AP PHOTOS: The world's largest election concludes in India

AP PHOTOS: The world’s largest election concludes in India

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FILE- A polling official puts indelible ink mark on the index finger of 89-year-old Rubi Paul, after she cast her vote at her residence using postal ballot, in Guwahati, India, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

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FILE- A man transports an electronic voting machine on a pony as election officials walk to a polling booth in a remote mountain area on the eve of the first round of voting at Dessa village in Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir, India, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

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FILE- A Deori tribal woman shows the indelible ink mark on her finger after casting her vote during the first round of polling of India’s national election in Jorhat, India, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

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FILE- A man rests as people queue up to vote during the second round of voting in the six-week-long national election near Palakkad, in Indian southern state of Kerala, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

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FILE- A child holding a balloon stands next to an adult casting his vote at a polling station during the first round of polling of India’s national election in Chennai, southern Tamil Nadu state, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

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FILE- People wait to cast their votes during the first round of voting of India’s national election in Behror, Rajasthan state, India, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

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FILE- Election officials carrying Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other polling material prepare to cross the river Brahmaputra to reach their polling booths on the eve of the third phase of India’s national elections at Garoimari village, outskirts of Guwahati, Assam, India, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

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FILE- Angami Nagas laugh as an elderly man reacts to the camera at a polling station in Chedema village, in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)

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FILE- A woman walks past a wall filled with campaign posters of various candidates contesting in India’s parliamentary elections at the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, southern Kerala state, Monday, April 22, 2024. The state goes to polls on April 26. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

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FILE- Polling officials prepare election material in candlelight at a polling station on the eve of the second phase of the national election in Morigaon district, about 77km (48 miles) from Guwahati, India, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

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FILE- People wait at a crossroad to cheer Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election campaign of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming national elections in Ghaziabad, India, April 6, 2024. (AP Photo/ Manish Swarup, File)

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FILE- A woman leaves after casting her vote at a polling booth during the second round of voting in the six-week-long national election in Nahal village near Meerut, in Uttar Pradesh, India, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

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Supporters of Aam Admi Party wait for the arrival of Sunita Kejriwal, wife of the jailed Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who conducted a roadshow ahead of the third round of polling in the six-week long national election in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

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FILE- Pigeons fly past a security person keeping vigil from the roof of a building during an election rally by Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)

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FILE- Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal greets his supporters from a vehicle during a roadshow in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

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FILE-A supporter of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) wears a t-shirt featuring photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he participates in a Vijay Visvas or faith in victory bike rally on the last day of campaign for the third phase of general elections, in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki,file)

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FILE-Supporters of National Democratic Alliance watch as their candidates arrive to file nomination papers ahead of national elections in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, file)

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FILE-Supporters of Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress shout slogans and wave flags at an election rally by Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) leaders Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh,file)

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FILE-People cross the Brahmaputra river in a boat to reach a polling booth during the second round of voting in the six-week-long national election in Morigaon district, Assam, India, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath,file)

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FILE-Giant cutouts of opposition political party leaders tower over supporters during a rally, on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Chennai, April 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri,file)

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FILE-A man shows the indelible ink mark on his finger after casting his vote during the fourth phase of India’s general election in Baba Nagri, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin, file)

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FILE-Supporters of Samajwadi Party rush toward a helicopter bringing party leader Akhilesh Yadav to the venue of an election rally by Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, file)

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FILE-M. K. Stalin, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party leader, speaks on a stage resembling the Indian parliament building during an election campaign rally on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Chennai, April 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri,file)

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FILE- A polling officer holds a voting compartment as an elderly person casts his vote sitting in his home, in New Delhi, India, Friday, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

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FILE- Supporters welcome Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party candidate Thamizhachi Thangapandian, riding an open-roofed tuk-tuk, during an election roadshow in Chennai, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, April 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

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Muslims check for their names in voters’ list as they arrive to vote in Nahal village, Uttar Pradesh state, India, on April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

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FILE- Purnima Boro, 30, a Bodo tribal woman in traditional attire riding a bicycle shows the indelible ink mark on her index finger as she returns after casting her vote during the third phase of general election on the outskirts of Guwahati, India, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

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FILE- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, shows the indelible ink mark on his index finger after casting his vote during the third phase of general elections, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, wearing saffron shawl is behind left. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)

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FILE- A Kashmiri boy watches from a window of his house an election campaign rally of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

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FILE-Indian paramilitary soldiers arrive in the rain to guard a venue for the distribution of Electronic Voting Machines and other election material in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Millions of Indians are voting to elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament during the six-week-long staggered elections running until June 1. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, file)

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FILE- Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) wear masks in the likeness of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow by Modi in Varanasi, India, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar, File)

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FILE- Policemen guard a strong room holding electronic voting machines and other polling material at a distribution centre on the eve of the sixth round of multi-phase national elections in New Delhi, India, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

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FILE- Muslim women wait to cast their vote in a polling station during the fifth round of multi-phase national elections in Mumbai, India, Monday, May 20, 2024.(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

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FILE-Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gather to greet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow in Varanasi, India, Monday, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar, file)

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FILE-Polling officials wait to receive electronic voting machines and other polling material at a distribution centre on the eve of the sixth round of multi-phase national elections in New Delhi, India, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, file)

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FILE- Polling officials carry electronic voting machines at a distribution center to their respective polling booths on the eve of the sixth round of multi-phase national elections in New Delhi, India, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

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FILE-Muslims stand in queues to cast their votes in the seventh and final phase of national elections, in Varanasi, India, Saturday, June 1, 2024. Indians began voting Saturday in the last round of a six-week-long national election that is a referendum on Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decade in power. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, file)

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FILE-A woman shows her index fingers marked with an indelible ink as she poses for a photograph next to a cutout portrait of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after casting her vote in the seventh and final phase of India’s national elections, in Varanasi, India, Saturday, June 1, 2024. Indians began voting Saturday in the last round of a six-week-long national election that is a referendum on Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decade in power. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh,file)

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FILE-West Bengal state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, front, hand raised, with supporters of Trinamool Congress Party walks during a road show ahead of seventh and last phase of election in Kolkata, India, Thursday, May 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das, file)

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FILE-Nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Saint Teresa, stand in queue to cast their votes during the last round of a six-week-long national election, in Kolkata, India, Saturday, June 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das, file)

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FILE-Electronic voting machine and other materials are kept in a school classroom turned into a polling booth on the eve of the sixth round of multi-phase national elections in New Delhi, India, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup,file)

NEW DELHI (AP) — Votes will be counted Tuesday in India’s 6-week-long election. The world’s largest election could also be one of its most consequential. Voters are choosing 543 members for the lower house of Parliament in the election that pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, against a broad alliance of opposition parties that are struggling to play catch up.

Votes were cast in seven phases across multiple states in staggered polling that enabled the movement of election officials and voting machines as well as tens of thousands of troops to prevent violence. Candidates crisscrossed the country, poll workers hiked to remote villages, and voters lined up for hours in sweltering heat.

Millions of Indians waited anxiously as the election authority prepared to count the votes.

Supporters of Modi and his party were already in a celebratory mood with exit polls predicting a massive win and a third term as India’s leader.

India’s Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said 642 million voters exercising their right in India was a world record.

“It’s a miracle,” Kumar said.