Varanasi, India (CNN) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on course to win a second term after polling in the world's biggest election came to a close on Sunday, initial exit polls suggest.

Most major exit polls, conducted by local media, put the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Modi, and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition as winning a clear majority when results are announced on May 23.

Modi's BJP has been fighting it out for the votes of 900 million people against the main opposition Congress Party, led by political scion Rahul Gandhi, and other big regional players, over the course of six weeks of polling.

A party needs to win 272 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament to form a government.

Electoral rules permit the publishing of national exit polls after voting ends on the final day of polling.

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