India's Election Leaves Modi With A Diminished Mandate

Narendra Modi's apparent failure to win an outright majority in India's general election will spark conflict within his party and limit his mandate to carry out sweeping reforms in a historic third consecutive term.

- ALISHA RAHAMAN SARKAR

Modi is still set to return as prime minister, but will need the support of coalition members in his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) bloc to do so, a stunning development that defies most analysts’ expectations and every exit poll released after voting closed in the general election on Saturday.

As of yesterday evening, Modi’s BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] was leading in 245 seats, well short of the 272 needed for a majority. His NDA coalition as a whole was ahead in 295 constituencies, while the opposition INDIA alliance was leading in a remarkable 232 seats. Some exit polls had predicted that INDIA would win as few as 120.

Modi boasted on the campaign trail that his NDA would win a third landslide and as many as 400 seats in the 543-seat lower house of parliament. His opponents and critics feared what would happen if he were given such a mandate, including the prospect that he could change India’s secular constitution and declare it a Hindu country. Modi denied having any plans to do so, but opposition leader Rahul Gandhi declared yesterday evening that voters had “fought to save the Indian constitution”.

Whether or not such a change was truly on the cards, Modi had promised that some major reforms would come in his first 100 days after winning the election. “My plan for the first 100 days after the result is ready, and I won’t waste a single day,” the prime minister repeatedly said during election rallies and scripted TV interviews.

Some of the BJP’s most eye-catching plans included a uniform civil code, essentially forcing the country’s many communities to bring their customs closer in line with the Hindu majority, and a national register of citizens, which critics said could see many Indian Muslims without proper documentation branded illegal immigrants.