More than 50% came to vote on the first day of the election that is expected to end on March 3. The country has approximately 126 million qualified voters.

The crucial activity started in the country's most heavily populated place, the Uttar Pradesh. The state was led by Chief Minister Mayawati, a low class Dalit icon trying to win against the Samajwadi Party, one of the country's strong local forces.

If Uttar Pradesh is a separate country, it would be held as the world's fifth most populous nation. Presently, there are over 200 million residents in the state. Over 17 million voters were qualified for the election on Wednesday. The election will be started at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Authorities said a few people came early in the morning due to the rain.

When the rain stopped, more and more voters arrived until it hits the record of 62% turnout. Umesh Sinha, chief election officer, was thankful for the voters' cooperation. It was the biggest record they've got since independence.

In 2007, there was only an average turnout of 46%. For this year, election officials have done different activities in order to motivate the residents to vote. They organized marathons, rallies, cricket matches and other interesting events that can help in attracting people to report to election booths.

Given the turnout that was recorded at the beginning of the election, their activities must have partly worked out well. The state elections are considered to be a definite initial test conducted for the national elections, which will be completed in 2014.

Goa, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Punjab will be voting for this phase of the overall state elections. A huge attendance of voters was found out in Uttarakhand and Punjab elections. In Manipur, the early part of the voting session was spoiled by the trouble created by alleged rebels. Four people were killed when the polling station was attacked.