In India, 642 million voters cast their votes, and Narendra Modi's victory was expected

In all, 642 million Indians participated in the general election that just ended after six weeks of voting, according to the Electoral Commission, whose results expected on Tuesday, June 4, are expected to confirm Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory. Political analysts declared Modi, a key figure in the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is seeking a third term, the winner long before the elections began on April 19.

This perspective has been reinforced by several criminal investigations targeting his main opponents. Like Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister and one of the leaders of the opposition alliance, who was detained in March and released on bail last month, just in time for his election campaign. He returned to prison on Sunday.

But Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar welcomed the logistical complexity of India's elections scheduled for Monday “The voter is the real winner”. “We have broken a world record by getting 642 million Indian voters. This is a historic moment for all of us.”312 million are women voters, or nearly half,” Mr. Kumar said, explaining. “This shows the amazing power of Indian voters.”He continued praising 'The amazing power of Indian democracy'.

Based on 968 million voters counted by the commission, 66.3% of voters participated in the poll, a slight decline compared to the 67.4% turnout in the 2019 general election. India uses electronic machines that allow rapid counting of ballot papers. “We have created a robust screening process.”Welcome Mr. Kumar.

“The leaflet, not the ball.”

Final data on voter turnout will be published only after fresh voting is held on Monday in two offices in West Bengal. According to Mr. Kumar, “642 million voters have chosen action rather than apathy, faith rather than cynicism, and, in some cases, the ballot rather than the bullet.”. “There are no major violent incidents.” He added that this had not been reported, according to the Election Commission.

According to opinion polls, Narendra Modi is on his way to winning a third term as prime minister. The Prime Minister said he was sure of that “The people of India voted in record numbers.” For re-election.

Modi (73 years old) remains very popular after two presidential terms, during which India increased its diplomatic influence and economic weight. A 2023 Pew poll found that nearly 80% of Indians viewed Mr. Modi favorably, after nearly a decade in power. Narendra Modi gave his party two landslide victories, in 2014 and 2019, by playing to the religious fabric of Hindu voters.

While there is little doubt about the BJP's victory on Tuesday, there is speculation about its size. Party leaders have publicly confirmed that they will win a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives.

The lower turnout is sometimes attributed to warmer than average temperatures earlier this summer. In order to vote, tens of millions of voters had to face extreme temperatures, sometimes exceeding 45 degrees Celsius, in northern India, which was hit by a series of severe heat waves.

At least 33 poll workers died of heatstroke on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh, where temperatures rose to 46.9 degrees Celsius, according to state election officials. We have learned from this election that voting should end sooner [dans l’année]Mr. Kumar confirmed. We should not organize it in such heat. »

In total, 15 million election workers, including some working in multiple sectors of the public service, were mobilized and temporarily assigned to polling stations. They travel by foot, road, train, helicopter or boat, and sometimes by camel or elephant, to remote areas so that voters can exercise their right to vote.