Facebook and Twitter have taken several steps to make sure their platforms are not abused.

WhatsApp is using artificial intelligence to detect and ban accounts that spread "problematic content," while Facebook is labeling political advertisements and partnering with Indian fact-checkers. Twitter has announced similar initiatives to crack down on "bad-faith actors," and is also working with political parties and election authorities to ensure its platform isn't compromised during the polls.

In many ways, the election will serve as a litmus test for how India's internet — second only to China's in size — will grow and progress in the future. The rapid boom in user numbers poses an ever greater challenge to the government and tech companies to keep them safe.

"The fact that all of this happening so quickly in India means that giant mistakes will be made and people will end up being misinformed in a mass way," said Agrawal.