Modi the favourite as India votes

HARIDWAR, (India): India began voting Friday in a six-week election with an all but assured victory for Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a weakened opposition is pushed to the sidelines.

A total of 968 million people are eligible to take part in the world’s biggest vote — a staggering logistical exercise that critics say follows a concerted effort to delegitimise rivals. A long and winding queue was patiently assembled outside a polling station in the Hindu holy city of Haridwar, on the banks of the Ganges river, even before the booths opened.

“Modi had ensured our country as well as our faith is secure,” 59-year-old Hindu ascetic Uday Bharti told AFP outside a polling station.