Narendra Modi gets historic third term

Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the election for a third time on Tuesday. This time round, Modi leads a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. In 2014 and in 2019, Modi was in a comfortable position when the BJP had a simple majority when it had won 283 and 303 seats. This time round it is leading in 240 seats, and along with its NDA partners the BJP has an unassailable 291 members.

So, Modi is set to become the prime minister for a third consecutive term, which is a historic record. The last time an Indian prime minister won a third consecutive term was Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister. It has to be remembered that despite a simple majority of its own, Modi and the BJP did not abandon the NDA. It was an NDA government with Modi as the prime minister that has governed India for the last 10 years.

The major shift that has occurred in this election is that India again has a coalition government because the major partners, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of Andhra Pradesh and Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, are crucial for the NDA government to remain in office. The expectation is that both the TDP and the JD (U) will remain stable partners of the BJP, and the NDA will finish its third term.

When the seven-phase election began in the first week of April, the BJP’s aim was to win 370 seats on its own, and more than 400 along with its alliance partners. The BJP and NDA failed to get to the target. Similarly, the opposition alliance of INDIA, comprising Congress and others, said that it would win 295 seats and form the government. It failed to do so.

This was not a victory for any of the contesting parties as much as it is a victory of the voters. They seemed to have delivered a result where the ruling party’s strength has been curtailed, and the opposition has been given just enough numbers to remain a good opposition. The opposition was decimated in 2014 and 2019, and the BJP remained an unchallenged power. The situation has changed now. It is a little more balanced between the government and the opposition.

There is fierce debate among different sections as to who has won and who has lost. Some people think that the BJP has lost majority. But the BJP’s counter-argument is that it has been an NDA government for the last 10 years, and it will be an NDA government in the next five years. Congress has barely managed to improve its tally from 52 in 2019 to 99 in this election. Congress had 44 seats in the 2014 election. So, the main opposition party has only recovered partially. It cannot claim to have won. The BJP has lost its majority, and the Congress has just improved its tally.

It shows that India remains a strong democracy, where people control the destinies of parties and leaders. And the Indian voter does seem to do it without any conscious strategy.

The people voted differently across the country, but it seems to carry a hidden message, that of a balanced polity between the different parties. It showed that no party can have a monopoly over power.  It is the best safeguard in a democracy. The dominance of a single party in India has been a common feature. In the first five elections from 1952 to 1971, Congress was the dominant party. The BJP enjoyed a similar privilege from 2014 to 2024. It is different this time. It is a coalition government led by the BJP.