India Election Live Updates and Results: Modi Close to Winning Third Term

The election, a high-turnout affair in which more than 640 million Indians voted, is a mammoth undertaking described as the world’s largest peacetime logistical exercise.

It coincided with an intense heatwave that hit much of northern India, leaving at least 30 poll workers dead, according to media reports. The country’s election commission said it was still counting deaths across the country, mostly from heatstroke.

Here’s what else you need to know about the election that will determine the political direction of the world’s most populous country for the next five years.

Why is this election important?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose power is well established, is seeking a third term. During his decade as India’s leader, he presented himself as a champion of India’s development, trying to address some of its fundamental failings, like dilapidated infrastructure and lack of toilets and water. drinking water, which have prevented the country from reaching its potential as a country. a major power. But his drive to reshape India’s secular democracy as a Hindu nation has deepened religious and ethnic divides in the huge and diverse country.

In a region plagued by frequent political unrest, India takes deep pride in the virtually uninterrupted electoral democracy it has maintained since its founding as a republic more than 75 years ago. While independent institutions have been attacked by Mr. Modi’s efforts to centralize power and the ruling party is seen as having an unfair advantage in political fundraising, voting in India is still considered free and fair , and candidates generally accept the results.

The conduct of the Election Commission of India and its bias towards the ruling party has been criticized by opposition parties and activists. Some opposition groups have also raised concerns that electronic voting machines could be vulnerable to tampering.

How does India vote?

India has a parliamentary system of governance. The party or coalition holding a majority of the 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament can form the government and appoint one of its winning candidates as prime minister.

The country has more than 960 million eligible voters, including around 470 million women. The turnout rate, based on preliminary figures, appears to be comparable to past trends of around 65 percent. The previous parliamentary elections, in 2019, recorded a turnout of 67 percent, the highest on record.

Votes are cast electronically at more than a million polling stations that require about 15 million polling workers. To reach every possible voter in Himalayan hamlets and remote islands, poll workers travel by whatever means possible, by train and helicopter, on horseback and by boat.

Indian elections are the most expensive in the world, with political parties spending more than $7 billion in the 2019 parliamentary elections, studies show. This spending is expected to double in the current election. In a sign of the importance of the money factor, Indian authorities seized the equivalent of more than $1 billion in cash, gold, alcohol and drugs during the two-month campaign, which they say , were intended to corrupt voters.

Who is running and who is likely to win?

Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party holds a strong majority in Parliament, which has 543 seats. The BJP won 303 seats in 2019 and, together with its coalition partners, secured a majority of 352 seats.

Although Indian elections are known to throw up surprises, Mr. Modi’s BJP is well-positioned to return to power. His party, which is relentlessly trying to expand its base, is cash-rich and has a strong electoral apparatus. Mr Modi has used this to build a multi-pronged approach that offers something to almost everyone: there is the broader emotional appeal of his Hindu majority ideology to his core base, coupled with a wide range of d social assistance and infrastructure to win new constituencies for the party. BJP

The opposition has struggled to respond to Mr. Modi’s call.

The main opposition Indian National Congress has ruled India for decades but has become a shadow of its former glory in two consecutive national elections. In 2019, it won only 52 seats.

Before these elections, the opposition tried to unite into a single bloc. Mr. Modi has jailed many opponents and mired others in investigations, and parties have united over fears he will further marginalize them. But they still face a big challenge in overturning it.

What are the main issues?

Mr. Modi began the long election campaign hoping to win another term by highlighting India’s global rise under his leadership and promoting his government’s growing social programs. But his tone and message quickly changed, with his party turning once again to what won it votes in the past: stoking Hindu-Muslim divisions and trying to unite its base by whipping up fear among Muslims of country.

Analysts attribute Mr. Modi’s radical change to a shift within the opposition. These groups have long struggled to present a coherent ideological alternative beyond criticism of Mr. Modi’s divisive policies and his growing authoritarianism, but they have found a narrative that appears to make Mr. Modi nervous.

During the electoral campaign, the opposition coalition pursued a program of social and economic justice, in favor of a more equitable distribution of India’s greatest wealth, based on a census of castes determining the share of different communities in government resources. They have attempted to portray Mr. Modi’s party as elitist, both in terms of its support for billionaires at the top and its approach to the middle and lower communities of India’s rigid caste system.

When will we know the results?

Due to India’s vast geography, voting for parliamentary elections takes place in seven phases, from the first region voting to the last. Planning is tricky, as it must take into account climatic extremes and frequent cultural and religious festivals across India.

After the vote ends on June 1, the results will be counted on June 4 and announced at the end of the day.

Where can I find more information?

As voting ends in India, Modi awaits verdict on his 10 years in power

Is Modi worried? The Indian opposition, long deflated, is finding some momentum.

Modi’s power continues to grow and India seems sure to give him more

Modi’s party does not control all of India. But he’s working on it.

What 10 years of Modi’s rule has meant for India’s economy

Why is Narendra Modi so popular? Connect with knowledge.

Hari Kumar reports contributed.