Modi’s weaker-than-expected election win raises questions over his economic and political agenda

The election outcome in India has turned out to be a huge political blow for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling party, and has significant implications on how he intends to govern the country, observers say.  

Modi did not get the landslide victory that was widely predicted by exit polls ahead of results. Instead, he will enter his third term with a much-weaker mandate than initially anticipated.

His Bharatiya Janata Party lost dozens of seats bringing its projected total down to 240 — falling short of an outright majority in the country’s lower house of parliament.

It was a marked difference from the sweeping mandates of 2014 and 2019, when the BJP garnered 282 and 303 seats respectively, achieving a majority on its own.