Indians vote early in fifth phase of polls to avoid blistering heat

Indians voted on May 20 in the fifth phase of a mammoth general election, with actors and sports celebrities among the thousands who turned out early in a bid to avoid scorching afternoon heat in the financial hub of Mumbai.

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Three hours before polls closed, about 48 per cent of voters had cast their ballots in the world's largest election, which began on April 19, as weather officials warned of more heatwaves than usual through the torrid summer.

Votes will be counted on June 4, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to win a rare third consecutive term.

Voters at a polling station in a tiny lane in central Mumbai waited for hours in snaking queues that advanced slowly.

"It is claustrophobic, and people are falling sick," said housewife Shalini Pawar, 42, who queued for three hours. One woman nearly fainted in the heat, she added, calling for the authorities to provide drinking water to those waiting.