On the 2nd, the Indian general election, which lasted for 44 days since April, concluded with observations that the political alliance led by the ruling Indian People’s Party (BJP) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is expected to achieve a sweeping victory. Prime Minister Modi, challenging his third consecutive term as the second Prime Minister in Indian history, is anticipated to continue his growth-oriented economic policies for India’s advancement as the “world’s 3rd largest economy” if he secures reelection.
International news agencies such as Reuters predicted that based on the results of the top five exit polls after the election, the National Democratic Alliance is likely to secure between 353 and 401 seats out of the total 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. This projection indicates an expansion of parliamentary seats by more than 50 seats from the current 353 seats held by the BJP in the 2019 general election.
In this election, Modi’s ruling party highlighted government welfare programs benefitting hundreds of millions of Indians and the country’s progress in becoming the world’s 5th largest economy. Modi’s campaign slogan was “Modi’s guarantee.” India recorded a high GDP growth rate of 7.8% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, India has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing countries globally. After the voting ended, Modi confidently claimed victory on his former Twitter account without providing clear evidence, stating that the Indian people elected the NDA government with a record voter turnout and praised the transformative changes brought to the lives of the poor, marginalized, and oppressed under his government.
On the other hand, the main opposition party led by Rahul Gandhi, Indian National Congress (INC), is expected to secure between 125 and 182 seats based on exit polls. The opposition criticized Modi’s unilateral governance, alleged favoritism towards Hinduism, political persecution of opponents, high unemployment, and inflation during their election campaign. The scale of Indian elections, with an electorate of 968 million voters spread across 7 polling phases, makes it challenging to obtain accurate exit poll results.
If the final election results confirm the ruling party’s victory, 73-year-old Prime Minister Modi will become the second Prime Minister in Indian history to win a third term, following Jawaharlal Nehru. Modi aims to elevate India from the 5th largest economy to the 3rd largest during the next five-year term while intensifying efforts in poverty alleviation and anti-corruption measures. Senior economist at investment advisory firm Anand Rathi, Susan Hozar, predicted a shift towards prioritizing soft infrastructure improvements such as enhancing the national healthcare network over the hardware infrastructure that has already shown some progress. The general election results will be announced on the 4th, with the final outcome expected to be revealed on the same day. Subsequently, the party or coalition securing a plurality or majority of seats will recommend a Prime Minister, who will then be appointed by the President to form the next government.