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NEW DELHI.- The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, This Tuesday he came across less support than expected in the elections of the largest democracy in the world, which gave it a renewed parliamentary majoritybut reduced thanks to the support received by the oppositionwho campaigned against the president’s disparate economic record and his divisive politics, according to early numbers.
There were still broad expectations that Modi gets a third five-year term in the largest democratic exercise in the world, but initial data showed that his Hindu nationalist party might not get a majority on its own, despite previous forecasts of a landslide victory.
For his part, the nationalist prime minister claimed his third victory in the legislative elections and called it a “historical fact.”
“The people reposed their trust in the NDA [Alianza Democrática Nacional, por sus siglas en inglés] for the third time in a row,” Modi declared on social network X, referring to his coalition. “It is a historic event in India,” he highlighted.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies would obtain 286 of the 543 seats in the Lower House of Parliament, below the 353 obtained in the 2019 elections. If the trend continues it would be a hard blow for the 73-year-old leader, which has never needed its coalition partners to govern. The BJP would alone acquire 238 seats, well below the 303 collected in the last elections and an insufficient number to achieve the majority of 272 alone.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party, Indian National Congress, seems aimed at almost double its number of seats with 99 legislators, from 52 in the outgoing Parliament.
“The BJP failed to win a large majority on its own. It is a moral defeat for them,” opposition lawmaker Rajeev Shukla told reporters.
In his 10 years in power, Modi has transformed the Indian political landscape. He has made the Hindu nationalism, once a minority current in India, becomes a mainstreamalthough that has deeply divided the country.
His supporters see him as a strong leader who has improved India’s standing in the world and credit his pro-business policies for making India the fifth largest economy in the world. Modi’s critics and rivals say his policy of prioritizing Hinduism fostered intolerance, and that the economy has become more unequal, while they maintain their concerns for the rights of religious minorities.
A total of 642 million people participated in these elections divided into seven phases throughout six weeks, faced with the logistical challenge of organizing an election in the most populous nation in the world.
The Indian markets, which had reached an all-time high on Monday, closed with heavy losses on Tuesday, with benchmark indices NIFTY 50 and BSE Sensex falling over 5%.
In the financial capital, Mumbai, Mangesh Mahadeshwar was among those surprised by the result.
“Yesterday we thought that the BJP would get more than 400 seats”said Mahadeshwar, 52, who was following the results from the restaurant where he works. “Today it seems that that will not happen, people have not supported the BJP as much this time.”
If Modi wins, he would be the second Indian president to retain power for a third period, after Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s initial prime minister.
But if his BJP is forced to form a coalition, the party “is likely to be highly dependent on the goodwill of its allies, making them key players we can expect to take their toll, both in terms of legislation and government formation”said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“This would be truly uncharted territory, both for the Indians and the Prime Minister.”he added.
Since coming to power in 2014, the Modi’s BJP has always had a majority on its ownalthough he has governed in coalition.
On Tuesday, BJP workers performed a Hindu ritual outside the party headquarters in New Delhi before counting began. Meanwhile, Congress party supporters at the party headquarters seemed animated and chanted slogans praising Rahul Gandhiwho led the party’s campaign.
During his decade in government, Modi’s popularity has surpassed that of his party and has turned parliamentary elections into a process that increasingly resembles a presidential campaign. The result is that the BJP is increasingly reliant on Modi’s brand to stay in power, with local lawmakers taking a backseat even in state elections.
“Modi was not only the star of the campaign, but the only one in the campaign of these elections”said Yamini Aiyar, a public policy expert.
Modi’s critics say democracy is faltering under his rule, which increasingly employs stronger tactics to subdue political rivals, stifle independent media and crush dissent. The government has rejected those accusations and says democracy is flourishing.
Economic discontent has also grown during his tenure. Although the stock market is at record highs and the number of billionaires is multiplying, youth unemployment has skyrocketed and only a small portion of Indians are benefiting from economic growth.
When polls opened in mid-April, a confident BJP initially focused its campaign on “Modi guarantees,” highlighting the president’s economic and welfare achievements, which his party says have reduced poverty. In one rally after another, Modi claimed that with him at the helm, “India will become a developed nation by 2047.”
But the campaign became increasingly strident as Modi increased the divisive rhetoric against the Muslim minoritya strategy believed to mobilize his Hindu majority voter base.
At the weekend, Modi, convinced that he was going to win a resounding victory, said that “people in India voted in record numbers” for their government.
His opponents improved their electoral numbers despite the fact that they had to face judicial processes that they denounce as part of a political campaign by Modi against dissent.
However, the broad opposition alliance of more than a dozen political parties has been marked by ideological differences and defections, calling its effectiveness into question. The alliance also claims it has been unfairly persecuted, pointing to a series of police raids, arrests and corruption investigations against its leaders by federal agencies that they say are politically motivated. The government has denied it.
A Extreme heat hit India as voters headed to the polls, with temperatures soaring above 45 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. The heat subsided a little on Tuesday for the count, although the electoral authorities and political parties took precautions, such as bringing a large amount of water and installing outdoor air conditioning machines for the people waiting to know the results in front of the buildings where they were held. did the counting and at match venues.
AFP and AP Agencies
THE NATION
