Incumbent Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared himself the winner of India’s elections.
“I can say with confidence that the people of India have voted in record numbers to reelect the NDA government”, he declared.
“They have seen our track record and how our work has brought about a qualitative change in the lives of the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed. At the same time, they have seen how reforms in India have resulted in the country becoming the world’s fifth largest economy. All our programs have reached the intended beneficiaries without bias or leakage”, he continues.
I can say with confidence that the people of India have voted in record numbers to reelect the NDA government. They 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.
At the…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 1, 2024
Modi, who has been the country’s prime minister since 2014, also accuses the opposition India Alliance of being “corrupt” and “caste-based,” saying they only want to benefit a handful of powerful and wealthy families.
“Such backward policies have been rejected by the people”, he writes.
Polls show Modi’s BJP party winning a majority in India’s parliament and growing strongly, while the opposition appears to have less than half the BJP’s support, meaning Modi is likely to remain unchallenged as prime minister.
Final results are not expected until Tuesday, but it is already clear that nearly a billion people voted.
Calling Muslims “infiltrators”
About 80 percent of the country’s population is Hindu – and Muslims are estimated at 14-15 percent. Religious conflict is widespread, and Modi has clearly positioned himself as a representative of the Hindu majority.
Recently, he was heavily criticized in the Western and Muslim media for calling Muslims “infiltrators” who “bear more children” than Hindu Indians.
He also accused the opposition of wanting to “redistribute” the nation’s wealth to Muslims if they win the election.
“That means they will take the wealth of the people and distribute it to whom? To those who have more children. To the infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators?” he asked in a speech that drew worldwide attention.