Exit polling data suggest that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to secure a third term following the conclusion of the six-week election.
Modi, the leader of India’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, has served as the country’s chief executive since 2014, and exit polling data indicate he will continue in this role for another five years.
Although polls closed on Saturday, final results are not anticipated until Tuesday. Nevertheless, Modi took to social media to claim victory.
“I can confidently say that the people of India have voted in record numbers to re-elect the [National Democratic Alliance] government,” Modi declared in a post on X, touting the NDA’s work that has “brought about a qualitative change in the lives of the poor, marginalised and downtrodden” and “propelled India to being the fifth largest global economy.”
The NDA, a conservative political alliance led by the BJP, comprises 40 parties. Its members hold 342 of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, and exit polling data suggest this number could exceed 350. The majority threshold is 272, and 362 are needed for a two-thirds majority.
Challenging the NDA in the 2024 general election was the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a centrist coalition. The INDIA, which Modi criticized for “only enhancing their expertise on one thing- Modi bashing,” is projected to secure 125-182 seats.
“The opportunistic INDI Alliance failed to strike a chord with the voters,” Modi posted. “They are casteist, communal and corrupt. This alliance, aimed to protect a handful of dynasties, failed to present a futuristic vision for the nation.”
If Modi, 73, is victorious, he will become the second Indian prime minister to be elected to a third term, following Jawaharlal Nehru, the first person to hold the office, which was established in 1947.
