over several weeks. and the results don'tjust matter to the people living in it, it matters to the world. now, in india, there are dozens of political parties in this country, but two really dominate — the bjp and the congress. before we get there, though, let's take a look at the election in numbers. 968 million eligible voters. 1.2 million polling booths across the country. 15 million election workers. that is almost the populations of both london and new york combined. ok, so speaking of numbers, get this one. a poll that tracks the popularity of global leaders put prime minister narendra modi's approval rating at 78%. by comparison, a domestic poll in the uk put prime minister rishi sunak�*s approval rating at —48%. 50 ten years on, how is it that mr modi remains so popular? a triumphant tourfor prime minister narendra modi, finally making good on a decades—old promise... ..to bring the hindu god ram back to his birthplace here in ayodhya. translation: ram is the faith of india. - ram is the foundation of india. ram is the thought of india. ram is the constitution of india. those are the words by the prime minister of a secular country, made building a hindu temple. key to his re—election campaign, it has exalted his popularity. sitting next to mr modi, chief of the rashtriya swayamsevak sangh, or rss, the right—wing hindu nationalist organisation seen as the ideological fountainhead for the ruling party. the rss is entrenched in families, and it's a deeply conservative, inward—looking militia which was founded in 1925, which mr modi and his party pays obeisance to. mr modi doesn'tjust respect the rss. he became a member in his teens. archive: they raise the saffron flag. - that brand of hindu nationalism was behind the demolition of the 16th—century mosque three decades earlier where the ram temple now sits. and across the country, other mosques are under threat from hindu nationalism. a court in mr modi's home constituency ruled hindus can worship in the basement of the gyanvapi mosque. believers in hindutva feel emboldened, but the local muslim community is fearful for their place in narendra modi's india. translation: i'm angry. i'm frustrated. there is pain, but there is also anger because we are not able to do anything. we have been praying there for 50 years, but we can't do anything to save it. i don't understand. is this the way our country will run? and for how long will you surprise us? i take his concerns to a local tea stall, made famous by the prime minister when he visited two years ago. are you hindu or muslim? in response, my identity was questioned. translation: why only muslims feel offended? | whenever a hindutva word comes, |why only muslims feel offended? i no any other religion. since this country's inception, since people have known this| country, since then, - it has been a hindu country. but only now has the word "hindutva" been coined. but we have to answer again and again, whenever a hindutva word comes, "what about muslims?" away from the city and the politics of divide, india's agricultural heartland. part of mr modi's popularity has been the success of his so—called welfare schemes. sanjay prajapati shows me his crops, and he tells me that he gets money and rations for free from the government, a great financial benefit for him. and for mr modi, it means votes. translation: i was a congress supporter, but then _ narendra modi came with his ideologies, his way of working and the way he connects to the people on the ground. he understands people's way of thinking and what they want. now i vote for the bjp. the women in this village just a few miles away get the benefits. but what they really need is better access to water. translation: we get money. we get rice and grains. we got cooking gas, but we are struggling with water. there's no water, and we have to get it from a well far away. they blame corruption, saying it's not the fault of mr modi. a lot of schemes that used to be schemes run by government departments are all now being presented and repackaged. every scheme has been pradhan mantri, pradhan mantri. .. so everything... pradhan mantri meaning prime minister. so everything coming not from the government, not from the department, not from any other person. it's all coming from pradhan mantri. and it's that spin on the messaging that makes mr modi appear unstoppable. everywhere you go, you see his face plastered on billboards and even on covid vaccine certificates, creating an image of a prime minister that is larger than life. there is no leader within light years who comes close - to prime minister modi. some quarters of the media does the rest of the work for him. mainstream media, whosejob is to ask questions, holding governments questionable, of asking them questions, is not happening. so what happens is that mr modi stands tall. the cult is allowed to build up because you have 500 news channels, you have 60 websites all saying the same thing. prime minister modi's carefully curated image, honed over his two—plus decades in politics, is likely to get him his third term. also making mr modi's electoral success — a weak opposition. the indian national congress party led this country to independence but now is a shadow of its former self, seemingly unable to capitalise on government missteps. so will these elections be any different? arunoday: this is the man seen as the opposition's hope to take on prime minister narendra modi. congress leader rahul gandhi is travelling across the country, asking voters what they want. translation: this is a question you will have to ask _ yourselves every day. unemployment, inflation, this is your future. well, going by the support over here, it seems like a vote of confidence, at least from the supporters of rahul gandhi, for the congress party. this is the very significant, politically significant constituency of amethi, which has always belonged to the gandhi family. for 15 years, rahul gandhi represented this seat, before that, his mother, his father, his uncle. so it's really remained with the gandhi family, until 2019, in a shock