Al-Khateeb: Rate of Foreign tourists coming for recreational purposes soars 600% in 5 years    Saudi Arabia participates in OIC anti-corruption agencies' meeting in Qatar    Saudi Arabia implements over 800 reforms to drive rapid transformation    Al-Jadaan: Painful decisions were part of the reforms, but economy overcame them    Al-Swaha: Saudi Arabia is heading towards exporting technology in the next phase    Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire appears to hold as Lebanese begin streaming back to their homes    Al Rajhi: Saudi Arabia sets revised unemployment target of 5% by 2030 "300,000 citizens employed in qualitative professions"    Imran Khan supporters call off protest after crackdown    Five survivors found day after Red Sea tourist boat sinking    Russia launched a record number of almost 200 drones toward Ukraine    Al Hilal advances to AFC Champions League knockout stage despite 1-1 draw with Al Sadd    Saudi Arabia unveils updates on Expo 2030 Riyadh master plan at 175th BIE General Assembly Riyadh Expo Development Company established to oversee strategic planning, operations, and legacy development    Saudi FM attends Quadripartite meeting on Sudan in Italy    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



India exit polls show Modi-led coalition to win election
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 13 - 05 - 2014

NEW DELHI — Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi is set to become India's next prime minister, four major exit polls showed on Monday, with his opposition party and its allies forecast to sweep to a parliamentary majority in the world's biggest ever election.
Modi, of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), electrified the lengthy contest that ended on Monday, with a media-savvy campaign that hinged on vows to kickstart India's economy and create jobs.
Yet much depends on Modi winning enough seats to form a stable government that can push through promised reforms.
Indian elections are notoriously hard to call, and polls taken before and after voting have a patchy track record at best. Results of the ballot are due to be announced on Friday.
A Modi victory would be a blow for campaigners who have long maintained he is an autocratic Hindu supremacist responsible for an outbreak of religious riots in his home state, Gujarat, in 2002 in which more than 1,000 people died, mostly Muslims.
Modi, who rose from humble roots as a tea vendor's son, was shunned by Western nations for years after the bloodshed in Gujarat, where he has been chief minister since 2001.
However, his rise on the national stage forced a rethink among the European Union and the United States, whose ambassadors have met him to patch up relations.
Modi denies the accusations against him and a Supreme Court inquiry found no evidence to prosecute him.
A majority of 272 seats in parliament is needed to form a government, although that is often achieved with outside support from regional parties. India's staggered voting, spread over five weeks to reach the country's 815 million voters and move security forces around its varied terrain, ended at 1800 IST (1230 GMT) on Monday.
Congress faces humiliation
The BJP-led alliance is forecast to win 270-282 seats, according to a poll conducted by research group CSDS for the CNN-IBN television network.
It forecast just 92-102 seats for the coalition led by the Congress party, which would be worst ever result for the ruling party led by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
Congress spearheaded India's independence movement and has governed the country for over 50 years since freedom from British rule in 1947.
If the BJP and its pre-election allies can win an outright majority, it will be the best showing by a single group since Congress and its allies won 414 seats in 1984, when the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi created a swell of public sympathy for the party.
Several national exit polls over-estimated the BJP's seat share in the last two general elections in 2004 and 2009. The Congress party went on to form coalition governments on both occasions.
“We will only know if this ‘Modi wave' has really happened after the election results,” said Praveen Rai, a political analyst at CSDS who recently published a report on exit polls. “It still might be more of a media wave, a manufactured wave.”
Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and a crucial political battleground, is particularly tricky for pollsters to forecast because it is a caste-sensitive state where some voters are afraid to speak frankly about who they chose, said Rai.
Another poll released on Monday, by Nielsen for ABP News, showed the BJP-led alliance hitting 281 seats. A third, by Cicero for the India Today group, predicted Modi's alliance would take between 261 and 283 seats, and pollster C-Voter forecast a tally of 289. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.