India election 2024: When will the results be announced?

A polling official puts indelible ink mark on the index finger of woman during the second round of voting in the six-week-long national election in Morigaon district (AP)
A polling official puts indelible ink mark on the index finger of woman during the second round of voting in the six-week-long national election in Morigaon district (AP)

The Indian election is currently underway, with almost a billion people registered to vote, making it the world’s biggest election.

Due to the sheer number of votes, the election is held in seven phases over six weeks.

Even severe flooding in counting booths in Karimganj district in the northeastern state of Assam didn’t stop voters from heading out to have their say.

The main parties to be aware of are: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which currently governs India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which is a coalition of opposition parties including the once-dominant Congress party; and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a coalition of parties led by the BJP.

After nearly two months of voting and counting, the end is in sight for the Indian elections, so here’s what to expect.

When will the India election 2024 results be announced?

A result is expected to be announced today (June 4).

The vote counting will be updated throughout the day, and those following can expect the first results to come through in the afternoon local time.

Early trends from exit polls indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance is leading with just under 300 seats.

Contrastingly, opposition parties are ahead in about 200 seats, which indicates that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be about to enter a rare third consecutive term for himself and the BJP.

However, his lead is much narrower than expected, after more than two dozen opposition parties took part in the election to take on Mr Modi and the BJP.

Nonetheless, Mr Modi, 73, has an impressive lead of over 98,000 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi seat, where he is the incumbent MP.

The current Prime Minister won with a vote share of more than 63% here back in 2019.

A party or alliance in India needs to win more than 272 seats in the 543-member parliament in order to form the government.