India heads to the polls in world's biggest election

The nationwide vote is considered among the most consequential in decades as Modi's powerful right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims for an outright majority and a mandate to widen its development and Hindu-nationalist policies established during its 10-year rule. The BJP's campaign manifesto centers on job creation, anti-poverty programs such as expanding food handouts and housing schemes, and national development with particular focus on women, the poor, farmers and young people.