Officials prepare bags of election material to be distributed along with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) ahead of the national parliamentary elections in Jorhat, India, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)





Cornelius Mawa, 28, a porter, carries Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) as he crosses a suspension bridge to reach a remote polling station, ahead of the first phase of the election, in Shillong in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India, April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





Porters and polling officers carry Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) as they trek to reach a remote polling station, ahead of the first phase of the election, in Shillong, in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India, on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





Polling officers and porters rest on their way to reach a remote polling station, ahead of the first phase of the election, in Shillong, in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India, on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





Wilfred Syjemlieh, 24, a porter, carries Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) as he treks to reach a remote polling station, ahead of the first phase of the election, in Shillong in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India, on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





Porters Cornelius Mawa, 28, sits next to an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), rests on his way to reach a remote polling station, ahead of the first phase of the election, in Shillong in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India, on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





Porter Wilfred Syjemlieh, 24, carries Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) during a trek to reach a remote polling station, ahead of the first phase of the election, in Shillong in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India, on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





Cornelius Mawa, 28, a porter, carries Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) as he crosses a suspension bridge to reach a remote polling station, ahead of the first phase of the election, in Shillong in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India, on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





A Sadhu or a Hindu holy man listens to speeches delivered by political leaders during an election campaign rally, ahead of India's general election, in Tiruvannamalai, India on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Polling officer Wingstarwell Shabong, 36, checks for mobile network as he stands on a balcony of a remote polling station after reaching Nongriat village, ahead of the first phase of the election, in Shillong in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India, on April 18, 2024. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





Farmers shout slogans during a protest to demand minimum crop prices and to condemn the alleged stone pelting on farmers by workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Amritsar on April 18, 2024. Thousands of Indian farmers on February 13, launched what they have dubbed “Delhi Chalo”, or “March to Delhi”, to demand a law to fix a minimum price for their crops, in addition to other concessions including the waiving of loans. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)





A Mishing tribal woman sits inside a temporary shelter to keep watch on her field at Bojai Ghat village in Dergaon, about 280km (175 miles) north-east of the state capital Guwahati, India, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)





Young girls poses for a Group Photo after the Ritual of Kumari Puja at the Adyapith temple on April 17, 2024. Kumari Puja is an Indian Hindu Tradition mainly celebrated during the Durga Puja according to the Hindu calendar. Kumari describes a young virgin girl from the age of 1 to 16 who is getting worshipped by their mothers according to Hindu mythology. It is believed that Kumari Puja grants many blessings to the worshipers and the little girl. With this, the devotees believe that the goddess will help them overcome all the dangers in life and will empower them in handling stress and obstructions in life. (Photo by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Women walk towards a polling station to cast their ballot during the first phase of voting for the India's general elections in Parbatsar in Rajasthan, on April 19, 2024. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)





Women cast their ballot to vote at a polling station in the first phase of India's general election in Kairana, Shamli district, in India's Uttar Pradesh state on April 19, 2024. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)





First time voter Visaalini, 19, shows her inked finger after casting her vote for the first phase of general elections at a polling station in Chennai, India, 19 April 2024. The Indian general elections will be held over seven phases between 19 April and 01 June 2024 with the results being announced on 04 June for the 545-member lower house of parliament, or Lok Sabha. The elections are held every five years in which about 968 million people are eligible to vote. (Photo by Ragul Krishnan/EPA)





A woman clad in a burqa walks outside a polling station during the first phase of the general election in Kairana, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India, on April 19, 2024. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)





A woman, carrying her daughter, casts her vote at a polling station during the first phase of the general election, in the border village of Zokhawthar, Champhai district, in India's northeastern state of Mizoram, India, on April 19, 2024. (Photo by Chanchinmawia/Reuters)





People wait in line to cast their votes at a polling station during the first phase of the general election, in Alipurduar district in the eastern state of West Bengal, India, on April 19, 2024. (Photo by Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters)





A burqa-clad woman stands at a pink voting booth during the first phase of the general election in Kairana, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India, on April 19, 2024. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)