Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday he was confident of his return to power after voting ended in the country鈥檚 six-week election, a marathon contest bedevilled by successive punishing heatwaves.
Modi has long been widely expected to win a third term when results are announced Tuesday, in large part due to his cultivated image as an aggressive champion of India鈥檚 majority faith.
Exit polls are expected to give some initial indication of whether he has succeeded later on Saturday night, although they are historically unreliable at capturing trends in an election with 968 million eligible voters.
Modi himself was certain that he had, saying he was confident that 鈥榯he people of India have voted in record numbers鈥� to re-elect his government.
鈥楾hey have seen our track record and the manner in which our work has brought about a qualitative change in the lives of the poor, marginalised and downtrodden,鈥� he said in a post on social media platform X.
Many in the 73-year-old premier鈥檚 constituency of Varanasi who cast their votes on Saturday were excited about the prospect of his return to power.
Modi presided over the inauguration this year of a grand temple to the deity Ram, built on the grounds of a centuries-old mosque in Ayodhya razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.
Construction of the temple fulfilled a longstanding demand of Hindu activists and was widely celebrated across the country with back-to-back television coverage and street parties.
Modi himself made a number of strident comments about Muslims on the campaign trail, referring to them as 鈥榠nfiltrators鈥�.
He has also accused the motley coalition of more than two dozen opposition parties contesting the poll against him of plotting to redistribute India鈥檚 wealth to its Muslim citizens.
Janesar Akhtar, a Muslim clothesmaker working in Varanasi鈥檚 famed embroidery workshops, told AFP that the BJP鈥檚 sectarian campaigning was an unfortunate distraction from India鈥檚 chronic unemployment problems.
鈥楬e is supposed to give us jobs and not tensions.鈥�
Western democracies have largely sidestepped concerns over rights and democratic freedoms in the hopes of cultivating an ally that can help check the growing assertiveness of China, India鈥檚 northern neighbour and rival regional power.
Modi鈥檚 image at home has been bolstered by India鈥檚 rising diplomatic and economic clout鈥攖he country overtook Britain as the world鈥檚 fifth-biggest economy in 2022.
India voted in seven phases over six weeks to ease the immense logistical burden of staging an election in the world鈥檚 most populous country.
Turnout is down several percentage points from the last national election in 2019, with analysts blaming widespread expectations of a Modi victory as well as successive heatwaves scorching India鈥檚 northern states.
Authorities in the eastern state of Bihar said on Friday that 10 poll workers had died of heatstroke the previous day while setting up for the vote.