Millions of voters in India’s Assam and Kerala states cast their ballots in legislative assembly elections, marking the start of five key contests that will test Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal, according to Al Jazeera. The voting took place on Thursday in Assam, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, with West Bengal and Tamil Nadu set to hold their elections later in the month.

Modi Urges High Voter Turnout

As nearly 174 million voters headed to polling stations on Thursday to elect more than 290 legislators, Modi urged people to exercise their franchise in large numbers. He said on X that he hopes the state’s youth and women voters participate enthusiastically and make the election a celebration of democracy and public duty.

BJP Targets Assam’s Muslim Population

The BJP-led alliance has ruled Assam for two successive terms and is expected to retain power, according to public opinion platform Vote Vibe. During its campaign. The right-wing BJP targeted millions of mainly Bengali-origin Muslims who migrated to Assam in waves, most during British rule, which ended in 1947, from East Bengal, now modern Bangladesh.

The BJP did not field any Muslim candidate in Assam, where the community constitutes more than 34 percent of the state’s population. In contrast. Parties opposed to the BJP are set to win in Kerala, where power has traditionally alternated between alliances led by the Indian National Congress and the communist parties.

Controversial Voter Roll Revisions

Allegations of irregularities in a controversial revision of electoral rolls have intensified political tensions in West Bengal, where the regional Trinamool Congress party has been in power for three consecutive terms. Millions of voters. Most of them Muslims. Have been deleted from voter rolls during the exercise, called the Special Intensive Revision.

Opposition parties and Muslim groups claim the exercise particularly targets the minority Muslim voters — Similar allegations were also made in other Indian states that recently went to the polls. The Election Commission of India has denied the allegations, saying the exercise eliminated dead, duplicate, and fake voters from the electoral roll.

The outcome of elections this month could show whether Modi’s party can extend its dominance by making inroads into opposition strongholds. A strong showing would also strengthen his federal government, as the 2024 national election forced the BJP to rely on regional allies to form the government.

The elections are also central for the opposition parties seeking to build a sustained challenge to the BJP’s dominance across the country — In Puducherry, a small federal territory, the BJP is relying on a coalition with a regional party to strengthen its position.

In Tamil Nadu. A coalition that includes the BJP is expected to mount a close challenge against a ruling regional party, according to Vote Vibe. The most keenly watched – and also the most contentious – of the upcoming electoral contests is West Bengal, where the regional Trinamool Congress party has been in power for three consecutive terms.

Modi’s party has never governed West Bengal, but says it wants to win to curb, like Assam, the “illegal” immigration from neighboring Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Results from all the elections are due on May 4.