Polls opened Thursday in the first phase of India’s general elections, seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party.A festive spirit prevailed as men and women in colorful clothes made their way to heavily guarded voting stations in large numbers.In the world’s largest democratic exercise, voters in 18 Indian states and two Union Territories are casting ballots on Thursday, the first day of a seven-phase election staggered over six weeks in the country of 1.3 billion people.Some 900 million people are eligible to cast ballots at around a million polling stations across India. They will decide 543 seats in India’s lower house of Parliament. Voting concludes on May 19 and counting is scheduled for May 23.