Business and Bollywood vote in India's election

Mumbai: A parade of India s business and entertainment elite many of them supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to the polls on Monday...

Mumbai: A parade of India's business and entertainment elite -- many of them supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- went to the polls on Monday as the financial capital Mumbai voted in the latest round of the country's election.

But turnout in the fifth round of the mammoth democratic exercise fell to its lowest so far, election commission figures showed, as parts of the country sweltered under a heatwave that saw temperatures soar to 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit).

Modi, 73, is widely expected to win a third term when the election concludes early next month, thanks in large part to his aggressive championing of India's majority Hindu faith.

"My vote is for the BJP and Modi," said Deepak Mahajan, 42, who works in banking. "There is no other choice if you care about the future of the economy and business."

Big conglomerates have provided Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a campaign war chest that dwarfs its rivals, while Bollywood stars have backed its ideological commitment to more closely align the country's majority religion and its politics.