Indian voters surprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership with an unexpected rejection. Tuesday’s election results showed that his Hindu nationalist party was unable to secure a majority in Parliament, shattering the aura of invincibility enjoyed by India’s most dominant politician in decades.
Although Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party took first place and is still in a good position to form a government with its allies in the coming days, the performance of the BJP cannot be compared to that of 2014, when Modi came to power amid a wave of national anger over… Corruption, nor with what happened in 2019, when it was fueled by nationalist sentiment after a border clash with Pakistan.
The surprise result sparked wild celebrations among India’s opposition parties and represented an unusual setback for a politician who had never failed to win a majority in a state or national election in a 23-year political career.
As prime minister over the past decade, Modi has successfully cultivated the image of a popular leader and proven winner, and most political analysts expected him to easily once again overcome India’s weak, underfunded opposition parties.
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