The seven-phase election, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP is seeking a second term, saw 8,000 candidates contesting. This Lok Sabha election is also a big test for the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress.
Exit polls predicted that the BJP will win almost as many seats as it did in 2014 and form a government comfortably. The exit polls gives the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 302 of 543 seats and the Congress and its allies 122.
The Election Commission of India begins counting of votes in 542 parliamentary constituencies across India and early trends show the ruling NDA has rushed to an early lead. While NDA is currently leading on a total of 181 seats, the UPA, on the other hand, is leading on just 51 seats. Seeing the early trends, it seems like the exit poll data is going to come true for the NDA.