'Largest exercise of democracy': US commends Indian govt, people on successful elections
Washington, Jun 5 (PTI) The US has commended the Indian government and the people for successfully participating and completing the Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the BJP-led NDA getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
The Election Commission of India has declared results for 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 seats and the Congress 99.
"On behalf of the United States, we want to commend the government of India and voters there for successfully completing and participating in such a massive electoral undertaking, and we look forward to seeing the final results," State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on Tuesday.
He was responding to a question on the Lok Sabha elections in India, in which the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) crossed the halfway mark of 272 seats, paving the way for a third consecutive term for Modi.
"First of all, our understanding is that the election results have not been finalised. So we will wait for the finalisation of those election results before we offer any definitive comment," Miller said when asked to comment on the results.
"I'm also not going to comment on winners and losers in an election, as is our case around the world. What is important for us and what we have seen over the past six weeks is the largest exercise of democracy in history as the Indian people came to the polls," he added.
He also denied reports of external influence in Indian elections by Western powers, including the US.
"We always will express our views clearly and openly. We express them with foreign governments privately and, when we have things that we are concerned about, we also express them publicly, including from this podium. That's what I've done. But that, in no way, is an attempt to influence an election in India or anywhere else," Miller said.
He said he expects the close partnership between the US and India to continue.
"There is a great partnership, both at the government level and at the people-to-people level, and I fully expect that to continue," Miller said. PTI
