Citizens across the nation were urged to “do their democratic duty” by both celebrities and ordinary people, with posters of legendary cricketer Sachin Tanduka plastered up and down the nation during the 44-day event.

And for the first time in its democratic history, India’s Election Commission was legally required to make the process truly inclusive.

There were strict rules requiring every person registered to vote to be within no more than two kilometres from their nearest polling booth.

The challenge facing the 15 million election officials tasked with delivering 1.5 million polling booths across the country was, quite simply, immense. 

This legal stipulation meant they must brave the boiling heat and face even crocodiles on their quest to deliver democracy to all citizens. 

Officials trekked through mountainous jungles and crossed rivers to reach far-flung corners of the vast subcontinent. 

In one case, officials in the northeastern State of Arunachal Pradesh trekked for 24 hours through difficult terrain to enable one single voter to cast her vote.

During the contest’s fourth and fifth phases, the Daily Express provided you with live front-row dispatches from the ground:

Stay tuned for the results of this mega-election.