Modi claims victory in India parliamentary elections

YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to retain power as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secures 293 seats in the 543-seat lower house of India’s bicameral Parliament, the Lok Sabha, according to NDTV.

The BJP, whose candidates contested in the name of Modi, won in 240 seats, falling short of the 272 majority mark and needing the support of allies in the party-led NDA for government formation, a far cry from the 303 and 282 seats it had won in 2019 and 2014, respectively, to have a majority on its own, NDTV adds.

The opposition coalition of 28 parties, I.N.D.I.A. (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), secured 234 seats. The Congress, which is part of the opposition bloc, won 99 seats compared to 52 it won in 2019.

More than640 million votes were to be counted in the world's largest election held in seven phases over six weeks. Almost a billion people were registered to vote.