Monday's polling for 96 parliamentary seats largely covered the southern and eastern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, where the BJP is not as strong as in the north and west of the country.

Srinagar, the main city in the troubled Kashmir Valley, also votes for the first time since Modi's 2019 decision to remove semi-autonomy from the region. The BJP is not contesting there, as analysts say the result is likely to contradict Modi's narrative of a peaceful and more integrated Kashmir.

‘I have voted after more than two decades... just to get relief from what we are suffering here,’ said Bashir Ahmad Lala, 67, a Srinagar resident.

Police imposed restrictions on pre-poll rallies in the militarised region, while opposition parties claimed their workers had been detained, which police denied.

Former Jammu and Kashmir state chief minister Farooq Abdullah, president of the National Conference party, said Modi and Shah ‘will definitely be defeated’ at the national level.

Asaduddin Owaisi, a prominent Muslim legislator from the southern city of Hyderabad, who also voted on Monday, said the BJP had fewer supporters after Modi's recent ‘venomous’ remarks against minority Muslims.

‘An individual cannot be bigger than the country. Therefore, Modi is not the country,’ he added. Modi has said he is not opposed to Muslims and that his government does not discriminate.

Hindus versus Muslims

Analysts have raised doubts about whether the BJP and its allies can win the landslide victory predicted by opinion polls, saying the lower turnout has prompted Modi to change the direction of his campaign after the first phase.

Modi has shifted from focusing on his economic record to accusing the Congress of planning to extend welfare benefits to Muslims at the expense of Scheduled Tribe groups and caste Hindus.

Last month he said the Congress planned to redistribute the wealth of the Hindu majority to Muslims, whom he referred to as ‘infiltrators’ who have ‘more children’.

About 80 per cent of India's 1.4 billion people are Hindus, but it also has the world's third largest Muslim population, with some 200 million people. Polls suggest that voters are most concerned about unemployment and rising prices.

‘I will vote for someone who is educated and can develop our area,’ said Pradipta Kumar Sethi, a resident of Odisha's Koraput tribal district.

The Congress is advocating better representation and welfare programmes for poor and disadvantaged groups, saying wealth inequality has worsened during Modi's 10 years in office, which has rejected the government.

‘Do not be deterred by the diversionary tactics of hate-filled speeches that divide society,’ Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a message to voters.

The opposition INDIA alliance received a boost ahead of Monday's vote when the Supreme Court granted temporary bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, detained in a corruption case, allowing him to campaign.

The impact of the heat on turnout was also being monitored as maximum temperatures in some parts of the country reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) or more last week.