More than 160 million people across some 20 Indian states were eligible to vote on Thursday in the first phase of polling, which ended with a turnout of just over 60%, according to estimates by the Election Commission of India. In the last general election, held in 2019, the turnout was over 67%. The southern state of Tamil Nadu, ruled by opposition leader M.K. Stalin’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), is voting on Thursday to elect its 39 members of the lower house of parliament, which has a total of 543 seats. The region has resisted the Hindu nationalist rhetoric of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and saw a turnout of just under 63%, according to the poll body, almost 10 points lower than in 2019. The incumbent prime minister, who is seeking a third term in office, is widely expected to win, with the main question being the number of seats the BJP will win. The Election Commission of India reported no major incidents on Thursday, in what was largely a day of celebration for millions of voters who turned out to cast their ballots. “In a kaleidoscope of democracy in action, voters of all ages, from energetic youth to wise elderly, couples, tribals, Divyang (persons with disabilities) and radiant newlyweds joined the electoral festivities,” the poll body said in a statement. From the time polling stations opened at 7:00 AM local time (1:30 AM GMT) until they closed at 6:00 PM (12:30 PM GMT), polling stations were a blaze of colour. Women, whose participation rate surpassed that of men for the first time in the last general election in 2019, turned out in large numbers, their saris a riot of reds, blues and greens. As is customary, authorities highlighted a number of unusual voters, including a newly married couple who turned up at their polling station in their wedding finery, and a voter who rode a camel to cast his ballot in the desert state of Rajasthan, in northwest India. The next phase of polling will be held next Thursday, covering 89 parliamentary constituencies across 13 states, with five more phases to follow on 7, 13, 20, 25 May and 1 June, for a total of 44 days, involving over 960 million voters in what is the world’s largest electoral exercise. The counting of votes is scheduled for 4 June. Read Also: India already votes in the general elections. There are almost a billion voters (Portuguese version)