The coalition led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win a clear majority in the parliamentary elections. TV election day polls This suggests that the right-wing party would perform better than most analysts expected.

Most polls following Saturday's parliamentary election assumed that the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could win a two-thirds majority in the 543-member lower house, while 272 votes are needed for a simple majority.

According to a summary of six exit polls, the NDA could win between 355 and 380 seats, a figure that is likely to boost financial markets after they reopen on Monday.

In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the NDA won 353 seats, of which 303 went to the BJP.

The six exit polls that gave the BJP-led NDA a clear majority are, according to a report by Indian television channel NDTV: Republic Bharat-P Marq (359), India News-D-Dynamics (371), Republic Bharat-Matrix (353-368), Dainik Bhaskar (281-350), News Nation (342-378) and Jan Ki Baat (362-392).

Another election day poll by CNN-News18 predicted that the BJP and its coalition partners would win 355 seats.

The opposition INDIA alliance led by Rahul Gandhi's Congress Party was expected to win more than 120 seats, according to polls published after the election. six weeks of voting completed on Saturday.

The track record of post-election polls conducted by polling firms in India is patchy, with many predicting results incorrectly. Analysts say getting the results right is a challenge in such a large and diverse country.

The opposition dismissed the exit polls and described them as “provisional” before their release after a meeting at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in New Delhi on Saturday.

Most opposition parties accuse India's main news channels of being biased in favor of Modi. The channels deny these allegations. They also say that post-election polls in India are largely unscientific.

“This is a government exit poll, this is Narendra Modi's exit poll,” Supriya Shrinate, the Congress party's social media chief, told news agency ANI. “We have an idea of ​​how many seats we will win.”

Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which governs the national capital Delhi, told the Press Trust of India that the exit polls were “from the government and the BJP”.

“By-election polls always show that the BJP wins. In the meeting [of INDIA bloc]The politicians have said that 295 seats will go to the INDIA alliance and we will form a government,” he said.

𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝟐𝟗𝟓+ 𝐬𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐝 🇮🇳 ✌️ pic.twitter.com/CXMHl4t66Z

– Congress (@INCIndia) June 1, 2024

Nearly a billion people were eligible to vote in the seven-phase election, which began on April 19 and was held in many places in scorching summer heat.

The electoral commission will count the votes on June 4 and the results are expected the same day.

In his first comments after the end of voting, Modi declared victory without addressing post-election polls.

“I can say with certainty that the people of India voted in record numbers to re-elect the NDA government,” he said on X, without providing any evidence to support his claim. “The opportunistic INDI alliance has failed to strike a chord with the voters. They are caste-oriented, communalist and corrupt.”

If 73-year-old Modi wins, he would be only the second prime minister after independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to win three consecutive terms.

Many in the prime minister's constituency in Varanasi – where elections took place on Saturday – said they were eagerly awaiting his return to power.

“I voted for the growth and development of my country,” Varanasi resident Brijesh Taksali told AFP outside a polling station. “There is only one leader I know… Narendra Modi. I voted for him.”

Varanasi is an important temple city of the Hindu faith, where believers from all over India come to cremate their deceased relatives on the Ganges.

But Janesar Akhtar, a Muslim garment maker who works in Varanasi’s famous embroidery workshops, said the BJP Cult campaign was a regrettable distraction from India's chronic unemployment problems.

“Workshops are closing here and the Modi government is busy with the politics of temples and mosques,” said the 44-year-old. “He should give us jobs and not tensions.”