The Indian Electoral Commission has announced that the country’s election will take place over seven phases, with the first phase beginning on 19 April. The final phase will be completed on 1 June.
Final results are expected to be announced on 4 June.
With nearly one billion registered voters, this will be the largest election held in history.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third term, which opinion polls say he is likely to secure.
In 2019 Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 303 of the 545 seats in the Indian parliament, with some polls showing that it could win an even bigger majority this time around.
The BJP’s primary rival, the Indian National Congress (INC), has formed an electoral pact with a number of other parties, known as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), but it is unlikely to outpoll the BJP.