defeat, the congress party lost to the bjp here. so can he win them back? an hour away from the noise of the campaign trail, i meet 65—year—old shabir khan in the village of chachkapoor in amethi. for generations, his family has voted for the congress. but even staunch loyalists like shabir feel the party is not doing enough. translation: nothing| will change if they don't raise other issues. rahul gandhi needs to roar, like other politicians. he's a good man, but that's not enough. if he speaks with more conviction, it will be good for him, for the party and for us. since india's independence, the congress party dominated the country's political landscape. from 400 seats in parliament in the 1980s, they were down to 52 in the 2019 elections. to counter the bjp�*s rising popularity, in july last year, opposition partiesjoined hands to form a united front. translation: if this alliance wins, our country will win. . but in less than a year, there are cracks in the alliance. key partners have left, joining the bjp, and others are bickering over seats. you're not worried about these differences? i'm not worried. these are differences. we have to recognise they are differences. | but a divided house isn't... it's not a house divided. we are a house - with multiple voices. but multiple voices of dissent, as well. not necessarily. just divergent points of view. these differences, though, are casting a doubt in voters. the most raw yet nuanced political conversations in india often happen at these kind of tea stalls. it's the best way to get a pulse of what people are thinking. translation: since i became eligible to vote, i have only i voted for the congress, but last time we votedi for the bjp. i asked them — the bjp has one face, narendra modi, but the opposition hasn't projected anyone. do you think they should? translations: absolutely. that's what we are thinking. there has to be a face, i that this is our candidate. there is no leader here who can take our problems to _ rahul gandhi. they need to build our road. whoever builds this road for us, we will vote for them. there is no bigger issue for us than this. this is interesting, because in the middle of all the national issues that are being debated, for the people over here, something as small as building a road to connect this village to the city is as important to them. and just on the basis of that road being built, they'll vote for the party that gives it to them. young people here are roaming around withoutjobs, _ and prices are rising. do you think religious politics will give the bjp political mileage? they are gaining votes only on the basis of religion. if they set religious politics aside, they won't even get 100 seats in parliament. they should talk about development. they should stop this hindu—muslim politics. carrying on the conversation over tea, i asked them what their message to the congress party is. rahul gandhi should realise he won't get votes just by waving at crowds. he has to find a way to listen to our problems. just a cross—country roadshow short of elections is not enough. when you are in the opposition, you need to be hungrier. you need to be bolder. you need to be more imaginative. and above all, you've got to work harder. i think if mr modi is looking like a frontrunner, i think the full credit for this anomaly has to be given to the congress party. the opposition says they are up against a lot more. multiple raids, several arrests and over 140 opposition mps suspended in the last session of parliament, all being seen as an act of intimidation. rahul gandhi's show of strength is an attempt to reclaim a space for the opposition. but can these crowds turn into votes and can rahul convert this roadshow into his victory lap? so one thing that's really come out of the piece by arunoday is the fact that, really, congress hasn't been able to manage the message. but that's certainly not a problem for the ruling bjp party. they've been really successful at it. now, what's really changed the landscape also is just how successful the government has been at getting people on the internet. in fact, we're actually on the lawns of parliament and you can see them just behind me right now. so let's talk aboutjust how important the digitisation of india is. and i want to start with shruti. you're with bbc verify. you do a lot of work looking at these numbers. just what kind of an impact has this digitisation, or getting so many people on the internet, had on the voters? let's start with 2014,| when the bjp first won the election. the internet penetration. or internet subscriber base that india had stood at around 18%. - and in 2015, the government launched the digital india - mission, which was meant. to bring more people online and also democratise the sort of social welfare benefits - that people get. and cut to 2023. it has now grown to 63%. so that sort of tells - you the growth in the way india's internet subscriber base and the digital- economy has grown. i want to throw this next to you, shazia. how has your party really been able to take advantage of that, in getting the message out to voters? well, the party, janata party, is the largest party, notjust in india, but in the world, if you look at the sheer numbers, and every day we have new members, and as shruti just explained, the active internet base is huge. we're looking at more than 800 million internet users. so because a party also has a huge political base, it's a cadre—based party. so it's also... it's also what we have to say, then how we say it, looking at the numbers, and so all the achievements of modi government in the last ten years, we are looking at them, talking about them through different platforms, and social media becomes very important to us. now, gerry, in your pieces for the washington post, you've actually looked at a lot of these. ..of tech, really, and the role of tech. what really stands out for you? yeah, well, samira, you know, what shazia said was absolutely true. the bjp is the world's largest political party. and many political scientists, i think, that have observed