BJP supporter of Indian Prime Minister Modi
In India, after multi-phase parliamentary elections, a landslide victory and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term in office are looming. At least 33 poll workers died in the country due to the extreme heatwave.
In India, after multi-phase parliamentary elections, a landslide victory and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term in office are looming. According to a post-election survey published on CNN-News18 after polls closed on Saturday, Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies have at least 355 seats in the National Congress – far more than its 272-seat majority. At least 33 poll workers died in the country due to the extreme heat wave.
Even after a decade in power, 73-year-old Modi remains popular among a large section of society; its opponents have been weakened by internal power struggles and politically motivated criminal proceedings. Modi's political opponents and international human rights groups have long complained of a decline in democracy in the country.
On Sunday, Modi's political rival, the head of the capital Delhi government, Arvind Kejriwal, announced his return to prison. Kejriwal was jailed in March as part of a corruption probe, but was released on bail in May until June 1 to take part in the election campaign. He is a key figure in the opposition alliance formed against Modi.
Kejriwal, who denies any wrongdoing, said on Sunday that he would voluntarily rejoin the relevant authorities in Delhi. Some of his political associates have described the corruption probe against Kejriwal as a “political conspiracy” that is under the responsibility of Modi's BJP.
The world's largest democratic vote ended in India on Saturday after six weeks. Since April 19, more than 968 million people have been asked to cast their vote on the composition of Parliament.
To overcome the enormous logistical effort of a democratic process in the world's most populous country, voting was conducted in seven stages. The results will be announced on Tuesday.
The final phase of the election took place in some areas in extremely hot weather, even by Indian standards. On the final day of the election, at least 33 election workers died in temperatures of more than 45 degrees Celsius in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh alone. As announced by chief election officer for Uttar Pradesh, Navdeep Rinwa on Sunday, security guards and members of emergency services were among those who died in the hot weather. The relatives received compensation of 1.5 million rupees (16,500 euros), Rinwa told reporters.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the temperature in the city of Jhansi in the state of Uttar Pradesh was 46.9 degrees. Hundreds of people have died in India due to the ongoing heat wave associated with extreme temperatures.
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