India counts votes from a mega-election seen as a referendum on Modi

India has started counting votes from its staggered, six-week election that is seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decade in power and is expected to give him a third term in office.

Exit polls by major television channels have projected a comfortable win for the Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies over a broad opposition alliance led by the Congress party and its main campaign leader, Rahul Gandhi.

Nearly 970 million people — more than 10% of the world’s population — were eligible to vote and turnout averaged 66%, according to official data. The tallying at counting centers in 543 constituencies could stretch well into the evening before final results are announced, though substantial leads are likely to emerge earlier.