indian politics and compared it to other democracies would say that the bjp, arguably, for better or worse, has one of the most efficient, largest sort of well—drilled messaging and arguably propaganda machines that we've seen sort of anywhere in any country. they dominate the traditional media. but i would argue that what they really have cracked, that no other party in the world really has, is the ability to deliver messages into the pockets of indian voters. as shazia had mentioned, whatsapp in the last decade has become a crucial venue. and many people would say that, yes, while the bjp is very efficient in spreading positive news about its accomplishments, it's also been very capable of spreading misinformation, disinformation, that has a corrosive effect on indian political discourse. shazia, how do you respond to that? all that bjp is talking about and doing is also talking about the various accomplishments. these are facts and figures of what bjp has delivered in terms of governance, and there have been similar charges and some canards, too. for instance, the wire, which speaks against the bjp, had a story on tech fog, which actually they had to retract and apologise for. so there have been those... ..you know... there have been stories of misinformation, but which have been corrected and retracted later. so i don't think there's this much disinformation you can do where numbers are concerned. you can do it with incidents and events, but we're sure delivery mechanisms go, bjp tops it all. so what bjp's official media handle does is what we would take responsibility for, but not anybody posing to be a bjp memberorwanting to be a bjp member. so we're not responsible for all information out there, but only for the official handles that we represent. if i could interject... i mean, what shazia says is true. you know, i spent several weeks last year sort of observing kind of how the social media landscape works during elections. and what we noticed was that, you know, the bjp sort of... it established social media cells and war rooms in basically every single voting district in the state, often on the official handles that are sort of run technically by the party. it was mostly positive. these were mostly...almost all fact—based kind of positive messaging, the stuff that you would see in any sort of country. but the bjp is backed by what many would say are hindu nationalist groups, some of which are quite extremist in their views, that sort of prop up and mobilise the foot soldiers of the party. and it's within the vast whatsapp ecosystem of these groups that are intermingled with the official whatsapp groups of the bjp. that's where you see the most virulent material. it's really difficult, often, to sort of separate what is the official bjp material and what is a lot of this other more virulent material that is being spread by its base. but let me tell you, there's a lot of propaganda and disinformation coming from non—bjp handles also. let's also get into it. my name is shazia ilmi. i'm a muslim. i'm in the bjp. the kind of filth i'm subjected to day after day. so propaganda happens across the spectrum where all the parties are concerned. so if you want to just vilify bjp and bjp supporters as those spreading the wild word, so to speak, i would disagree. it happens at all levels. i was taking responsibility for the official media. would i say that the congress party is spreading horrible rumours about me and other women members of my party? no, because i will not hold them responsible. i would hold congress handle responsible if it were to do it directly. that's all i'm saying. clearly, so much more that we can talk about, but we, actually, have to go and look at some other voices across the country. here in the central indian state of madhya pradesh, caste politics still remains the major deciding factor. those from the socially and economically marginalised castes, such as the 0bcs, constitute half of the state's population. they play a significant role in deciding the election results. the bjp has been trying to entice the 0bcs by giving them more representation in the cabinet. the congress is also trying to play the same political card by demanding caste—based census to determine which classes occupying cream positions in the government, jobs and businesses. the fate of the candidates and the parties depends on the social make—up of population in every individual seat. there are 29 seats, out of which 28 are with the ruling bjp. here, other issues like unemployment, poverty, inflation and farm subsidies also play a major role in decision—making. we're in the hindu heartland of ayodhya in the north indian state of uttar pradesh, where india's prime minister narendra modi launched the ram temple, calling it the culmination of centuries of patience and sacrifice, and ushering in what he calls a new era in india. there are more than 900 million hindus in india. declaring the ram temple as a seminal moment, the prime minister hopes will restore a sense of pride in most hindus and make him and his party, the bjp, politically invincible in india's 2024 elections. and it's this model of nationalism rooted in religion that will be tested as indians prepare to vote in the days and weeks ahead. the western state of maharashtra is one of the politically most influential states of the country. it sends 48 mps to the parliament. maharashtra is always seen as a swing state and a difficult state to win. but it is not only about the political power. home to india's financial capital, mumbai, it also has financial power. so whoever wins maharashtra has firm hand over the economic power. although one of the most industrialised and urbanised states of the country, and leading destination for it, automobile and service sector, development plays an important role on voters' agenda. with perceived decrease in fdi and employment generation in last few years, it will impact the voters' decision. across india, women could be the game—changers. an approximate 330 million are expected to go to the polls, and that's a number more than ever