India Begins Counting Over 640 Million Votes in Historic Election

India commenced counting more than 640 million votes on Tuesday in the world’s largest democratic exercise, with expectations high for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure a third term after a decade in power.

The six-week election was widely viewed as a referendum on Modi. Should the 73-year-old win, he would become the second Indian leader to achieve a third term, following Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister.

Exit polls conducted by major television channels on Saturday forecast a comfortable victory for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies over a broad opposition alliance led by the Congress party and its main campaign leader, Rahul Gandhi. However, Indian television channels have had a mixed track record in predicting election outcomes.

Nearly 970 million people, representing more than 10% of the world's population, were eligible to vote. The average turnout was around 66% across the seven phases of the election, according to official data.

The vote tallying process at counting centers in each of the 543 constituencies could extend into the evening before the Election Commission of India announces the final result.