US praises India's historic election, stays neutral on results

The United States lauded India's recent parliamentary elections as an unparalleled display of democracy without delving into specific outcomes. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed admiration for both the Indian government and its citizens for successfully navigating through this monumental electoral process. "On behalf of the United States, we commend the government of India and the voters for their engagement in this colossal electoral endeavour, and we await the final results," he stated during his routine press briefing.

Miller reiterated the US policy of refraining from commenting on electoral outcomes globally. "We refrain from commenting on winners and losers in elections worldwide, and this remains our stance. What's significant to us is witnessing the largest democratic exercise in history, as the Indian populace turned out to cast their votes," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared poised for a third consecutive term as the head of the government, with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) securing a majority in the Lok Sabha. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) either secured or was leading in 240 seats, emerging as the largest single party in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

In addition to the BJP's performance, its key allies, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), were either leading or victorious in 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively. With the support of other coalition partners, the BJP-led NDA was well on its way to surpassing the 272-majority mark.