Modi heading for reduced majority, early results show

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alliance is comfortably ahead in the general election vote count, but early results show it falling well short of the landslide exit polls predicted.

Mr Modi’s BJP-led alliance is leading in more than 290 of 543 seats up for grabs. The Congress and other allied opposition parties are on more than 220.

Many observers have been surprised by the strong opposition showing so far.

A slew of exit polls at the weekend showed the BJP-led NDA alliance on course for a super majority which would allow it to make changes to the constitution.

Mr Modi, eyeing a historic third consecutive term in office, had set a target of 370 seats for the BJP and 400 seats for his alliance.

But if early trends are borne out in final results due later on Tuesday, the BJP may not even get the 272 seats on its own that are needed for a majority in the lower house of parliament.

The election was seen by many as a referendum on Mr Modi’s decade in office, during which he has transformed many aspects of life in India, so this would be a major upset.

At Congress headquarters, party workers have been celebrating the early results. The Indian markets have been showing jitters – falling more than 2% – testifying to the fact that it’s not been a runaway result so far for the governing alliance.

However, experts stress the electronic voting machine count is still at an early stage and much could change in the next few hours.

An average 66% of voters took part in the election, official figures showed. It was the biggest such exercise the world has ever seen, with nearly a billion registered voters – about one in eight of the global population.

Voting was staggered over seven rounds between 19 April and 1 June for security and logistical reasons. Much of the election took place in extreme and deadly heat as temperatures in parts of India soared to nearly 50C.

The BJP and its rivals fought a fierce – at times vitriolic – campaign, with the prime minister denying that he was being divisive when he was accused by rivals of demonising Muslims.

Mr Modi toured the country, pointing to his achievements in areas such as delivering welfare schemes and raising India’s global profile.

Opposition parties highlighted high unemployment – especially for young people – and fears that constitutional changes could disempower the disadvantaged. They also promised to stop India’s “slide into autocracy”.

A number of opposition leaders and government critics have been jailed in recent years, including Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who was taken into custody on corruption charges in April but later briefly released to allow him to campaign.