India’s six-week election ends; exit polls show Modi coalition likely to win

‘More respect’

Analysts have long expected Modi to defeat the opposition alliance, but the alliance has yet to nominate a unanimous candidate for prime minister.

His prospects have been further bolstered this year by several criminal investigations into his opponents and a tax probe that has also frozen the bank accounts of India’s main opposition Congress party.

Western democracies have largely sidestepped concerns about human rights and democratic freedoms in the hope of cultivating an ally that can help counterbalance the growing assertiveness of India’s northern neighbor and regional rival China.

India’s growing diplomatic and economic clout has also boosted Modi’s image at home — in 2022, India surpassed Britain to become the world’s fifth-largest economy.

“As an Indian, I feel he has earned a lot of respect and prestige for India during his tenure,” Shikha Aggarwal, 40, told AFP as she waited to vote.

“There is more respect for India and Indians now, which was not the case before.”

“Stay hydrated”

India held its election in seven phases over six weeks to ease the huge logistical burden of holding an election in the world’s most populous country, with a population of just over 1.4 billion.

Turnout was down several percentage points from the last national election in 2019, which analysts blamed on widespread expectations of a Modi victory and a prolonged heatwave in India’s northern states.

The government of the eastern Indian state of Bihar said on Friday that a polling worker died of heat stroke the previous day while preparing to vote.