Modi magic: Indian exit polls predict record BJP win
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (73) is on the brink of securing a third consecutive term with a significant majority, according to exit polls released on Saturday evening. These polls suggest a decisive victory for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), overcoming the opposition alliance in the largest democratic election globally.
Should the official results, expected on Tuesday, June 4, confirm these projections, the BJP will emerge unscathed despite challenges such as widening inequality, record-high unemployment, and rising prices. Remarkably, Modi may even surpass the party's performance in the 2019 election. No prime minister in independent India's history has ever won three consecutive Lok Sabha elections with increasing margins each time.
Exit polls from at least seven Indian media organizations indicate that the BJP and its allies could secure between 350 and 380 seats out of the 543 in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. In the 2019 election, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, won 352 seats, with the BJP alone securing 303.
Despite the exit polls, the opposition INDIA alliance—a coalition of over two dozen political parties aiming to oust the BJP’s Hindu majoritarian government—remains confident of achieving a majority once the votes are counted.
While exit polls in India have had a mixed track record, often both underestimating and overestimating party numbers, they have generally predicted overall trends accurately over the past two decades.
Nearly a billion Indians participated in this seven-phase election, which spanned six weeks and concluded on Saturday evening. The Election Commission of India is scheduled to announce the official results on June 4.
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