Modi Achieves a Triumph but Fails to Secure a Majority in a Stunning Indian Election Outcome

Despite claiming victory, PM Narendra Modi's BJP-led alliance fell short of a majority in India's elections, defying polls and facing a stronger-than-expected opposition showing.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his Hindu-nationalist party secured a third straight term in a mammoth parliamentary election. Still, in a shocking upset to nearly all the leading opinion polls, Modi’s alliance seems to have failed to achieve the absolute majority he had aimed for.

Addressing the supporters on Sunday, Modi expressed his gratitude to the voters and promised to carry on working on “the good work” done in the last ten years. But with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition winning only about 290 of the 543 directly elected seats to the parliament the BJP will require support from other parties to have an efficient governance.

This is a big blow to Modi who had envisaged achieving 400 seats and a two-thirds “super majority” that would enable his Hindu nationalist alliance to achieve fundamental reforms within the Indian constitution. However, the main opponents of the ruling coalition – the Congress party and its allies – reported a better result than expected and led in over 230 constituencies.

Rahul Gandhi the head of the Congress party which is the major opposition party said, “Modi and the BJP have been punished by voters” due to issues such as inflation, employment, and corruption during Modi’s regime. This is the first time that the prime minister may be forced to seek the support of the other NDA parties for the passage of his plans.

The results are a setback to Modi’s electoral perception of being unstoppable after nearly a decade of reformation and sometimes polarizing measures in the largest democracy of the world. While he remained safe in his seat, the BJP faced losses in other major states such as Uttar Pradesh.

Some of the problems that analysts recorded include economic pressures and aggressive campaign language used by Modi. Shares dropped more than 2% on Monday as investors uneasy over the developments.

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Still, counting is ongoing, and the composition of the next Indian parliament is yet to be decided. However, it is quite clear that Modi’s dominance has been weakened, thus, rejecting expectations of another overwhelming win in the election.