India election: Polls close in seventh and final phase

A member of the campaign team for Congress, the largest party in the opposition alliance INDIA, has said their campaigners believe the first exit polls in India to be wildly inaccurate. 

The opposition had already dismissed the exit polls as "prefixed" before the vote, and most opposition parties accuse most main news channels of being biased in Modi's favor, charges the channels deny. 

"This is a government exit poll, this is Narendra Modi's exit poll," Supriya Shrinate, the social media head for Congress, told Indian news agency ANI. 

"We have a sense of how many seats we are winning, it will not be one seat less than 259," she said. 

That would put the opposition within just a handful of seats of a majority themselves, with 272 the magic number.

The published exit polls vary, but predict that the opposition alliance is on course to win between 125 and 182 seats, far behind Modi's own alliance. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented on his forecast third victory soon after polls closed. 

"I can say with confidence that the people of India have voted in record numbers to reelect the [National Democratic Alliance] government," he said.

Exit polls predicted a victory for Modi's alliance, but final results are not due until June 4 along with turnout figures.

"They have seen our track record and the manner in which our work has brought about a qualitative change in the lives of the poor, marginalized and downtrodden."

He said voters had also tracked India's economic growth under his tenure and boasted that, "Every scheme of ours has reached the intended beneficiaries without any bias or leakage." 

He said that the broad opposition alliance (known as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA) led by the Congress party "failed to strike a chord with the voters." 

"They are casteist, communal and corrupt. This alliance, aimed to protect a handful of dynasties, failed to present a futuristic vision for the nation," Modi said. "Through the campaign, they only enhanced their expertise on one thing — Modi bashing. Such regressive politics has been rejected by the people." 

Modi also thanked campaigners and other election officials for braving the often "intense heat" on the campaign trail. 

An exit poll summary by the NDTV news channel in India foresees a large parliamentary majority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP and its allies, in line with expectations ahead of the vote. 

Exit polls have a patchy record in India, however, with analysts saying it's challenging to secure representative samples for such a massive electorate. 

The prognosis put the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies well clear of the 272 seats needed for a majority, at around 350 seats. 

Any result but a majority for the BJP would come as a major shock. But the size of the majority and whether the BJP can match its 2019 performance when it won 303 seats — the strongest by any party in India since 1989 — are more open questions.

The BJP's broader National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 353 seats in 2019.

More than a month of phased voting around the massive country concluded on Saturday evening. 

Just under 970 million people were eligible to vote in the world's most populous country. 

Voters and politicians have had to endure a scorching heatwave for much of the 44-day election period, particularly later in the process. 

Vote counting is to take place simultaneously in each of the 543 constituencies around the country.

It will start at 8 a.m. local time on June 4. Results are expected the same day. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aiming to be the second leader in India's history, after independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru, to win three consecutive terms. 

Opinion polls suggest he is likely to do so, despite a more galvanized opposition to his Hindu-nationalist BJP, and despite the turnout expected to be lower than for his first two wins.

Prominent lawmaker Rahul Gandhi, whose Congress party leads the opposition INDIA alliance, has praised his fellow citizens for coming out to vote despite the heat wave and promised that India will get a new government when election results are announced on June 4.

"Dear fellow citizens, this is the voting day for the seventh and final phase, and the trends so far indicate that an INDIA government is going to be formed in the country," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"I am proud that even in the scorching heat, all of you have come out to vote to protect democracy and the Constitution. Even today, please come out in large numbers and give your vote as the 'final blow' to this government which has become a symbol of arrogance and tyranny," he continued.

"The sun of June 4 is going to bring a new dawn to the country."

Most polls have shown Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party leading over INDIA, but analysts say that the opposition coalition has put up stiff resistance during the election amid voter discontent at Modi's Hindu nationalist politics and growing economic dissatisfaction.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given speeches during the election that are seen by many to be discriminatory toward Muslims in India.

Some comments he made could well be in breach of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during elections, which is enforced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

However, the commission has been sluggish in taking action over the remarks, raising fears that it may be compromised, as DW reports here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, the holy city of Varanasi, is among the places voting on the last day of India's six-week election on Saturday.

Varanasi is the spiritual heart of Hinduism, and Modi has built his image as a staunch champion of the Hindus.

"Modi is obviously winning," Vijayendra Kumar Singh, a resident of the city, told AFP. "There's a sense of pride with everything he does, and that's why people vote for him."

Another victory would solidify Modi's status as a pivotal and popular leader, following the Bharatiya Janata Party's wins in 2014 and 2019.

Polls indicate Modi will likely win the nationwide election decisively, bolstered by his inauguration of a Hindu temple in Ayodhya in January. The temple was built on the site of a centuries-old mosque razed in 1992.

The temple's construction fulfilled a key party pledge by Modi and was widely celebrated across the country. However, it also made many of the country's over 200 million Muslims uneasy about their future.

Moreover, during his election campaign, Modi referred to Muslims as "infiltrators" and accused the opposition coalition of plotting to redistribute India's wealth to Muslims. Political analysts believe the rhetoric against Muslims is part of a strategy to mobilize Hindu voters.

Critics argue that India's democracy is faltering as Modi increasingly blurs the line between religion and state. 

At least 19 electoral officials were among those who have died in India during a blistering heat wave, authorities said on Friday.

According to officials, at least 33 people died in different parts of the country.

In the eastern state of Bihar, 10 people involved in organizing the seventh and final phase of the election died of suspected heat stroke, while at least nine people succumbed to intense heat in the northern state of  Uttar Pradesh.

"They had high-grade fever when they were brought in. It could be because of heat stroke as well. We are currently treating at least 23 people brought in from election duty," RB Kamal, principal of the medical college where the people are being treated, said.

Many poll officials are usually required to stand on duty all day, often outdoors.

India's mammoth electoral process has coincided with record summer temperatures.

Delhi recorded its highest temperature ever at 52.9°C (127.22°F) this week, though the weather department is verifying this reading.

While northwestern and central India are expected to see cooler temperatures soon, the heat wave in eastern India will persist for two more days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Voting began on Saturday for the last 57 parliamentary seats in the seventh and final phase of India's lengthy electoral process.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is largely expected to be back for a third term.

The election involves 968 million people, marking the largest democratic exercise in history. Voting was staggered over six weeks from April 19.

According to a report by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS), cumulative spending in this election is projected to exceed $14.2 billion (€13.08 billion).

Compared to the last election, there has been a drop in the turnout, with the lowest phase recording only 62.2%. Analysts attribute the decline partly to the heat wave in some parts of the country.

Exit poll data will be available after the voting closes on Saturday.

Formal ballot counting will begin on Tuesday, June 4, with results expected the same day.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) first came to power in 2014, on a plank of economic development and a crackdown on corruption. His tenure has seen India rise as a global power, but also faces criticism for rising unemployment, attacks on minorities, and depleting press freedom.

The opposition parties have come together under the banner of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), taking a stand against the BJP.

But the coalition has been marred by infighting over ideological differences and personality clashes.

Moreover, the coalition has not declared its candidate for prime minister yet.

The opposition has also been stymied by several criminal probes by the government and a tax investigation this year that froze the bank accounts of the Congress.

Rahul Gandhi is a key figure representing the Indian National Congress in the opposition against Modi.

ss/kb (AFP, Reuters, AP)