In total, 642 million Indians took part in the general elections which have just ended after six weeks of voting, according to the electoral commission, the results of which expected on Tuesday should confirm the victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Modi, champion of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who is seeking a third term, was declared the winner by political analysts well before the start of the elections on April 19.
This perspective has been reinforced by several criminal investigations targeting his main opponents. Like Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi, one of the leaders of the opposition alliance, placed in detention in March, then released on bail last month, the time for him to campaign. He returned to prison on Sunday.
But Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, hailing the logistical complexity of India’s elections on Monday, said “the voter is the real winner”.
“We have broken a world record with 642 million Indian voters, it is a historic moment for all of us,” said Mr. Kumar, specifying that 312 million were female voters, or almost half.
“This shows the incredible power of Indian voters,” he continued, extolling “the incredible power of Indian democracy.”
Based on the 968 million voters recorded by the commission, 66.3% of voters took part in the vote, a slight decrease compared to the 67.4% participation in the 2019 general elections.
“The bulletin rather than the ball”
Final data on voter turnout will only be released after re-voting on Monday in two West Bengal state offices.
According to Mr. Kumar, “642 million voters chose action over apathy, belief over cynicism and, in some cases, the ballot over the bullet.”
“No major incidents of violence” were reported according to the electoral commission, he added.
The seventh and final phase of these general elections ended on Saturday after six weeks of voting. The count and results are expected on Tuesday.
India uses electronic machines allowing rapid counting of ballots.
“We have established a robust counting process,” said Mr. Kumar.
According to exit polls, Narendra Modi is on track to win a third term as head of government.
The prime minister said he was certain that “the people of India voted in record numbers” to re-elect him.
Deaths from sunstroke
Mr. Modi, 73, is still very popular after two terms, during which India increased its diplomatic influence and economic weight.
A Pew Institute survey found in 2023 that Mr. Modi was viewed favorably by nearly 80% of Indians after nearly a decade in power.
Narendra Modi gave his party two landslide victories in 2014 and 2019 by playing on the religious fiber of the Hindu electorate.
While there is little doubt about the BJP’s victory on Tuesday, there is speculation about its scale. Party leaders have publicly assured that they will win a two-thirds majority in the lower house.
The drop in turnout was blamed by some on warmer-than-average temperatures earlier this summer.
To vote, tens of millions of voters had to face oppressive temperatures sometimes exceeding 45°C in northern India hit by a succession of intense heat waves.
At least 33 poll workers died of heatstroke on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh, where temperatures soared to 46.9°C, according to state election officials.
“We learned from this election that the vote should end earlier” in the year, Mr. Kumar stressed. “We shouldn’t have organized it in such heat.”
In total, 15 million electoral agents were mobilized, including some from multiple sectors of the public service and temporarily assigned to polling stations.
They travel on foot, by road, by train, by helicopter, by boat and sometimes on camel or elephant to the most remote areas so that voters can exercise their right to vote.