Al Jazeera Podcasts.

Today, the world's largest election is underway in India, with close to a billion people eligible to vote.

They're likely to re-elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Most opinion polls predict a comfortable win for Prime Minister Modi, who is seeking a third

consecutive term.

But what would a third term for Modi mean for India?

I'm Kevin Hurtin, and this is The Take.

In a democracy, we should not take elections lightly.

It is a very big, grand event. And my opinion is that it should be celebrated as such,

like when there's a sports festival or event. India's elections are often described as a festival,

as you just heard there from Prime Minister Modi.

Getting around 970 million eligible voters, which is about 10% of the global population,

to the polls, is a monumental task.

They'll be choosing the members of India's lower House of Parliament in a phased process that's set to last six weeks, with results announced on June 4th.

Voting takes place in seven staggered stages, moving across the country, making sure there's

enough of a security presence in each place. Polls and experts are predicting a third term for

Modi and his Bartia Junanta party, or BJP.

But despite his popularity, Modi is also divisive,

for reasons we're about to get into.

There is a kind of cultish following that has been created.

That voice you just heard was Siddarth Batya,

who also goes by Sid. He's a founding editor of the independent news outlet, The Wire.

...