Indians vote in the first phase of the world's largest election as Modi seeks a third term

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians began voting on Friday in a six-week election that's a referendum on Narendra Modi, the populist prime minister who has championed an assertive brand of Hindu nationalist politics and is seeking a rare third term as the country's leader. People...

Here's what you need to know about the world's largest democratic election kicking off in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — The world’s largest democratic election could also be one of its most consequential. With a population of over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s general election pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, against...

India begins voting in a 6-week election that could give Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi a third term

Once a fringe Indian ideology, Hindu nationalism is now mainstream, thanks to Modi's decade in power

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of India’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders. And no entity has had more influence on his...

AP PHOTOS: Colorful roadshows and rallies mark India's election season before voting starts Friday

NEW DELHI (AP) — Every five years, the world’s most populous democracy holds a giant election for millions of Indians to cast their vote on a new parliament. And it does so in its usual flamboyance — with a spectacle of dance, drumbeats and firecrackers echoing across India as...

Indian police kill 29 suspected Maoist rebels in a gunbattle in a central state

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police in India killed at least 29 suspected Maoist rebels in the central state of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, authorities said, three days ahead of the start of a national election in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third term. According to a...

AP PHOTOS: What's on the voters’ minds as India heads into a 6-week national election

NEW DELHI (AP) — Raj Sud, 94, has voted in almost every election held in independent India, bearing witness to the eventful journey of a diverse, and now the world’s most populous, democracy over the last 76 years. Nearly 970 million people are eligible to vote in India’s...

In Modi's India, opponents and journalists feel the squeeze ahead of election

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are increasingly wielding strong-arm tactics to subdue political opponents and critics of the ruling Hindu-nationalist party ahead of the nationwide elections that begin this week. A decade into power, and on...

Pakistan investigating the shooting death of a suspect in the 2013 killing of an accused Indian spy

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities are investigating the shooting death of a man who had been acquitted of killing accused Indian spy Sarabjit Singh in a Lahore prison in 2013, a police official said Sunday. Pakistan has previously accused India’s intelligence agency...

India's national election will take place in phases over 44 days. Here's why it takes so long

NEW DELHI (AP) — Nearly 970 million people — or over 10% of the global population — are eligible to vote in India's general elections that start Friday and last to June 1. The mammoth exercise is the biggest anywhere in the world and will take 44 days before results are announced on June 4. ...