“These are very early trends; we are going to see better results as the day progresses,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
Narendra Modi has been accused of stoking divisions between Hindus and Muslims to win votes.Credit: AP
If Modi’s victory is confirmed, his BJP will have triumphed in a vitriolic campaign in which parties accused each other of religious bias and of posing a threat to sections of the population.
Investors have already cheered the prospects of another Modi term, expecting it to deliver further years of strong economic growth and pro-business policies, while a possible two-thirds majority in parliament could allow major changes to the constitution, rivals and critics fear.
“The next government’s main task will be to set India on the path of getting rich before it ages,” the Times of India newspaper said in an editorial on Tuesday, referring to the young, working age population in the world’s most populous nation. “The clock’s ticking.”
The seven-phase, seven-week poll began on April 19 and was held in searing summer heat with temperatures touching nearly 50 degrees in some parts.
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More than 66 per cent of registered voters turned out, just 1 percentage point lower than the previous election in 2019, squashing pre-poll concerns that voters might shun a contest thought to be a foregone conclusion in Modi’s favour.
Modi, 73, who first swept to power in 2014 by promising growth and change, is seeking to be only the second prime minister after India’s independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to win three straight terms.
He began his campaign by showcasing his record in office, including economic growth, welfare policies, national pride, Hindu nationalism and his personal commitment to fulfilling promises, which he called “Modi’s Guarantee”.
However, he changed tack after low voter turnout in the first phase and accused the opposition, especially the Congress party, which leads an alliance of two dozen groups, of favouring India’s 200 million Muslims – a shift analysts said made the campaign coarse and divisive.
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They said the pivot might have been aimed at firing up the Hindu nationalist base of Modi’s BJP to draw them to vote. Modi defended himself against criticism that he was stoking divisions between Hindus and Muslims to win votes, and said that he was only faulting the opposition campaign.
The opposition INDIA alliance denied it favoured Muslims in the Hindu-majority country, and said Modi would destroy the Constitution if he returned to power, and end affirmative action enjoyed by the so-called backward castes. The BJP rejects this.
Reuters, AP
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