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Lok Sabha election 2024: World’s biggest poll kicks off as India begins voting - BBC News Lok Sabha election 2024: World’s biggest poll kicks off as India begins voting - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Since the morning, voters have been thronging polling booths - from Uttar Pradesh in northern India to Tamil Nadu in the south. It’s long been said that “the way to Delhi is through UP” - short for Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with more than 240 million people. If UP was an independent country, it would be the fifth largest in the world - just after India, China, US and Indonesia - and ahead of Pakistan, Nigeria or Brazil.
More than 163 million people are eligible to vote in the first phase of the election happening today. The state elects the largest number of MPs - 80 - and analysts say a party that does well in the state generally rules India. BJP won 71 seats from the state in 2014 and 62 in 2019. Eight of India’s prime ministers trace their roots to UP - even Mr Modi, who is originally from Gujarat, chose the state to make his debut as an MP in 2014 by contesting from the ancient city of Varanasi. In 2019, he won the seat for the second time and is contesting again from there.
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