By Arul Louis
New York, May 24 (IANS) The US is confident about the “fairness and integrity” of the Indian elections that was won by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.
Calling the polls “a marvel of logistics and planning with 900 million people, an eighth of the world’s population, eligible to vote”, she told reporters in Washington on Thursday: “We applaud the high turnout, estimated at around 66 per cent or roughly 600 million people, and the government of India for their excellent execution of this incredible event.”
“We’re confident in the fairness and the integrity of the Indian elections.”
She offered congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Democratic Alliance “on their decisive victory”.
On Modi’s second term, she said: “The US looks forward to working with the newly elected government to continue to accelerate our strategic partnership, which includes cooperation on a range of critical issues, such as counterterrorism and ensuring a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
“They are a crucial partner for us on many areas, especially counter-terrorism.”
(Arul Louis can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @arulouis)
–IANS
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