Narendra Modi is set to meet with his allies today to discuss forming the next government, following a surprisingly close election in which his Hindu nationalist party lost its outright majority in parliament.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 240 seats in the general election, falling 32 seats short of the 272 needed for a majority in the 543-member lower house, according to official results announced late yesterday. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, won a total of 293 seats, surpassing the majority mark.
The opposition INDIA alliance, spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi’s centrist Congress party, achieved an impressive 230 seats, significantly more than anticipated. Congress alone secured 99 seats, nearly double the 52 it won in 2019. This unexpected surge has bolstered Gandhi’s standing, and the alliance is currently deliberating its next steps without conceding defeat.
The role of kingmaker for the next government now falls to two of the BJP’s key allies, Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu. Their parties, Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party, hold 12 and 16 seats respectively.
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