A TOTAL of 642 million Indians voted in the just-concluded six-week-long polls, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar told reporters on Monday (3), with prime minister Narendra Modi widely expected to win a third term.
"We have created a world record of 642 million Indian voters, it is a historic moment for all of us," Kumar said, adding that nearly half of those -- 312 million -- were women voters.
"It shows the incredible power of voters of India," he said.
"People should know about the strength of Indian democracy."
Based on the commission's figure of an electorate of 968 million, 66.3 percent of eligible voters turned out, slightly down on the last general election in 2019.
Read: Most exit polls predict PM Modi's win in 2024 elections
Kumar said that "642 million voters chose action over apathy, belief over cynicism and in some cases, the ballot over the bullet", the commission said, with the commissioner adding that there were "no major incidents of violence".
Voting in the seventh and final staggered round ended on Saturday, and counting and results are due on Tuesday (4).
Read: Modi's BJP sweeps polls in Arunachal Pradesh bordering China
Exit polls show Modi is well on track to triumph, with the premier saying he was confident that "the people of India have voted in record numbers" to re-elect his government.
India uses electronic voting machines that allow for faster counting of ballots.
"We have a robust counting process in place," Kumar said.
(AFP)
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images
