Poll results showed the victory of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), exit polls suggested.
The BJP and the main opposition Congress party battled it out with powerful regional rivals in a bruising campaign over seven phases of polling. Any party need 272 seats to form the government.
Results will be announced on 23 May. Analysts warn exit polls have often been wrong in the past.
Many saw the election as a referendum on Mr Modi who won a landslide in 2014.
What are the exit polls saying?
Four exit polls saw big wins for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), predicting that it would win anywhere between 280 and 315 seats, far more than the Congress party.
However, a Nielsen-ABP news channel poll suggested that the BJP alliance would win 267 seats, falling short of a majority.
This prediction comes despite its projection that the party would lose heavily in the bellwether state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to parliament, more than any other.
In 2014 the BJP won 71 of the state’s seats, and the poll suggests it will lose as many as 51 of those seats to powerful regional parties.