Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been formally elected as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition, a significant development in the country’s national electoral terrain. The 73-year-old leader, who will be sworn in as prime minister on Sunday for a rare third term, will now form a coalition government. The BJP, led by Modi, failed to win a majority on its own in the national election, despite being the single-largest party. The coalition, which consists of the BJP and its regional allies, won the most number of seats in the country’s 543-member lower house of parliament, securing 293 seats.
This marked a significant change in the political terrain, as the BJP has governed India as part of the NDA coalition over the past decade, but this is the first time under Modi’s leadership that the party has needed support from its regional allies to form a government. The NDA’s victory was largely attributed to the strong performance of its regional allies, particularly the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (United).
Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP has been in power for over a decade, and his third term will be his longest stint as prime minister. Despite the party’s failure to win a majority, Modi’s supporters hailed the coalition’s victory, with the party’s leader saying that the alliance reflected India’s spirit in its true sense. Modi also emphasized that the NDA government would continue to work towards the country’s development, stating that the alliance was “still and will be” an NDA government.
The opposition, led by the Congress party, put up a stronger-than-expected fight, defying predictions of decline by doubling its strength from the last election to win a total of 232 seats. This marked a significant turnaround for the Congress party, which has struggled to regain its footing in recent years. The party’s main campaigner, Rahul Gandhi, demanded a parliamentary investigation into what he called the “biggest stock market scam”, alleging that Modi and other top BJP ministers misled retail investors who ended up losing money.
Narendra Modi (Via Narendra Modi/Twitter)
The controversy surrounding the stock market scam is likely to dominate the political narrative in the coming days, with the opposition relentless in its criticism of the government’s handling of the situation. The BJP, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing, accusing Gandhi of trying to discourage investors. The controversy has also drawn in other prominent figures, including Home Minister Amit Shah, who said that the markets would surge when results were declared on June 4.
In the end, Modi’s ability to secure a third term as prime minister was largely due to his party’s strong performance in the election and the support of its regional allies. The NDA’s victory marked a significant shift in the country’s political terrain, as the party transitioned from being the dominant force in Indian politics to a coalition government dependent on support from its allies. As Modi prepares to take office for a third term, he will face significant challenges, including the need to address the opposition’s allegations of a ploy between the party and exit pollsters, and the ongoing opposition movement that has been gaining momentum in recent weeks.
