After a decade leading the country, the current Prime Minister will return for a third term.
Heading for a re-election? Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party is leading with 38.68% of the vote in the legislative election after half the ballots were counted, according to figures released Tuesday by the election commission.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its coalition allies will win at least 290 seats, according to commission figures, more than the 272 needed for a parliamentary majority in the lower house.
Electronic counting began Tuesday at 8 a.m. local time at each state's election centers and results are expected in the next few hours. India uses electronic machines to allow for quick counting of ballots.
It's been a decade as head of state
India's major television networks, with journalists outside every counting centre, competed to get results for each of the 543 elected seats in Parliament's lower house.
In previous elections, the main trends were usually clear by the afternoon, with the losing side having to concede defeat, although final and full results may not be available until Tuesday evening.
Narendra Modi, 73, who remains popular after two terms in office, said this weekend he was confident that “the people of India voted in huge numbers” to re-elect him after a decade as the country's leader.
The prime minister's opponents, sometimes hamstrung by internal feuds, are struggling to cope with the strength of his party and accuse the government of exploiting justice for political ends by increasing the number of prosecutions against them.
