U.S. official Matthew Miller said he expected the close cooperation between the United States and India to continue.
Washington:
The United States on Tuesday hailed India’s parliamentary elections as “the greatest exercise in democracy in history” but declined to comment on the outcome.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller commended the Indian government and voters for successfully completing a major electoral process. “On behalf of the United States, I want to congratulate the Indian government and voters for successfully completing and participating in such a major electoral effort. We look forward to seeing the final results,” he said at a daily press briefing.
Miller emphasised the US’s position that it does not comment on winners or losers in elections around the world. “I, like any election around the world, do not comment on winners or losers. What’s important to us, and what we’ve seen over the last six weeks, is the people of India turning out to the polls in the greatest exercise of democracy in history,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday secured a majority in India’s lower house of parliament, setting the stage for his party’s (BJP)-led NDA to form power for a third consecutive term.
In this election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured or led in 240 seats, making it the largest party in the Indian parliament, which has 543 seats.
The BJP’s main allies, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), were winning or leading in 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively. With the support of other allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was on track to reach a majority of 272 seats.
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