India, the world’s largest democracy, kicked off the first of several phases of its…

India, the world’s largest democracy, kicked off the first of several phases of its national election on Thursday, with right-wing Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a second term in office. Because of the sheer size of the electorate — India has about 900 million eligible voters, which is nearly triple the entire US population — the voting will be conducted over the next six weeks. At the polling stations this week, voters proudly held up their fingers marked with ink, which officials use to prevent people from casting more than one vote.
(?: Biju Boro/AFP/Getty Image, Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images and Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)