India announces election datesGeneral elections will kick off on April 11 and unfold in seven phases before polls will close on May 19. Results will be announced on May 23. The world’s largest democratic exercise, with some 900 million eligible voters, is widely seen as a referendum on the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is running for a second five-year term. Analysis: In 2014, Mr. Modi’s promises of ambitious economic reforms won him the first single-party majority in the country in three decades. His popularity may be dented by a series of mismanaged policies and an emboldened nationalist movement associated with his Bharatiya Janata Party.

Source: New York Times March 10, 2019 18:56 UTC