towards a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Towels to dry your face or freshen up some fresh air. In a polling station in northern India, everyone has their own technique for coping with the heat. Here the thermometer reached 44 degrees. But for the last stage of the legislative elections, voters insisted on making the trip. At the national level, however, participation is lower than in 2019, because of the heat but above all because of the announced victory of the BJP, the Hindu nationalist party of the outgoing Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

On the surface, its record is the envy of Indian growth exceeding 8%. But this apparent good health hides a much darker reality, notably the explosion of religious violence, in particular against Muslims and Christians. Despite everything, according to an exit poll, Narendra Modi’s coalition would be well ahead of the vote with at least 355 seats out of the 272 needed to control the lower house of Parliament. The final results will be known on Tuesday June 4.