Millions of Indians have begun voting in high-stakes state elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, BBC reported.
In West Bengal, where the fiercest contest is unfolding, voting is under way in 152 of 294 seats across 16 districts in the first phase, with 1,478 candidates in the fray. A second phase of polling is scheduled for next week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has mounted an aggressive push to unseat Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress is seeking a fourth straight term in a state the BJP has never governed.
The election is taking place against a controversy over a sweeping revision of electoral rolls that has heightened political tensions, according to BBC.
