Modi or INDIA? LS polls counting today

New Delhi, NT Bureau: India and the world will be closely watching the results of the Lok Sabha elections which will be out on Tuesday after the counting of votes with Prime Minister Narendra Modi eyeing a third straight term in power amid the INDIA opposition bloc's hope of springing a surprise by upsetting the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) ambitious dreams.

The counting of votes will bring to an end a marathon seven-phase polling exercise stretching over 80 days to elect 543 members to the lower House of the Indian parliament.

While experts see the NDA as the favourite to win the polls, there is still a lot of uncertainty over the verdict considering the determined fight the opposition parties have put up against the BJP in several states where it is facing anti-incumbency besides anger over its inability to solve nagging problems like unemployment, price rise, rural distress and farmerrelated issues.

Though electoral verdicts have historically been accepted, even though grudgingly, by all parties, there has been a sharper edge to the questions being raised by opposition parties this time over the polling process, including the Election Commission's (EC) role.

After the exit polls predicted a massive win for the BJPled NDA, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has dismissed them dubbing them as as "Modi media poll". INDIA bloc leader have been raising doubts over the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and have accused the prime minister of sending a signal to the bureacracy through these "fantasy" exitpolls.

They even marched to the EC urging the poll watchdog to follow the counting guidelines. Congress leaders including its president Mallikarjun Kharge and principal campaigner Rahul Gandhi, have claimed that their alliance will get 295 seats in the Lok Sabha, marking an end of the Modi era.

INDIA bloc leaders believe their alliance has been able to shape the poll narrative around its planks of welfarism and an alleged threat to the Constitution from a saffron onslaught, and will get popular support.

The polls will also be a pointer to the fate of the Left besides many regional parties including the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress, which are in power in West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh respectively