Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Party Comfortably Leads in Early Results from India's Election

FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses supporters during an election campaign rally, in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses supporters during an election campaign rally, in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Party Comfortably Leads in Early Results from India's Election

FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses supporters during an election campaign rally, in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses supporters during an election campaign rally, in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo

Early leads reported Tuesday by India’s Election Commission show incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party comfortably ahead over its closest rival.
Three hours into counting, Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP was ahead in 239 constituencies out of 542 parliamentary seats, and has already won one in an uncontested race, The Associated Press said.
The main opposition Congress party was leading in 96 constituencies.
The Election Commission does not release data on the percentage of votes tallied, but counting is expected to go on through the day. A total of some 642 million votes are being counted in the world’s largest democratic exercise.
Modi’s party is part of the National Democratic Alliance, whose parties were leading in 286 constituencies according to the early count. The Congress party is part of the INDIA alliance, which was leading in 197 constituencies.
A total of 272 seats are needed for a majority in parliament.



Ukraine Downs a Russian Warplane and Russia Claims Gains in the East

Ukrainian service members inspect parts of a Russian aerial vehicle, which local authorities assume to be a newest heavy unmanned aerial vehicle S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) or variation of Sukhoi fighting jet, is seen in residential area of the town of Kostiantynivka after it was shot down, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine October 5, 2024. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko via Reuters)
Ukrainian service members inspect parts of a Russian aerial vehicle, which local authorities assume to be a newest heavy unmanned aerial vehicle S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) or variation of Sukhoi fighting jet, is seen in residential area of the town of Kostiantynivka after it was shot down, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine October 5, 2024. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko via Reuters)
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Ukraine Downs a Russian Warplane and Russia Claims Gains in the East

Ukrainian service members inspect parts of a Russian aerial vehicle, which local authorities assume to be a newest heavy unmanned aerial vehicle S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) or variation of Sukhoi fighting jet, is seen in residential area of the town of Kostiantynivka after it was shot down, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine October 5, 2024. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko via Reuters)
Ukrainian service members inspect parts of a Russian aerial vehicle, which local authorities assume to be a newest heavy unmanned aerial vehicle S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) or variation of Sukhoi fighting jet, is seen in residential area of the town of Kostiantynivka after it was shot down, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine October 5, 2024. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko via Reuters)

Ukrainian forces said they shot down a Russian fighter plane on Saturday while Russia claimed it made gains in Ukraine’s east.

The Russian bomber was shot down near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk province, head of the Kostiantynivka Military Administration Serhiy Horbunov was quoted as saying by Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne. Photos showed charred remains of an aircraft after it landed on a house that caught fire.

Also in the partially occupied Donetsk province, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that it had taken control of the village of Zhelanne Druhe.

If confirmed, the capture would come three days after Ukrainian forces said they were withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, some 33 kilometers (21 miles) from Zhelanne Druhe, following a hard-fought two-year defense.

Although unlikely to change the course of the war, the loss of Vuhledar is indicative of Kyiv’s worsening position, in part the result of Washington's refusal to grant Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russian territory and preventing Kyiv from degrading Moscow’s capabilities.

Meanwhile, two people died in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.

Ukraine’s air force said that Russia had launched three guided missiles and 13 attack drones at Ukraine overnight into Saturday. It said the missiles were intercepted, three drones were shot down over the Odesa region and 10 others were lost.

Nine people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger bus in the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, the city’s Russian-installed Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones overnight in three border regions, including seven over the Belgorod region, two over the Kursk region, and one over the Voronezh region.