NEW DELHI (AP) — India began counting more than 640 million votes on Tuesday in the world’s largest pro-democracy election, which was widely expected to return Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a third term after 10 years in power.
of Six Week Election The election was seen as a referendum on Modi, 73, who, if victorious, would become just the second Indian leader to retain power for a third term after the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
The exit poll Saturday Major television networks projected Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies to win the broad-based election handily. Opposition coalition It was led by the Indian National Congress and its main campaign leader Rahul Gandhi.
Indian television stations have had a mixed track record in predicting election outcomes so far.
Approximately 970 million peopleMore than 10% of the world’s population is eligible to vote, and turnout averaged about 66% over the seven election periods, according to official data.
Counting of votes at polling stations in each of the 543 constituencies where voting is taking place could take until well into the night before the Election Commission of India announces the final results.
But clues will start to appear sooner and you’ll have an idea of where the results are headed.
As voters headed to polling stations, India was hit by a scorching heat wave, with temperatures topping 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said authorities had learned a valuable lesson. “The elections should have been concluded at least a month ago,” he said. “They should not have been allowed to continue in such extreme heat.”
On Tuesday, shortly after vote counting began, BJP activists outside a BJP office in New Delhi performed a Hindu ritual.
Modi has brought about change during his 10 years in power. Political situation in IndiaWith Mr. Modi’s popularity surpassing that of his parties, parliamentary elections are increasingly being fought like a presidential election, with the BJP relying more on Mr. Modi’s enduring brand to stay in power and local politicians being pushed into the background even in state elections.
“Modi was not just the chief campaigner in this election, he was the only campaigner,” said Yamini Iyer, a public policy scholar.
Supporters see him as a strong, self-made leader who they say has improved India’s global standing, crediting his business-friendly policies with propelling the country to the world’s fifth-largest economy.
But his decade of leadership has deeply divided the country. Modi’s critics and opponents say he Hindu First Politics It has bred intolerance, hate speech and brazen attacks against the country’s minorities, particularly Muslims, who make up 14 percent of the population.
India’s economy, one of the fastest growing in the world, has become more unequal under Modi’s government. The stock market has hit record highs and billionaires have multiplied, while youth unemployment has soared. A small proportion of Indians benefiting from economic growth.
Modi’s critics say India’s democracy is faltering as his government uses increasingly heavy-handed tactics to repress political opponents, clamp down on independent media and stifle dissent – charges the government denies and says democracy is thriving.
When voting began in mid-April, the BJP was initially confident. The focus of the campaign is He spoke of “Prime Minister Modi’s assurances” and touted the economic and welfare achievements his party claims have helped reduce poverty. With him at the helm, “India will be a developed country by 2047,” Modi repeated at every rally.
However, Prime Minister Modi Muslim minoritiesThis is seen as a strategy to energise the party’s core Hindu-majority electorate.
The opposition Indian National Congress-led BJP has attacked Modi for his Hindu nationalist politics and hopes to capitalise on simmering economic discontent, making unemployment, inflation and inequality a central pillar of its campaign.
But the broad coalition of more than a dozen parties has been plagued by ideological differences and defections, raising doubts about its effectiveness. Unfairly TargetedHe said a series of raids, arrests and corruption investigations by federal agents against the country’s leaders were politically motivated, a charge the government denies.
Another victory would cement Modi’s status as one of India’s most popular and influential leaders, following a landslide victory in 2019 in which the BJP won 303 of the 543 seats.
