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India on Monday concluded its ninth and final phase of the Lok Sabha election with a record high turnout of over 66 percent throughout the polling for over a month, said election officials and media report.
Some 40 million voters turned out to vote on Monday in some 40 constituencies in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern states of Bihar and West Bengal.
The Bhratiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi contested in the holy city of Varanasi, which also was fought by anti-graft Aam Admi Party chief Arwin Kejriwal.
The Election Commission said in the afternoon the balloting ended in the final phase, marking the culmination of over five weeks of electoral process during which more than 500 million voters participated in the polling in what is described as "Dance of Democracy" by the local media.
The turn out rate in the current general election was higher than the 1984 election which elected Rajiv Gandhi to power after the assassination of his mother, Indira Gandhi.
The elections were generally peaceful except a few attacks by leftwing rebels which left some 15 policemen and election officials dead last month in rebel-infested remote areas in central and eastern India. Also a number of people were injured in clashes during voting in the eastern state of West Bengal Monday.
Exit polls are expected to be broadcast by local TV channels later Monday, while official results will be announced on Friday.
Indian stocks welcomed the conclusion of the polling by soaring to record high, with the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex closing gaining over 550 points or nearly 2.5 percent intra- day trade. The Indian rupee also rose against the dollar to some 59 level in a positive sign of receiving the election results.
