Indian election resumes as heatwave hits voters

Mathura, India: India s six week long election resumed Friday with millions of people lining up outside polling stations in parts of the country hit b...

Mathura, India: India's six-week-long election resumed Friday with millions of people lining up outside polling stations in parts of the country hit by a scorching heatwave.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to win a third term in the election, which concludes in early June.

But turnout in the first round of voting last week dropped nearly four points to 66 percent from the previous election in 2019, with speculation in Indian media outlets that higher-than-average temperatures were to blame.

Modi took to social media shortly before polls re-opened to urge those voting to turn out in "record numbers" despite the heat.

"A high voter turnout strengthens our democracy," he wrote on social media platform X. "Your vote is your voice!"