A historic third term for PM Modi

Despite the minor electoral setback, Mr Modi appears committed to his economic reform agenda and advancing India's international profile.

A HISTORIC NIGHT

The Tritiya (third day) crescent moon of the Shukla Paksha (waxing moon) was shining brightly in the clear Freshtha sky on June 9 above the Raisina Hills in New Delhi as Narendra Damodardas Modi, the Pradhan Mantri-elect of the Republic of Bharat, rose to take the oath of office and secrecy. It was a historic evening that "the much-maligned chainla," wrote one of my former JNU acharyas responding to my Facebook post, "took oath for the third time as the Prime Minister of the largest democracy. Gives you goosebumps!!!" It was indeed a historic day. A few days ago, on June 3rd night, most diaspora members were glued to their favourite streaming devices at home and numerous "watch parties." It was already June 4 morning in India, and the 2024 Lok Sabha election trends had started to trickle in. By midnight Chicago time, it became clear that belying the exit poll predictions of a sweep, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would not be able to reach the majority mark in the Lok Sabha (LS) on its own.

However, the victory of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was never in doubt. When the dust settled on the long, gruelling seven-phase elections, the NDA had won 293 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, ahead of the 272seat threshold mark to form a government. Both 2014 and 2019 were great election victories for Mr Modi, which normalized his supporters' expectations of a "huge" victory. However, in an increasingly competitive and diverse democracy like India, such victories are an anomaly, not a rule. After all, only despots and communist dictators consistently and unanimously "win" elections.