Modi meditates as India polls near endhome/News/World/Modi meditates as India polls near endNEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a spiritual break on Saturday as India’s acrimonious marathon election wound to a close after almost seven weeks awash with insults, violence and fake news. Modi is seeking a second term from India’s 900 million voters after leading his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power in 2014, with results due on May 23. Opinion polls, although unreliable, predict that the BJP may lose seats this time despite its formidable campaigning machine, meaning it might need a coalition to form a new government. His main rival is Rahul Gandhi, 48, of the Congress party, the scion of India’s famed Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. The rival parties have thrown almost daily barbs at each other, accusing each other of corruption, nepotism and fake nationalism.

Source: Manila Times May 18, 2019 16:07 UTC