NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated on Wednesday his election win and historic third term, but the victory was bittersweet as his Bharatiya Janata Party lost its absolute majority in parliament for the first time in 10 years.
India’s seven-phase election began on April 19 and ended on Saturday, with 642 million people casting their ballots to choose 543 members of Lok Sabha, the lower house.
Modi was targeting 400 seats for the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP, but on Tuesday evening election officials counted the votes and the result was nowhere close. While the alliance crossed the halfway mark of 272 to form the government, it did so only by 11 seats.
The Hindu nationalist BJP emerged as the alliance’s single largest party but with 240 seats it did not win a majority on its own. While Modi is only the second Indian prime minister — after Jawaharlal Nehru — to succeed in three consecutive polls, he will be reliant on coalition partners to keep him in government.
Two other members of the alliance, the Telugu Desam Party — a player in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh — and the Janata Dal (United) party from the eastern state of Bihar, pledged their support on Wednesday.
According to observers, Modi’s dependence on coalition members is likely to bring change to Indian politics after 10 years of one-party rule.
“Political parties will be more demanding, making this government more accountable,” analyst and political editor Sanjay Kapoor told Arab News.
“In the past 10 years we had one party with absolute majority running the affairs of the state … with this election, with the BJP falling short of majority, many things will change.”
Umakant Lakhera, a political commentator, doubts the coalition will last, given that the leaders of TDP and JD are not BJP’s natural allies.
“They are not ideological friends. They are known to change sides,” he said. “Keeping this in mind, Modi’s third term looks shaky and it would be an unstable government.”
Some voters are also expecting turbulence.
“I’m a bit unsure that there will be any stability in the coming few years. I think from the power struggles, governments could change, collapse and that is obviously not good for us,” said Yash Charan, a law student in Delhi.
But he said it was interesting to watch the changing dynamics and the opposition’s return to the political scene after a decade-long lull.
“I think it’s quite significant in our political history. I think it’s good to have a strong opposition, having more representation, having more voices in parliament.”
Modi was challenged by an alliance of two dozen opposition parties — the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance — led by the Congress Party, which ruled the country for close to 45 years following its independence in 1947.
Congress plunged to a historic low when it was swept out of power by the BJP in 2014 and won its second-lowest number of seats, 52, in 2019. In 2024, the party won 99 of the 223 seats secured by the India alliance.
For Vamika Kapoor, 21, who was among the 18 million first-time voters, Congress’ significant presence in the new parliament was a landmark development.
“It reflected that the opposition can actually unite and put up a bold front and the people are not powerless, so it’s a democracy. I think it kept the spirit of democracy,” she said.
“I think everyone knew what the result would be, it was pretty obvious, but nobody expected such a massive landslide for the opposition this time. And it is in contrast to the last two elections.”
Modi is expected to be sworn in on Saturday.
His followers expect his third term to be defined by policies of development and making India more visible on the international scene.
“Consistency, actions against corruption and betterment of institutions to push India’s developmental march (are a) priority of Modi in the third term,” BJP spokesperson Sudesh Verma told Arab News.
Modi has been credited with using India’s presidency of the Group of 20 largest economies in 2023 as a platform to promote the country’s foreign policy goals, culture and investment opportunities.
It was also during his last term that India’s space exploration program reached several milestones making it an emerging superpower in the industry.
Hitesh Shankar, editor of the Hindu magazine Panchjanya, said: “His reelection means that India’s significance in the international arena will increase further. He has helped India get a new identity on the international front and his third term furthers India’s image.
“Be it a coalition government or not, Modi’s imprint will always be there in the government. He is a mature politician … I don’t think Modi will face any problems in running the government as many are fearing. Modi can handle all the situations quite well.”
