Narendra Modi wins India elections, but his party could lose absolute majority
A victory which is far from being a triumph. This could be the summary of the results (not yet final) of the Indian legislative elections, which should confirm Narenda Modi for the third time at the head of the most populous country in the world.
Indeed, the latest projections give his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “less than the 272 deputies necessary to have a majority alone in parliament”, as was the case until now. Therefore, Modi “will need members of its alliance to form a government”, details the British media BBC.
The BJP is part of a right-wing coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which should obtain this absolute majority. The NDA has already governed the country since the 2014 elections, although after the 2014 and 2019 elections, the BJP alone had enough MPs to have an absolute majority.
From now on, Modi will mathematically need his allies to govern. A change of size, estimated The Hindu, according to whom “the BJP and the Prime Minister could now adopt a more conciliatory stance“, and even “more centrist” according to political science expert Ashwani Kumar, interviewed by this center-left newspaper.
“A rare setback for this serial winner”
Obviously, the first results of the Indian elections were also widely commented on outside Indian borders, like the Washington Post, who speaks for the BJP “results that are unlikely to live up to those of 2014, when Modi came to power on a wave of national anger against corruption, or 2019, when he was buoyed by nationalist sentiment in the wake of a border conflict with Pakistan”.
The current scores are all the more disappointing, continues the American media, because, “during the run-up to the elections, Modi and his allies had shown absolute confidence, as the BJP leaders had pledged to win 400 seats”. Thus, concludes the American newspaper, if these results were confirmed, they would represent “a rare setback for a politician who, in his 23-year political career, has cultivated an image of a strong, popular man and serial winner”.
“A victory for the largest democracy in the world”
An image of a winner, this is what Narenda Modi still wanted to convey during his victory speech which he already delivered on June 4, and whose information site CNN relays the most significant extracts.
“Today is a glorious day…The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form the government for the third time, we are grateful to the people, said the Indian Prime Minister. This is a victory for the world’s greatest democracy. This is a victory for the country’s loyalty to the constitution, a victory for India’s 1.4 billion people.”
