Jail and bail, violence and heat: Voting ends in India election, all eyes on June 4

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs."This popular quote by Albert Einstein has inspired people worldwide, including India.

India has voted. People have done their jobby participating in the world's biggest exercise in democracy with enthusiasm and fervour, battling adverse weather, and other difficulties. Participation was in various forms besides casting votes: researching, writing reports, discussions, debates helped the voters at great length. Nothing stopped India from electing its government for the next five years.

The seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha election concluded on Saturday (Jun 1), wrapping up the mammoth polling across 543 Parliamentary constituencies with 968 million eligible voters.

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Is Modi 3.0 confirmed?

Exit polls are giving a landslide victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Modi's BJP is projected to win a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament as per most exit polls. A two-thirds majority means the government will be able to make wide-ranging amendments to the constitution.

The party needed 272 for a simple majority, but some exit polls even predict that the NDA would win 400+ seats–similar to what BJP and allies have reiterated throughout the campaigning through their slogan 'Abki baar 400 paar', meaning this time, beyond 400.

At least six exit polls projected the NDA could win between 355 and 380 seats. The NDA won 353 seats in the 2019 general election, of which BJP accounted for 303. Meanwhile, the opposition INDIA alliance led by Rahul Gandhi's Indian National Congress party was projected to win between 125 to 165 seats.

PM Modi thanked the voters. "A heartfelt thank you to all those who exercised their franchise. Their active participation is the cornerstone of our democracy. Their commitment and dedication ensures that the democratic spirit thrives in our nation," Modi wrote on X.

He also praised women and young voters, saying, "I would also like to specially appreciate India’s Nari Shakti and Yuva Shakti. Their strong presence at the polls is a very encouraging sign."

Some are not relying solely on exit polls, which have a patchy record in India and waiting for the final verdict to come on June 4. The opposition dismissed the exit polls, calling it "prefixed".

Pawan Khera, spokesperson of Congress, on Exit Polls said, "INDIA parties met and decided to expose the BJP and its ecosystem on the prefixed exit polls."

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate reacted to the exit poll. She said, "These are Narendra Modi's exit polls. The exit poll from the public gives 295 seats to INDIA, and this number will only increase."

Jail, bail and drama

Just a few days before the first phase of the election, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Excise Policy money laundering case. He was sent to judicial custody. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed that the arrest was politically motivated - a move to keep Kejriwal away from campaigning. On May 10, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail till June 1 as he was out and addressed several rallies.

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Hemant Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was also arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged land fraud. He was chief minister of the state, but had resigned from the post before the arrest.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had slammed the Centre, saying: "Hemant Soren was sent to jail for refusing to part ways with the INDIA bloc. Hemant Soren is a brave person who preferred going to jail rather than bowing down. BJP will be wiped out if it continues to terrorise tribals."

Prajwal Revanna's case remained in the limelight during the election period as the suspended JDS MP was arrested at Bengaluru airport upon his arrival from Germany on May 31. He is accused of sexual harassment charges.

Violence during final phase

Several incidents of violence were recorded in the seventh phase of elections in West Bengal's nine parliamentary constituencies. In particular, reports from Jadavpur and Diamond Harbour were concerning, where All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), Indian Secular Front (ISF) and BJP supporters clashed.

The Election Commission of India took note and provided central forces to various states beyond the June 4 counting day to prevent any incidents based on the assessment provided by them as well as central observers, the news agency PTI reported citing sources.

Deadly heatwaves

The voting lasted in seven phases for over six weeks. The aim was to ease the process and logistical burden considering the population of the nation but the fag end of the voting was marred by deadly heatwaves.

As compared to the 2019 general election, the voter turnout was down, with some of the experts saying that it's because of heatwaves, especially in the northern states.

India on Friday (May 31) reported at least 40 suspected heat-related deaths, 25 of them of staff deployed on Lok Sabha poll duty in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

(With inputs from agencies)