In the western Indian state of Gujarat, voting was held on Saturday in local elections.

The counting of votes will take place on 18th of this month. These elections are seen as a crucial test of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party.

Today's polls are the first of two phases of voting in the state that Modi ruled as chief minister for over a decade. A second round of voting will take place Thursday. Rahul Gandhi, who now heads the opposition Congress party, has stitched together an alliance with small but key political groups in the state.

Earlier this year, the BJP swept state elections in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand but lost in Punjab state to the Congress party. (AP)