Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his alliance’s victory in the Indian general election, according to AP News.
He claimed a mandate to push his programme, although his party lost ground to a stronger-than-expected opposition. It opposed his controversial economic course and polarising policies.
Today’s victory is the victory of the world’s largest democracy.
Modi told his party’s headquarters on Tuesday that Indian voters had “shown immense faith” in both his party and his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition.
Official results from the Indian Election Commission on Wednesday showed that the NDA won 294 seats. This is more than the 272 seats needed to win a majority, but still far less than expected. For the first time since its Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own. In 2019, it managed to win a record 303 seats.
The Congress Party won 99 seats, improving its result from 52 in the 2019 elections. The Samajwadi Party also secured 37 seats in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, a major disappointment for the BJP. Meanwhile, the All India Trinamool Congress won 29 seats in the state of West Bengal and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam gained 22 seats in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The opposition INDIA coalition won a total of 232 seats. Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated:
At the very least, the result pricks the bubble Prime Minister Modi’s authority. He made this election about himself. Today, he is just another politician, cut to size by the people.
Pledges and criticism
Over 640 million votes were cast in the six-week Indian general election. Modi pledged to fulfil his election promise to turn India’s economy into the world’s third largest from its current fifth place. He also stated that he would boost India’s defence production, increase jobs for the youth, increase exports and help farmers.
This country will see a new chapter of big decisions. This is Modi’s guarantee.
However, critics say that under the Modi government, India’s democracy is facing growing strain due to an alleged crackdown on political opponents, pressure on independent media and suppression of dissent. The government rejected such accusations, claiming that democracy was flourishing.
