India election result: Vote counting begins

India has begun counting votes in the world's largest democratic election. Most exit polls have shown Prime Minister Narendra Modi securing a third term, while the opposition remains hopeful.

India has begun counting votes in the country's general elections.

The world's most populous nation went to polls in seven phases, over six weeks.

Preliminary results from the Election Commission give Modi a comfortable lead, but the opposition is also performing better than expected.

Here are the latest developments in India's 2024 election on Tuesday, June 4:

Turnout shows two-thirds of electorate voted
Counting is well underway in India where around 642 million ballots need to be tallied.

This represents a turnout of 66.3%, with a total electorate of 968 million people — the largest in the world.

While this share was down slightly from the last election in 2019 when it reached 67.34%, election chief Rajiv Kumar on Monday called the turnout a "world record."

Some analysts have chalked up the lower turnout to the blistering temperatures that pummeled parts of the country during the drawn-out election, with the mercury reaching over 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of northern India.

Early counting trends show Modi's BJP in lead
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 243 of the total 543 seats, according to data published on the Election Commission of India's website roughly four hours after vote counting got underway.

The ruling party has also already won an uncontested seat from Surat, in the western state of Gujarat. The seat was unopposed after a Congress party candidate was disqualified over inconsistencies in the signatures of proposers, and eight other candidates withdrew before the elections.

The initial figures give Modi's party a comfortable lead, but the opposition also appears to be performing better than expected.

The Election Commission does not release data on the percentage of votes tallied, but counting was to go on throughout the day and preliminary figures are expected to change.

Women voters expected to play key role
Women in India are being seen as a crucial voting bloc in the marathon general elections with more of them voting in recent ballots than ever before.

Many poll analysts have said that they expect women to play a decisive role in determining the results for the 2024 election.

In their campaigns over the last month, political parties have tried to woo the female voter base with monthly cash handouts, subsidized cooking gas cylinders and low-interest loans.

Turnout has increased substantially in each recent major election. Of the women eligible to vote, 53% voted in 2004; 56% in 2009; 65.5% in 2014; and 67% in 2019.

Figures for 2024 are not yet available.

Indian markets fall after exit poll rally
Indian financial markets opened lower on Tuesday morning after closing the night before at all-time highs as exit polls indicated a comfortable win for Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

But with initial vote counting so far signaling a closer than expected contest between the BJP-led alliance and the opposition INDIA bloc, traders said the markets were selling off and investors were awaiting more clarity.

The country's benchmark indices — the NIFTY 50 and the BSE Sensex — both dived by more than 3%. The rupee also fell against the dollar and benchmark bond yields were up.

Modi's business-friendly policies have won him extensive support among India's corporations and industry.

Monday's surge in markets was fueled by optimism over the economic outlook under a fresh Modi-led government.

Chief election commissioner assures 'transparency'
The counting of votes for all constituencies has begun, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar said while addressing the media from the Election Commission of India 's control room on Tuesday.

"Our teams are here in the control room to monitor the counting of votes virtually ... Our website has around 2 lakh hits per second. We are managing all of that from here," he said. Lakh is a unit measuring 100,000.

Kumar added that all election officials have been asked to allow the polling agents and candidates to sit there so that the "counting is conducted with transparency."

"Our central observers are present at each counting center who will certify the results of each round before declaring it. They are our eyes and ears. The candidates will inform the central observers if any problem arises. We will take immediate action if there is any complaint anywhere. We are continuously updating our website," he said.

Exit polls say Modi tipped to win
Almost all post-poll surveys on India's television news channels forecasted a landslide victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

To win a majority, a party or a coalition needs to cross the 272-seat mark.

Most exit polls predicted 350-370 seats for the NDA and 107-140 for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), an umbrella bloc of opposition parties that have come together to fight the BJP.

In the 2019 general elections, the BJP won 303 seats.

"I can say with confidence that the people of India have voted in record numbers to reelect the NDA government," Modi wrote on social media platform X as the exit polls rolled out.

Opposition parties have dismissed the exit polls, which have in the past proved unreliable in India, by saying they were unscientific and did not reflect reality.

The 73-year-old Modi, who first came to power in 2014, is vying to be the second prime minister after India's independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to win three consecutive terms.

Rahul Gandhi, Nehru's great-grandson, is a key leader representing the Indian National Congress in the opposition against Modi.

India witnessed a vitriolic campaign over the past month, with parties accusing each other of religious bias and of posing a threat to sections of the population.

With the BJP favoring a Hindu nationalist course, Modi is known for prioritizing Hindu interests.

Critics and the opposition have voiced fears that if reelected, he could try to change the constitution of the South Asian nation in order to further consolidate a Hindu nationalist agenda.

The BJP rejects this claim.

During his campaign, Modi accused the Congress party, which leads the INDIA bloc, of favoring the country's 200 million Muslims.

The INDIA alliance denied it favored Muslims in the Hindu-majority country.

Some have accused Modi of hate speech over comments he made about Muslims during the campaign, saying he may have violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during elections, which is enforced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

However, the body has been slow in taking action over the remarks.

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Vote count kicks off
Vote counting has begun in India’s mammoth general elections as exit polls on the weekend widely projected incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi easing into a third term.

The poll count of 642 million votes started at 8 a.m. local time (0330 UTC/GMT). Counting is taking place at centers in each of the 543 constituencies where polls were held and is likely to stretch into the evening.

"People should know about the strength of Indian democracy," chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar said at a press conference, adding that there was a "robust counting process in place."

What happened in the world's largest democratic election?
Indians went to polls to elect their prime minister over a six week period that began on April 19.

The lengthy exercise was spread across seven phases, culminating with the last leg of voting on June 1.

With India being the world's most populous country, it was the world's largest general election.

Around 970 million voters, over 10% of the world's population, were eligible to cast their ballots in the election that was held amid a scorching heat wave with temperatures reaching nearly 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas.

Election heat, too, soared in the last six weeks that saw an intense political battle for over 500 seats in the Lok Sabha — the lower house of India's Parliament.