Election target clearly missed

India: Bittersweet victory for long-term Prime Minister Modi

Prime Minister Modi wanted to increase his party's parliamentary seats from around 300 to 400. Instead, things went significantly downhill. Nevertheless, it was enough to win the world's largest election.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Sajjad HUSSAIN)

In the parliamentary elections in India, the party of long-term Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lost its absolute majority after ten years. According to the final results on Wednesday, the BJP secured 240 of the 543 seats. However, it remains the strongest force and, together with its partners, has 292 seats.

This is sufficient to form a government. Modi is therefore likely to become only the second head of government in the history of the world's most populous country to rule for three consecutive terms. Only the very first prime minister after independence from Great Britain, Jawaharlal Nehru, had previously achieved this.

400 seats sought - only 240 obtained
In the previous election in 2019, the BJP had won 303 seats alone - significantly more than the majority of 272 seats required to govern. Before this election, Modi had set a target of increasing this majority to more than 400 seats. This mark was missed by a wide margin.

Opposition sniffs the morning air
Instead, the opposition camp, led by the social-liberal Congress Party, made surprising gains. The Congress Party almost doubled from 52 to 99 seats and remains the second strongest force. According to local media, its opposition alliance won 234 seats.

Six-week mega election
The election in the world's most populous democracy lasted more than six weeks. Almost one billion people were eligible to vote - more than the combined population of the European Union and the USA. More than 8000 candidates stood.