India's richest state goes to vote

The Maharashtra Assembly election is underway on Wednesday with voters pouring in to cast their ballots across the 288 constituencies inIndia's richest state.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. IST (0130 UTC/GMT) and will end at 6 p.m. IST, according to election officials.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose party currently governs the state in a coalition, urged voters to "participate enthusiastically in this process and add beauty to this festival of democracy." 

"On this occasion, I appeal to all the youth and women voters to come forward and vote in large numbers," he said in a social media post.

Exit polls are likely to trickle in once voting concludes, as per rules set by the Election Commission of India.

Residents of Jharkhand, an eastern state of India, are also voting on Wednesday in the second and final phase of assembly elections there. This election is primarily a fight between the local ruling party's coalition versus a BJP-led alliance. 

Votes in both states will be counted on Saturday.

Can Modi's BJP hold on to Maharashtra?

Opinion polls, which have a patchy record in India, showed that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might struggle to retain power in the state due to dissatisfied farmers. 

Maharashtra — home to India's financial capital Mumbai — is also a farm-driven state that grows sugarcane, cotton, onions and soybeans. While the ruling government has announced several pro-farmer policies in recent months, however, farmers are yet to see the benefits.

An opinion poll by Lok Poll showed that a coalition of parties, including the Indian National Congress, India's largest opposition party, could wrestle back the state winning up to 162 of the 288 seats.

Other surveys have also shown a loss for the BJP alliance. 

High stakes election

Failing to retain Maharashtra would come as a significant blow to Modi's BJP, which lost its majority in the national elections held between April and June. This too was partly due to anger across India's farming community from issues including low minimum guarantee prices of crops, export curbs and general farmer distress. 

Key BJP members have been campaigning in the state ahead of the electionsImage: Bachchan Kumar/Hindustan Times/Sipa USA/picture alliance

"We faced a setback during the parliamentary elections because of the restrictions on onion exports," senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told an election rally on Sunday.

"We have now lifted those curbs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will not impose export bans abruptly," he added.

However, farmers say the steps have come too late as they have already harvested and sold their onion crops to traders.

The BJP alliance has also been giving Rs 1,500 to women from low-income families under a scheme since August. However, the opposition has promised to double that figure. 

mk/sms (Reuters, AP)