Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared victory in the 2024 general election on Tuesday night, but will begin his third term with Congress support drastically reduced after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fared much worse than expected.
Because the BJP has lost its majority, Prime Minister Modi will likely need to form a coalition government with smaller parties to stay in power.
The BJP has already prepared such a coalition, which it has named the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The BJP and its alliance partners won a combined 292 seats, 20 more than the minimum needed to form a government.
“The people have placed their faith in the NDA for the third time in a row! This is a historic achievement in the history of India!” Modi Declaredput as bright a light as possible on a bleak election result. He predicted before the election that the NDA would win over 400 seats. He actually included this prediction in his campaign slogan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrates election results day with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Whatever other disappointments, Modi can rightfully claim to have made history by becoming the first prime minister since independent India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to win a third term, while the BJP lost 50 seats, losing its majority for the first time since 2014.
Prime Minister Modi declared this election a victory for “the world’s greatest democracy,” and that is no exaggeration. Began The program will run for six weeks in April in seven phases. Conclusion Saturday.
About 642 million votes were counted on Tuesday, some of them from a vast area that is difficult to access: Poll workers have to walk to remote villages carrying ballot papers and voting machines. Millions turned out to vote despite harsh weather. Unlike other democracies, India can usually count all its votes in a single day.
The long drawn out election has been a rollercoaster ride for the BJP, at some points it seemed to be winning in a landslide victory, while at other points it seemed to be on the brink of losing power.
Controversy Erupted Modi and other BJP leaders have capitalized on their Hindu nationalist base. Accused Modi accused India of “blatantly targeting” its Muslim minority with hate speech. The tribal Christian state of Manipur Accused Prime Minister Modi has sided with the Hindu majority and persecuted them, Kicked out The BJP appointed two lawmakers from the opposition Indian National Congress party to represent the party in Parliament.
“This is the voice of people who love their country, who are outraged by the suffering and tragedies we have experienced over the past year,” said A Bimol Akoyjam, one of the Congress candidates who won from Manipur state.
“In normal times, we would have won. Emotions and feelings were still running high which boiled over and led to anti-votes against the BJP,” a spokesman for Modi’s party acknowledged.
Manipur remains unstable and initial attempts to get voters to vote in many constituencies are DiscardedArmed gangs prevented voters from casting their ballots and damaged voting machines. The Indian military has been deployed in various parts of the country to ensure the safe voting process. Remained in position Polling stations were closed on Wednesday to prevent any violence following the announcement of the results.
The BBC deemed the election results a “personal blow” to Modi, shattering his “aura of invincibility” and energizing the opposition. The main opposition, the Indian National Congress Party, or INC, leads a coalition government along with the BJP. The opposition coalition of India is Winner The BJP won a total of 232 seats, putting its de facto leader, Rahul Gandhi, at Modi’s equal in status, and the BJP and its allies can look forward to further upsets in five key state elections over the next year.
FILE/Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the audience during the swearing-in ceremony of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel (L) in Gandhinagar, India, Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
“The BJP’s significant fall in seats may be linked to unemployment, rising prices, widening inequality and controversial military recruitment reforms. Modi’s harsh and divisive election campaign, which particularly targeted Muslims, may also have alienated voters in some regions,” the BBC speculated.
The BBC defended Modi, saying Indian politics is often “chaotic” and that the BJP’s 10-year majority is unusual. A humbled BJP forming coalitions with wayward allies is pretty close to “politics as usual” for the Indian government.
Political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta said: Indian Express It is called He called Wednesday’s 2024 elections a “great moment” because “for now at least, the atmosphere of despondency, the suffocating shadow of authoritarianism and the nauseating winds of communalism have shifted.”
Mehta, who is clearly no supporter of Modi, saw the election as a “fundamental realignment of Indian politics” because the BJP’s “unchecked rule” had ended, Modi had been “tried by the people” and India once again had a “highly competitive political system” with “checks and balances and accountability”.
“This election was fought in part around the themes of crisis for democracy, deterioration of institutions and risks to the constitution. A more balanced political system also creates the potential for institutional renewal,” Mehta wrote.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter holds a placard of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election campaign in Chennai, India, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Photo by AP)
of Indian Express The columnist noted that voters still have confidence in Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party when it comes to the economy and seem to prefer growth to a stagnant welfare state, and also issued a warning to the Indian National Congress and its Indian coalition.
Kyodo News I got it. Modi has led India to become the world’s fifth-largest economy from 10th in the world, an achievement most Indians are proud of, but the BJP has lost support “as the gap between rich and poor has widened in a rapidly growing economy.”
“We fought the election on the basis of unemployment, inflation and attacking the system. The people rallied behind our issues,” said Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Indian National Congress party.
In the headquarters of China, India’s regional rival across the border, the state-run Global Times sour Predicted “A significant improvement in relations between China and India is unlikely,” because a chastened Prime Minister Modi “is likely to play the nationalism card.”
“After reelection, Prime Minister Modi is likely to adopt a tougher and more aggressive foreign policy, but we are unlikely to see any major changes in China-India relations,” he said. Global Times “The expert” said.
