NEW Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party were off to an early lead as vote-counting began Thursday following the conclusion of the country’s six-week general election, sending the stock market soaring in anticipation of another five-year term for the Hindu nationalist leader.

Election Commission data at midmorning showed the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in contests for 294 out of 542 seats, with its main rival, the Indian National Congress, ahead in 50 contests. The data didn’t indicate what percentage of the estimated 600 million votes had been counted.

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