Exit polling data suggest that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to win a third term at the conclusion of the six-week election.
Modi, the leader of India’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, has been the country’s chief executive since 2014, and exit polling data indicate he will remain so for another five years.
Though polls closed Saturday, results are not expected until Tuesday. That did not stop Modi from taking to social media and claiming victory, however.
“I can say with confidence that the people of India have voted in record numbers to re-elect the [National Democratic Alliance] government,” Modi said 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 is a conservative political alliance led by the BJP, although it comprises 40 parties. Its members occupy 342 of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, and exit polling data suggest that number could clear 350. The majority threshold is 272, and 362 are needed for a two-thirds majority.
Opposing the NDA in the 2024 general election was the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a centrist coalition. The INDIA, which Modi said “only enhanced their expertise on one thing- Modi bashing,” is projected to win 125-182 seats.
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“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, does emerge victorious, he will become the second Indian prime minister to be elected to a third term, joining Jawaharlal Nehru, the first person to hold the office, which was established in 1947.
