Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on course Wednesday to secure a third straight term as leader of the world’s largest democracy, but to stay in power he will now have to rely on his coalition partners – a situation that is likely domestic reform agenda. while leaving his foreign policy objectives intact.
After six weeks of elections that saw a record 642 million voters go to the polls, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost its majority in the 545-seat Lok Sabha – the lower house of parliament – after defeats in key states. to an opposition coalition that performed better than expected and responded to voters’ key concerns.
Although the BJP still emerged as the biggest winner, it won only 240 of the 272 seats needed for a majority – well short of the 2014 and 2019 election results.
