Modi pulls ahead in India election

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party claimed a victory after a vote count on Thursday showed the party holding a commanding lead in the country’s general elections. The Election Commission will release the final results Thursday evening. Results showed that Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 300 of the 542 seats in the lower house of Parliament. The major opposition alliance, led by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party, had won 50 seats. Political parties need 272 seats to secure a majority.

The vote was widely considered a referendum on Modi, who faced criticism over economic reforms and unemployment rates. Critics accused the Hindu nationalist government of stoking social tensions between Hindus and the minority Muslim and Christian populations. Nearly two dozen opposition parties complained of attempts to tamper with voting machines in some vote-count centers, but the Election Commission rejected the accusations.

Outside BJP headquarters in New Delhi, hundreds of supporters shouted party slogans, played drums, and set off firecrackers. “Thank you India!” Modi tweeted. “The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us strength to work even harder to fulfill people’s aspirations.”