NEW DELHI – The Latest on India’s general election (all times local):
7:15 p.m.
Voting in India’s mammoth national election has ended with the seventh and final phase of a grueling poll that lasted more than five weeks, with exit polls predicting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party and its allies will win the right to govern for another five years.
Vote counting begins on Thursday, and the election result will likely be known the same day.
Exit polls by two leading television news channels, Republic and TimesNow, projected a victory for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies with 287 to 305 seats out of 543 — far ahead of the 272 seats needed to form the next government.
The election is seen as a referendum on Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP’s main opposition is the Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has produced three prime ministers.
Illinois Gov Pritzker admits ‘real failures’ as slain Chicago student’s hometown pays tribute in lights
LA model and influencer charged with using dating apps to burglarize homes of elderly, wealthy victims
SEE IT: Travelers sound off as ICE agents deployed to airports as shutdown drags past 40 days
American Dennis Coyle lands in Texas after over a year in Taliban captivity
Maryland Dems mocked for prioritizing tampons in men’s bathrooms amid state deficit: ‘Nonsense’
Matt Mahan moves to boost sagging poll numbers in California free-for-all
US, Israeli officials insist Iran’s speaker is negotiating despite denials
Trump urges RNC chair’s wife to run for Congress, pledges endorsement: ‘RUN, SYDNEY, RUN!’
Rep. Jim Jordan eyes spy powers warrant debate after short-term extension of FISA Section 702
Chicago alderwoman apologizes for ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ comment on slain student
Driver hops curb, strikes 9 students during after school pickup in Iowa
Two arrested after US Park Police officer shot in apparent DC ambush: report
Judge grants $1 murder bond for Georgia woman accused of using pills to induce second-trimester abortion
Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate calls for sweeping federal limits on Muslim immigration
NJ Gov. Sherrill attends mosque led by Imam once accused of Hamas ties in deportation case
___
7:30 a.m.
Indians are voting in the seventh and final phase of national elections, wrapping up a 6-week-long long, grueling campaign season with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party seeking reelection for another five years.
The voting on Sunday also covers Modi’s constituency of Varanasi, a holy Hindu city where he was elected in 2014.
The election is seen as a referendum on Modi’s five-year rule. He has adopted a nationalist pitch in trying to win votes from the country’s Hindu majority by projecting a tough stance against Pakistan, India’s Muslim-majority neighbor and archrival.
The Congress and other opposition parties are challenging him over a high unemployment rate of 6.1% and farmers’ distress aggravated by low crop prices.
Counting of votes is scheduled for May 23.
Story cited here.
