Mumbai goes to polls in India's general elections

People stand in a queue as they wait to cast their vote outside a polling station at Guwahati, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam April 24, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW DELHI - Mumbai on Thursday went to polls, along with 11 Indian states and one central government-controlled territory, in the sixth of the nine-phase general elections which began on April 7.

"Voting began at 7 am (local time) for 117 Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) seats across 11 states, including Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai, and in the Union Territory of Puducherry. So far, polling has been successful except it was stopped for sometime at a booth in Indian-controlled Kashmir due to firing," a senior electoral official said.

Local TV channels beamed footage of Bollywood actors queuing up at booths to cast their ballots in Mumbai since morning.

The polls will end on May 12, with results due to be announced on May 16.

Opinion polls have suggested that the country's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party will form the next government, with Narendra Modi as the prime minister, while the ruling Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, has been facing its worst ever defeat due to its inability to tackle corruption and inflation.