India announces multi-phase general elections starting on April 19

Chief Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar (Manish Swarup/AP)

India has announced its six-week-long general elections will start on April 19, with most surveys predicting a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Voting in the world’s largest democracy will stretch over seven phases, with different states voting at different times and results will be announced on June 4.