INDIA’S six-week-long general election will begin on April 19, the government announced on Saturday.

According to most surveys, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his far-right Hindu chauvinist Bharatiya Janata Party are likely to win a third consecutive term.

Voting will stretch over seven phases, with different states voting at different times, and the results will be announced on June 4. 

Over 970 million voters — more than 10 per cent of the world’s population — will elect 543 members of the lower house of parliament to serve a five-year term.

The main opposition alliance of over two dozen regional parties, led by the Indian National Congress, appears to be fracturing, riven by rivalries, political defections and ideological clashes, which is likely to play into the hands of the increasingly authoritarian Mr Modi.

Each phase of voting will last one day and involve several constituencies, spread across multiple states. 

The staggered polling allows the government to deploy tens of thousands of troops to prevent violence and transport electoral officials and voting machines.

Mr Modi has been accused by critics of stirring up religious hatred in his bid to secure another term in power.

Support for the leader surged after he broke the traditional divide between the state and religion by opening a highly divisive Hindu temple in the northern city of Ayodhya in January.

Attacks by Hindu extremists on member of minority communities, particularly Muslims, have increased in recent months and there is a shrinking space for dissent and free media. The opposition says that a win by Mr Modi's party could threaten India's status as a secular, democratic nation.

Last week, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) warned that the BJP was using rules for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act, which discriminates against Muslims, “for divisive and polarising purposes.”