Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party has lost its absolute majority in parliament for the first time in ten years in India’s general elections.
Although Modi’s Bharatiya Janata (Indian People’s Party) (BJP) received the most votes, it will have to rely on its two coalition partners to form a government.
The BJP secured 240 of the 543 seats up for election, according to data released by the Election Commission on Wednesday after all votes were counted.
However, it remains the strongest force in parliament. Together with their coalition partners, the Hindu nationalists have 292 seats, according to local media analyses, with which they could form a government.
Modi is expected to become the country’s second head of government after Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to rule for three consecutive terms.
In the previous elections in 2019, the BJP won 303 seats on its own – significantly more than the 272-seat majority needed to govern.
Together with its allies, it had 353 seats five years ago, giving it a huge majority. Before these elections, Modi’s goal was to increase this majority to more than 400 seats. This overwhelming victory did not materialize.
Instead, the opposition camp led by the Congress Party made surprising gains. The Congress Party has almost doubled its number of seats compared to the last elections in 2019 – from 52 to 99 seats – and remains the second strongest force. According to local media, the opposition alliance won a total of 234 seats.
The elections in the world’s most populous democracy lasted more than six weeks. Nearly a billion people were eligible to vote – more than the combined population of the European Union and the US. There were more than 8,000 candidates.
