Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed towards a third consecutive term with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leading in 292 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. But the ruling alliance's margin was narrower than what the exit polls had predicted. The opposition INDIA alliance mounted a fierce challenge and are ahead on 233 seats, falling just 39 seats short of the halfway mark needed to form the government.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who had made a series of videos urging voters to excercise their franchise, called the result a victory of the common man.
"Never underestimate the power of a common man," Mr Rathee said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
During the elections, Mr Rathee's YouTube channel garnered widespread attention for its critiques of government policies and societal issues.
Exit polls had predicted another drubbing for the Congress this time but the party defied pundits, improving its performance by leaps and bounds.
Latest data from the election commission projected Congress to grab 99 seats, significantly higher than the 52 it managed in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The outcome spooked investors, with stocks falling steeply as emerging results showed that PM Modi would, for the first time since sweeping to power in 2014, depend on at least three regional parties whose political loyalties have wavered over the years.
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