before. so every political party wants this vote bank. those in power at the federal or local levels have brought in exclusive schemes that provide subsidised health and education, free gas cylinders, easy loans for small businesses, build toilets at homes, and open bank accounts so women can receive benefits directly. but this alone may not be enough because women don't necessarily vote as a bloc and their caste, class and religious identity wane, too. and those would be important factors in deciding which party's promises win their trust. there's been a lot of infrastructure growth in india. new bridges, roads and even metros. calcutta. now kolkata. it used to be the country's number one commercial trading hub. the first capital city of british india. the relics of empire are allaround. there's even a big ben here. the oldest and only operational tram network in india is open here in kolkata. it's old and rusty and a quaint reminder of the past, but it's also a symbol of the city's decline over the last century. it's a metropolis that's now bursting at the seams with traffic. its most congested stretch is on the mighty hooghly river, connecting kolkata with the twin city of howrah on the opposite bank. but there is a solution in sight. kolkata is now finally getting a long—pending transport upgrade, especially to its 40—year—old metro system. and the centrepiece of it is this, the upcoming underwater section of the east west metro line. so we've just entered the stretch of the metro that is below the river. it's about 100 feet under the water. and it is quite surreal. this is a first for india. it was a project that was dreamt up by a british officer over 100 years ago, but it's now finally been completed. it's a prized addition to india's growing list of marquee infrastructure projects, hoping to give the world's fifth—largest economy a shiny makeover. the next few weeks will be a dynamic ride for this country. join us for the adventure. this is india. hello. friday was the first day of meteorological spring — but it was also a day that winter refused to relinquish its grip. here in northern ireland, enniskillen, seeing a fresh fall of fairly chunky snow. there were also some snowfall over the peak district — this is the cat and fiddle road — road that goes between macclesfield and buxton — it's quite high up, but we had some problems reported on that, as well. low pressure then has been across the uk, with this cold air mass in place. we've got lots of showers at the moment, particularly across england and wales, northern scotland, and this band of rain and hill snow across parts of the far north of england and southern scotland. now there is a chance of seeing a centimetre or two of snow across the cheviots, the north pennines, the southern uplands over the next hour or two, so it could get quite icy here. and also in the showers affecting the higher parts of wales — again, above 200 metres elevation, you might come across an odd centimetre or two of snow across the high ground here. temperatures getting close, if not below freezing in a few areas, so there will be a risk of a few icy patches heading into the first part of saturday morning. then we've got this clump of more organised showers working across wales in the midlands — well, they could have a bit of sleet or snow mixed in, probably struggling to settle, and quite a few of those showers will still have just cold rain. it is a day where showers will be really widespread on saturday, some of them with hail and thunder. and, although there'll be a bit of sunshine between the showers, those sunnier moments, probably quite short—lived. temperatures below average, about 6—9 celsius. now, the same area of low pressure stays with us through saturday night and into sunday. it will tend to drift northwards, tending to weaken somewhat. and so, of the two days of the weekend, sunday looks like it's likely to be the better, in terms of weather. should be a fair bit of dryer weather after a locally misty and foggy start to the day, a better chance of seeing some sunshine. there'll still be a few showers around, particularly for scotland and northern ireland, 1—2 for wales and western england, but bigger gaps between those showers and a bit more in the way of sunshine. it will continue to feel cool though, for the time of year. into next week, low pressures continue to move in off the atlantic from the west, but they're running into this area of high pressure that's centred over scandinavia. and so, we'll get something of an east—west split with the weather. for western areas, it stays quite cloudy with the threat of further outbreaks of rain. eastern areas tending to become drier, sunnier, and a bit milder, as well. that's the latest, bye for now. live from washington, this is a bbc news special report. as the 2024 us presidential election draws ever closer, what's at stake for reproductive rights? in alabama, lawmakers move to protect ivf services after fertility clinics shut down in the wake of a ruling that frozen embryos are children. meanwhile, in missouri, a law prevents pregnant women from getting a divorce. we'll speak to a state lawmaker trying to change that. plus, with france set to become the first country to enshrine access to abortion in its constitution, we'll take a closer look at reproductive rights around the world. i'm helena humphrey — good to have you with us. here in the us, when it comes to presidential elections, it's women who consistently vote at a higher rate than men. and while they're far from being single—issue voters, reproductive rights are expected to play a large role in the upcoming presidential election. debate has raged in the us since the supreme court rescinded the nationwide right to a termination injune 2022. but polling shows why this is proving a difficult political issue for republican presidential candidates. among all americans, some 73% support allowing abortions in the first six week of pregnancy. including 56% of those in states with the most restrictive abortion bans. as of last month, 21 out of 50 states have either