India’s Modi eyes biggest win yet when votes counted in giant election

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to win a record-equalling third consecutive term in office on Tuesday when the 642 million votes cast in the world’s largest election are counted.
Exit polls have projected a big win for Modi and if they are confirmed – they have often got the outcome wrong in India – Modi’s Hindu nationalists will have triumphed in a vitriolic campaign in which parties accused each other of religious bias and of posing a threat to sections of the population.
Investors have already cheered the prospects of another Modi term, expecting it to deliver for India further years of strong economic growth and pro-business reforms, while a possible two-thirds majority in parliament could allow major changes to the constitution, rivals and critics fear.