists of 7 phases, each phase takes place over one day and ends on June 1.

A political party or coalition needs at least 272 seats to gain a majority in power. This year's general election takes place in the context of India's recent dramatic changes in all aspects, from science and technology, military , economy to foreign affairs...

Observers say that in this general election, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP of incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi almost has the upper hand over the Indian National Development Alliance (INDIA) led by the Congress Party. Prime Minister Modi is likely to be re-elected for a third consecutive term and will be the second person, after Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, to have a third term as Prime Minister.

KHANH HUNG