2nd phase of India's general elections starts

The second phase of India's mammoth nine-phase general elections kicked off Wednesday, with polling beginning in six constituencies across four northeastern states.

The voting began at 7 a.m. local time in the four northeastern states, including Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur and would continue up to 5 p.m.local time.

The general elections in the northeastern state of Mizoram has been deferred to April 11 in the wake of a strike by students' unions and local non-government organizations.

Some 814 million Indians are eligible to cast their ballots in the general elections, 100 million more than in 2009. The polls began on April 7 and will end on May 12, with results to be announced on May 16.