Popularity No Gauge for Winning Seats in India’s Elections

In the cut-throat election contest in India, political parties are focused on turning votes into winning seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and Rahul Gandhi’s main opposition Congress party are trying to raise vote shares -- the percentage of total votes polled -- in their favor as the country’s election moves into its final phase. In India’s first-past-the-post system, with a large number of contenders for each seat, the winner just needs to get enough votes to win.