From Rahul Gandhi to Arvind Kejriwal, opposition leaders cast their votes, see what the foreign media said

Recently, several opposition leaders in India have been investigated in criminal cases, for which the opposition blamed the Modi government. This has raised the concerns of UN human rights chief Volker Turk.

Rahul Gandhi was convicted in a defamation case last year
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi casts his vote at a polling station in Delhi, where temperatures were expected to reach 43 degrees Celsius. After casting his vote, Rahul Gandhi stopped for a selfie with his mother Sonia Gandhi but did not speak to reporters. A scion of the Gandhi family that has dominated Indian politics for decades, he was convicted of criminal defamation last year following a complaint by a BJP leader. The two-year jail sentence led to his disqualification from Parliament until his verdict was stayed by the Supreme Court.

Arvind Kejriwal is also out on bail
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party chief, who was detained in March in a long-running corruption case, also voted today. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal bail and he returned to campaigning. Soon after his release, he said, “Modi has started a very dangerous mission. Modi will send all opposition leaders to jail.

You are struggling to reach the national level
The Congress is leading an opposition coalition of more than two dozen parties fighting the election together against Prime Minister Modi, including the Aam Aadmi Party. Kejriwal's party emerged from an anti-corruption movement a decade ago and is now in power in Delhi and Punjab, but the Aam Aadmi Party is struggling to establish itself as a nationwide force.

Many bank accounts of Congress were also frozen
In February, authorities froze several bank accounts of the Congress as part of an ongoing dispute over income tax returns filed five years ago. The Gandhi family had said the move had seriously affected the party's ability to contest elections. Rahul Gandhi had said in March, “We do not have money for campaigning, we cannot support our candidates.

Red alert issued in many places
India is voting in seven phases over six weeks to ease the heavy burden of conducting elections in the world's most populous country. Voter turnout has fallen by several percentage points compared to the last national poll in 2019, which analysts attribute to widespread expectations of Prime Minister Modi's victory as well as above-average summer temperatures. The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a 'red alert' for Delhi and surrounding states this week. People voted in Delhi in this scorching heat.