After two months of gruelling and acrimonious campaigning in India’s general election that were held in sweltering heat ended on Thursday, two days before the final phase of polling, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency will cast its votes. India began voting in seven phases in the world’s largest election on April 19 and it is set to conclude on June 1.
Votes will be counted on June 4 although television channels conduct exit polls and project results after voting ends. Modi, who is seeking a record-equalling third straight term and is widely expected to win, began his re-election campaign by focusing on his achievements over the last 10 years but soon switched to mostly targeting the opposition by accusing them of favouring India’s minority Muslims. This change of tack, analysts said, was likely aimed at firing up his Hindu nationalist base after a low turnout in the first phase sparked concerns that supporters of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were not voting. India’s election rules stop campaigning about 36 hours before voting begins. Modi addressed one rally in the northern state of Punjab on Thursday, while his main opponent, the Congress party’s Rahul Gandhi, spoke at rallies in the states of Odisha and Punjab. —Agencies
