NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
congratulated
Vladimir Putin
on his re-election as the
President
of
Russia
on Monday.
In post on X, PM Modi said he looks forward to working together to further strengthen the strategic partnership between India and Russia in the coming years.
"Warm congratulations to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation.
Look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come," the Prime Minister wrote.
Vladimir Putin re-elected
Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia's election on Sunday, cementing his grip on power though thousands of opponents staged a noon protest at polling stations and the United States said the vote was neither free nor fair.
While Putin's re-election was not in doubt given his control over Russia and the absence of any real challengers, the former KGB spy wanted to show that he has the overwhelming support of Russians. Nationwide turnout was 74.22% at 1800 GMT when polls closed, election officials said, surpassing 2018 levels of 67.5%.
Russia's longest-serving leader
The early result means Putin, 71, will easily secure a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
Putin won 87.8% of the vote, the highest ever result in Russia's post-Soviet history, according to an exit poll by pollster the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM). The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) put Putin on 87%. First official results indicated the polls were accurate.
The election comes just over two years since Putin triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War Two by ordering the invasion of Ukraine. He casts it as a "special military operation".
(With inputs from agencies)
English (US) ·