The counting of votes in the Lok Sabha [the lower house of Parliament] elections is in its final stages and by all indications it is unlikely that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party will win more than 240 seats in the lower house of the Indian Parliament, well below the 272 seats threshold that ensures a majority in the 545-member legislature.
At the same time, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A), which it leads, are performing better than some analysts expected, as well as the exit polls released a few days ago. The results of the count so far indicate that the opposition bloc will win 210 seats.
The vote count, which began at 8:00 local time Tuesday morning, will continue overnight and the electoral commission is likely to announce the final results Wednesday. India set a world record with 642 million voters participating in the election.
Modi has set himself an ambitious target of securing a supermajority of 400 seats for his Bharatiya Janata Party and winning 370 of the 545 seats in the lower house of parliament. However, the INC may well foil this plan.
The Lok Sabha elections result in 543 directly elected members in the lower house. Two of their colleagues are appointed by the President.
The Bharatiya Janata Party won 303 of the 543 seats in the 2019 elections. This adds up to 37%. Back then the INC, which in the current polls heads the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, won 52 seats.
Narendra Modi: Today's victory is victory of the people
"Today is a very successful day and NDA [National Democratic Alliance - a right-wing conservative Indian political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party] will form government for the third time in a row. We are all grateful to the public for this. The nation has expressed its trust in the Bharatiya Janata Party/National Democratic Alliance and our victory is a victory of the world's largest democracy," Modi told supporters in Delhi.
He hailed the work of organising and producing the "largest election in the world" and praised the "efficiency and strength" of the electoral system.
"All of us should work together for the country, national interest first. The Constitution is our guiding light... We will work with all local governments of all states, regardless of party. Now is the time to work for India's development. After six decades, Indian voters have created history. After six decades, an alliance, the National Democratic Alliance, has been given the opportunity to serve the country for the third time," Modi continued.
The Prime Minister stressed that if India wants to continue to develop, the country must fight corruption. He also outlined some of his plans for a third term, saying India must achieve "self-sufficiency" in defence and that his government would continue to develop all social sectors.
'Indian National Congress': Modi suffers political and moral defeat
INC President Mallikarjun Kharge has described the poll results as a "mandate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi" and a "political and moral defeat for him".
"This is the victory of the people and of democracy. We said this was a battle between the people and Modi. We humbly accept the mandate of the people," Kharge told a press conference at the INC headquarters, which was also attended by party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
"The voters did not give a clear mandate to any party. This mandate is against Modi. It is his political and moral defeat. It is a big defeat for a man who sought votes on his own behalf. He has suffered a moral setback," Kharge was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.
Encouraged by I.N.D.I.A.'s performance, the president of Shiv Sena, one of the parties in the coalition, demanded that it field a prime ministerial candidate for the next government. Uddhav Thackeray [president of Shiv Sena since 2022] added that I.N.D.I.A. leaders would meet tomorrow in Delhi to take a decision on the issue.
/MY/
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