The latest results reveal an unexpected blow to the Prime Minister, forcing negotiations with coalition partners to regain power.
Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost its parliamentary majority, dealing an unexpected blow to the prime minister and forcing him to negotiate with coalition partners in order to return to power.
With all votes counted early on Wednesday morning, it was clear that the predicted landslide for the BJP had not materialised. Instead, there had been a pushback against the strongman prime minister and his Hindu nationalist politics in swathes of the country.
The party lost 62 seats, bringing its total down to 240, below the 272 required for a parliamentary majority.
It is the first time since Modi was elected in 2014 that the BJP has not won a clear majority on its own. Nonetheless, together with its political allies, known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), its win amounts to about 292 seats, which is enough to form a majority government to rule for the next five years and return Modi to office for a third term.
Meanwhile, the opposition alliance, which goes by the acronym INDIA, far outperformed expectations, collectively winning more than 230 seats. The alliance, formed of more than 20 national and regional opposition parties, had come together for the first time in this election with the aim of defeating Modi.
Despite the tight race, Modi insisted he had been given a mandate to lead again in a victory speech. Addressing voters at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Modi said he was “very, very happy today.”
“I would like to bow down before the people of the country,” said Modi. “Today is an emotional moment for me personally as well. This was my first election after I lost my mother.”
“The blessings of the people for the third time after 10 years boosts our morale, gives new strength. Our opponents, despite being united, could not even win as many seats as BJP won.”
BJP officials were insistent it would form the next government and denied any setback, emphasizing that their party had won more seats than any other.
“The NDA will form the government for the third time. Prime Minister Modi will be sworn-in for the third time. Congress will sit in opposition for the third time,” said Jaiveer Shergill, a spokesperson for the BJP. He added that “introspection” would be done within the parties about their losses.
The INDIA coalition proved more resilient and successful than many analysts had expected, despite grappling with state agencies freezing party funds and jailing opposition leaders in the buildup to the polls. They were particularly boosted by regional parties who far outperformed the BJP, such as the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party in Tamil Nadu.
“We have to credit the opposition alliance for being more politically and electorally savvy than it might have been given credit for,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Centre’s South Asia Institute. “So many had left the opposition for dead and had not expected it to be able to capitalize on a number of BJP vulnerabilities in the last few years, whether that’s economic stress or pushback against Hindu nationalism. But instead, they’ve done pretty well.”
Analysts said the results would have significant implications for India’s political landscape after the polls. Since he was elected a decade ago, Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP have enjoyed a powerful mandate, while the opposition has been seen as weak and unable to stand up to the might of the party. Modi is seen as a popular strongman prime minister and stands accused of overseeing increased authoritarianism and a crackdown on dissent over his decade in office.
Maya Tudor, associate professor at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government, said: “Particularly in the Hindi heartland, which is the BJP’s core base, voters have not delivered the expected Modi wave. So relative to expectations, you can read this as a loss for the BJP.”
The results were a particular triumph for the country’s beleaguered main opposition party and the BJP’s main rival, the Indian National Congress, which dramatically lost the previous two elections to Modi and was facing questions about its future as a party. This time, it appeared the Congress party had more than doubled its seats.
