Lok Sabha election result 2019: Foreign media reacts to vote count as results point to a big victory for PM Modi

The BJP appeared set for a resounding comeback on Thursday with leads in 328 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 101, as the counting of the votes polled in India's 17 Lok Sabha election was underway.

The elections were also closely followed by foreign media as the trends came in, pointing to another tenure of Narendra Modi as prime minister.

While reporting on BJP heading for an outright majority, The New York Times called PM Modi "one of the most powerful leaders" India has produced.   

"The win would be a far more dominating performance than many analysts had thought possible a few months ago," The New York Times said.

"Modi is viewed as good for business. He has simplified the tax system and cut down on corruption, and one of the signature achievements of his term was an overhaul of the country’s corporate bankruptcy system," it added.

"PM Modi led National Democratic Alliance's predicted margin of victory is much larger than surveys indicated in the run-up to the vote, when most polls showed it would be the largest alliance but would fall short of an overall majority," news agency Reuters said in its report.

"Although the BJP looks set to lose some seats in Uttar Pradesh, where two rival opposition parties have united to defeat it, Modi’s party looks likely to able to compensate for those losses, by making strong inroads into the states of West Bengal and Odisha, where it previously had limited support," Financial Times stated in its report.

The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting. Final result declaration is expected only by late evening. 

The initial trends by the Election Commission of the ruling party's leads were in sync with the exit polls, most of which predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would be on course to retain power for a second term.

In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats, leaving the Congress with an all-time low of 44 seats against the 206 it won in 2009.

Watch: Impact of early election trends on the Indian markets