<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Monday’s polling in the fourth round of multi-phase national elections across nine states and one union territory will be pivotal for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, as it includes some of its strongholds in states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Millions of Indians across 96 constituencies began casting their ballots on Monday as the country's gigantic, six-week-long election edges past its halfway mark. Prime Minister Narendra&nbsp; Modi is seeking a third straight term with an eye on winning a supermajority in Parliament.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Crucial seats in Maharashtra and Bihar states, where the BJP governs in alliances with regional parties, are also up for grabs in this phase.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Bihar’s Samastipur city, hundreds of voters lined up at a polling station that opened at 7 a.m. amid tight security arrangements. Voters said they were concerned about rising food prices, lack of employment and economic development in the state.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most polls predict a win for Modi and his BJP, which is up against a broad opposition alliance led by the Indian National Congress and powerful regional parties.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The staggered election will run until June 1 and nearly 970 million voters, more than 10% of the world’s population, will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament for five years. The votes are scheduled to be counted on June 4.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Monday will also see the end of polling in the country’s five southern states, a region that has mostly rejected Modi’s BJP since it first came to power in 2014 but where winning more seats is crucial for the party's campaign goal of securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kashmir’s largest city, Srinagar, will also vote Monday in the first polls since Modi’s government stripped the disputed region of its semi-autonomy and took direct control of it in 2019. Despite hailing the move as a success that would bring economic development to the region, the BJP is not contesting in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, where anti-India sentiment runs deep. According to AP reports&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>