
India holds the penultimate phase of mammoth election
Voice of America
K.C. Gupta, showing his finger marked with the indelible ink that is placed on a voter's hand to denote they have cast their ballot, said at the polls in New Delhi on May 25, 2024, he hopes the next government in India will do more to improve people's lives. (Anjana Pasricha/VOA) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party, shows his inked finger after casting his ballot to vote at a polling station in New Delhi, India, on May 25, 2024. Sanjay Jha, a fruit seller in New Delhi, supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi in elections taking place for millions of Indians on May 25, 2024. (Anjana Pasricha/VOA) Vartika Sharma, who came to cast her vote with her family in New Delhi on May 25, 2024, says she wants a strong government and a strong opposition. (Anjana Pasricha/VOA)
Millions of Indians lined up Saturday at polling booths to cast their votes in the penultimate phase of the country’s multistage election in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third term in office.

Local officials and navy personnel attend a joint Iranian, Russian and Chinese military drill in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12, 2025. (Iranian Army Office via AFP) Chinese navy troops attending a joint naval drill with Iran and Russia stand on the deck of their warship in an official arrival ceremony at Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 11, 2025.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves as he arrives for Mauritius' 57th National Day celebrations at the Champ De Mars, Port Louis, Mauritius, March 12, 2025. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and his Mauritius counterpart Navin Ramgoolam pay homage after laying a wreath at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden during his State visit, in Pamplemousses, Mauritius, March 11, 2025. FILE - Sailors walk on the deck of the INS Imphal, a stealth guided-missile destroyer, at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Dec. 22, 2023.

Police officers guard the Palace of the Republic after Bosnian prosecutors ordered the detention of three top Bosnian Serb officials over a series of separatist actions, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, March 12, 2025. FILE - Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik speaks during an interview with the Associated Press, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Dec. 29, 2023.