Preliminary counting of votes in India’s general elections on Tuesday showed the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the lead, Indian media reported.
The Election Commission began counting votes in India on Tuesday morning after the conclusion of the seven-phase mega election that saw millions of voters across the South Asian country.
As of 10.30 a.m. local time (0500GMT), the Indian Election Commission said the BJP was leading in 231 seats, while the Indian National Congress was leading in 100 seats.
The National Democratic Alliance was leading by more than 300 seats, surpassing the 272-seat mark required for a majority in the 543-member lower house of parliament, local media reported. However, the opposition alliance was leading by more than 200 seats, according to trends.
Earlier in the morning, counting of votes began at 8 a.m. local time (0230GMT), with final official results expected by the end of the day, according to the Election Commission of India.
The grand seven-phase process to fill 543 parliamentary seats ended on Saturday with the opposition alliance saying it would win 295 seats, while the ruling alliance said its results on Tuesday would exceed 370 seats.
Party confrontation
The election is primarily a battle between the NDA led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition INDIA alliance led by the main opposition Indian National Congress (INC).
The exit polls released after the last phase of voting predicted more than 350 seats for the NDA and less than 200 seats for INDIA.
Seven rounds of elections took place on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. At least 33 polling staff died in the last phase due to extreme heat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Of the 968 million registered voters, 642 million voted in the election, the commission said on Monday, adding that the counting process was “very robust.” In the capital New Delhi, the BJP and INC made preparations at their headquarters for the counting day.
While polls indicate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party will win a large number of votes, some experts believe these predictions may be “exaggerated.” Sarvesh Dutt Tripathi, who teaches media at a Delhi-based university, said:
“I think the exit polls have shown exaggerated results. Looking at the ground situation, there is likely to be an almost equal distribution of seats between the ruling party alliance and opposition parties.”
The results of counting of votes in the legislative assembly elections of two Indian states will also be announced on Tuesday along with the general election results. The states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha went to polls simultaneously with the general elections.
