India's Modi poised for victory as 6-week general election begins in world's largest democracy

CHENNAI - Close to 970 million Indians start voting today as India holds its general election with polls suggesting that incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will win a third term in the world's largest democracy.

"Many Indians view Modi as a ‘strongman figure’. None of the opposition parties can field a candidate with equal charisma. Also, they have no coherent strategy or platform except that they are ‘anti-Modi,'" 25-year-old Anandh Nair from Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala recently told Fox News Digital.

Modi first became prime minister in 2014. He was then re-elected for a second term in 2019.

Nair, a student, said that "During Modi’s two terms, we actually saw the standard of living rise, especially for the middle class. Another thing was, previous leaders had been ‘wishy-washy’ about supporting our Hindu identity, almost as if they were ashamed of it. But for the BJP, there was no doubt that they showed pride. For most Indians, religion is an important part of everyday life."

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI VISITS KASHMIR'S MAIN CITY TO DISCUSS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

While Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not yet succeeded in making inroads in some parts of the country, the main opposition Indian National Congress Party has dwindled in terms of the number of states it now holds, despite its previous dominance in Indian politics. Regardless, Modi has campaigned in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala recently in what many viewed as a daring step, given that the party has not fared well there.

Gurdas Rao, a tour guide from Mumbai, told Fox News Digital that, "Modi is popular among both the rich and poor. All of us have seen the quality-of-life skyrocket, so why won't we vote for him