The United States lauded India's recent general elections, describing it as the largest exercise of electoral franchise globally. The State Department, however, dodged questions regarding the absence of Muslim representation from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha.
The elections, conducted from April 19 to June 1 in seven phases, culminated in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) clinching victory. On June 9, Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for an unprecedented third consecutive term.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller commended the Indian elections during a briefing but emphasized that matters of representation are for the Indian populace to decide. "Specific results of the election are not something we comment on," Miller added.
Coming to India's election results, the counting of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was held on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303.
Combining the numbers of BJP ally parties, the number went comfortably above the halfway mark needed to form a government. President Droupadi Murmu administered the Oath of Office and Secrecy to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other members of his Union Council of Ministers on June 09, 2024, at 07:15 pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Tesla and X owner Elon Musk also congratulated Narendra Modi on being elected as the Prime Minister of India for the third term. In a post on his X timeline, Musk said he looks forward to his companies doing exciting work in India. "Congratulations Narendra Modi on your victory in the world's largest democratic elections! Looking forward to my companies doing exciting work in India."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)
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