India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) shows a victory sign as he arrives at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters to celebrate the party’s victory in the general election, in New Delhi on June 4, 2024.
Arun Sankar | Afp | Getty Images
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared victory in the country late Tuesday, even though his party lost its absolute majority after a disappointing election and he had to rely on smaller regional parties to form a government.
Completed vote counts showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won just 240 seats – down from 303 in 2019 – and had to seek power-sharing arrangements to secure a historic third term in power.
According to local media, the broader BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to win a total of 292 parliamentary seats. At least 272 seats are required to form a government.
“People have put their trust in the NDA for the third time in a row! This is a historic achievement in the history of India,” Modi said on X as the count neared completion.
He followed those words with a speech at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi in which he said that “today’s victory is the victory of the world’s largest democracy,” according to an Associated Press translation.
Modi reportedly said in March that he was confident that the NDA would secure more than 400 seats.
Modi reportedly told the crowd he would boost India’s defense production, create jobs for young adults and boost exports. “This country will experience a new chapter of great decisions. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said, according to the AP.
India’s benchmark indices Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex plunged as much as 8% on Tuesday as it became clear that the BJP could fall short of a majority.
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—Charmaine Jacob of CNBC contributed to this article.
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2024-06-05 06:21:37
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