India's marathon election enters final stage of vote counting with Modi widely tipped for third term
India's election is entering its final phase with the counting of more than 640 million votes in the world’s largest democratic exercise, which is widely expected to return Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a third term
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's marathon election enters its final phase on Tuesday with the counting of more than 640 million votes in the world’s largest democratic exercise, which was widely expected to return Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a third term after a decade in power.
The 6-week-long election was seen as a referendum on Modi. If the 73-year-old wins, it will only be the second time an Indian leader has retained power for a third term after Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister.
Exit polls on Saturday by major television channels projected a comfortable win for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies over a broad opposition alliance led by the Congress party and its main campaign leader, Rahul Gandhi.
Indian television channels have had a mixed record in the past in predicting election results.
