NEW DELHI – The fourth phase of India’s multiphase election took place on Monday, with millions of voters casting ballots in 96 parliamentary constituencies across nine states and one union territory (UT) and taking the six-week-long mammoth election past its halfway mark.

A total of 1,717 candidates were in the fray in the latest round of the elections for the Lok Sabha, or the lower house of parliament, according to the Election Commission of India, the country's independent poll conducting body.

The fourth round of the multi-phase national elections is crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) because it includes some of its strongholds in states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Polling was also held for some important seats in Maharashtra and Bihar states, where the BJP governs in alliances with regional parties.

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Aiming to secure victory and take the reins of power for a third consecutive term, Modi has been campaigning aggressively, targeting a “supermajority” in parliament.

Political leaders should seek votes based on development issues instead of religious polarization.

Rajesh Thakur, Resident, Uttar Pradesh,

In a post on social media platform X in the morning on May 13, Modi expressed hope that people will vote in large numbers. "In today's 4th Phase of the Lok Sabha elections, 96 seats across 10 States and UTs are going to the polls. I am sure people in these constituencies will vote in large numbers and the young voters as well as women voters will power this surge in voting!" he wrote.

Despite high unemployment and inflation in the country, the BJP has been gaining favor among the Hindu majority population in Uttar Pradesh because of the inauguration, by Modi, of a grand temple for Hindu god Ram in the state in January this year, said Anil Trivedi, a retired school teacher from Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

"Political leaders should seek votes based on development issues instead of religious polarization," said Rajesh Thakur, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, which has the most number of seats — 80 out of a total of 543 — in India’s Lok Sabha due to the state’s vast size.

“If a man, even after ruling the country for 10 years has to indulge in primordial rhetoric, it only serves to show that the man is desperate.” political scientist Shyamalendu Majumder said, adding that at a time, there is discontent about unchecked unemployment, inflation, fear of Constitution to be changed, spread of a Hindu Rashtra (country) narrative.

Inauguration of the Ram Temple in the city of Ayodhya earlier this year will certainly help BJP to get a solid chunk of the Hindu votes, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and parts of Bihar, said Amit Rajendra Dholakia, a professor in the Department of Political Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, in Gujarat. BJP will be beneficiary of the Hindutva sentiment, Dholakia said.

Speaking to a news channel on May 12, Modi suggested that the BJP would do better in Bihar than it did in the 2019 elections.

The opposition's campaign has placed a strong emphasis on the fact that many people in India still experience financial hardship despite the country having one of the fastest expanding economies in the world.

"Do not get deterred by the diversionary tactics of hateful speeches which divide the society," Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Indian National Congress (INC), the country's main opposition party, said in a social media post.

The first three phases of India’s seven-phase election were held on April 19, April 26 and May 7. The next three phases are scheduled for May 20, May 25 and June 1, with the results set to be announced on June 4.

Nearly 970 million Indians were eligible to vote in the multiphase election to elect 543 members to the lower house of parliament for five years.

“It seems the most fiercely contested election … (amid) multiple issues (ranging) from local to international,” said Karori Singh, former director and emeritus fellow of the South Asia Studies Centre at the University of Rajasthan.

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Singh noted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is far ahead in terms of resources and campaigning, including on social media, while the INC-led opposition grouping INDIA has been focussing on the failure and non-performance of the NDA government during the past ten years.

Meanwhile, Singh observed that the polling percentage, by and large, remained somewhat low despite elaborate arrangements and facilities offered to voters by the Election Commission.

Xu Weiwei in Hong Kong andArunava Das contributed to this story. 

Aparajit Chakraborty and Arunava Das are freelance journalists for China Daily.