There was never really any serious doubt that India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, would win a historic third term in power. The bigger question in the Indian election was how big his victory would be.
There were widespread predictions that Modi would win by a landslide, with the prime minister himself setting an ambitious goal of winning 400 of the total 543 seats up for grabs. It hasn’t quite turned out that way. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) is on course to be the largest party, but is falling well short of the 272 required for an absolute majority. This means the BJP will be reliant on other parties that make up the National Democratic Alliance to form a government. The Congress-led opposition alliance, known as INDIA – which was widely written off during the campaign – has exceeded all expectations and is set to nearly double its parliamentary seats.
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