Involving around 900 million voters, India's general election will be the world's largest democratic exercise, with the vote taking place in seven phases between April 11 and May 19. Results will be announced on May 23, and in an interview with Republic Bharat television channel, Modi predicted an easy victory. "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance partners will get more seats than the previous election," Modi said. Up until a few weeks ago most opinion polls were expecting a close run race, but over the past month, Modi's BJP has benefited from nationalist fervour unleashed by a flare up in tensions with neighbouring Pakistan. The Indian prime minister said he would not enter talks with Islamabad until "the world sees that Pakistan has taken action against terrorism."

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 29, 2019 09:22 UTC