Modi is declared winner of India's elections with a bigger victory than expected | International

On Tuesday evening around nine o'clock local time, Narendra Modi declared himself the winner of the elections in India. Although the investigation is not over yet, the coalition led by his party, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), appears to have succeeded retain the majority the largest general election in the world. The situation puts the 73-year-old leader of the Hindu nationalist formation one step away from securing a historic third term at the head of the world's most populous country, with almost 80% of the total seats already counted and awarded . However, the victory has a certain bittersweet aftertaste for the leader after the BJP suffered an electoral blow that neither the projections nor the exit polls expected. For the first time, Modi will have to deal with the fact that his party has not only won half plus one of the seats in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of parliament, which will be responsible for investing in him), as in the previous two terms of office, which requires him to find a political balance with his government partners.

The opposition alternative, an alliance of more than twenty parties led by the Congress Party (PdC), with Rahul Gandhi at the helm, has managed to take on the BJP for the first time in a decade, even if that were the case. no longer have any real opportunities to form an Executive.

With the figures still on the table for the time being, says the current Prime Minister would secure India's leadership for the third time in a row, which puts him on the same level as Jawaharlal Nehru, the first head of government after independence. However, his mandate for the next five years would be subject to the erratic, fluid and unstable friendships of Indian politics, and to increased scrutiny from a strengthened opposition. To some extent, the decline in voters indicates the exhaustion of the Modi era. But it also underlines the lasting impact of a leader who will go down in Indian history. Under his leadership, the country has gained influence on the international stage, surpassing the United Kingdom in terms of GDP to become the fifth largest economy in the world. By the end of this term, Modi wants to place India in third place, behind only the United States and China. But on the other side of the balance is the growing concern of international organizations and institutions about the deterioration of democratic standards, declining respect for rights and freedoms, and increasing intimidation of the opposition, minorities and critical voices.

The National Democratic Alliance, led by the ruling BJP, is expected to have won 291 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha, 52 seats less than the 2019 result, according to media projections of votes counted. India today around 10pm in Delhi (6:30pm Spanish Peninsula Time). The opposition, that one had been warning of surprises for weeks At the final count it would have won 234 seats, 107 more than five years ago. In any case, the BJP would be left with 240 seats, 63 fewer than in 2019, and without managing to exceed the 272 that would reach the parliamentary majority. Meanwhile, the PdC is said to almost double its presence in the Lok Sabha, to 99, according to partial official data from the Election Commission.

The supervision, stricter than expected, gave rise to moments of speculation during the day. Modi dispelled doubts around 9pm when he arrived at the BJP headquarters by car, protected by police and military, and surrounded by hundreds of supporters who chanted his name as he passed by. From there, he assured a colorful crowd that he will form a government with his alliance “for the third time in a row” and thanked his voters. “Today's victory is the victory of the world's largest democracy and its constitution,” he said.

The headquarters of both parties start receiving the influx of supporters from mid-afternoon. “Modi inspires me. He is doing good work for India,” said Ratan Rajan, 31, a willing cyclist who has cycled thousands of kilometers from Bihar state, in the country's east, at the door of the BJP headquarters. On the carrier he carries an almost life-size cardboard cutout of Modi. He is dressed in one Kurta Traditional Indian saffron color, the shade of the match. “He has the vision to make India a developed country. That's why people voted for him.”

At the Congress party headquarters in the afternoon, when Modi had not yet declared himself the winner, there seemed to be an atmosphere of victory, despite the fact that the numbers were wrong. The drums thundered, people started dancing and waving the formation's flags. Aashif Sagar, member of the Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party), one of the strong formations of the opposition alliance called India, was present. He claims to be confident that they will be able to form an opposition government. He comes from Uttar Pradesh, a gigantic state (the most populous: 240 million people), agrarian and very poor, which usually opens the door to victory in Delhi. Without the count completed, the battle in this region was very even. “The citizens were so tired that they decided to throw out the government,” said Manju Dixit, vice president of the PdC Women's Committee in New Delhi. When told that there was nothing to indicate they would win, he decided: “Time will tell. “We are happy with the alliance and the country's response.”

The leaders of the opposition bloc did not seem to give up. With the count already underway, they have not yet made it clear whether they will attempt to form a government. “We will decide tomorrow after consulting our partners,” Rahul Gandhi said. “The country has made a huge statement that they don't want Mr Modi or Amit Shah [ministro del Interior] are involved in the governance of the country. We don't like the way you are attacking the Constitution,” Gandhi said.

Overseeing the world's largest elections, which started more than six weeks ago, started this Tuesday morning, after the last polling stations closed on Saturday. In this monumental act of democracy, more than 640 million of the 970 million people called – more than 10% of the world's population – voted, with a participation rate of around 66%, according to official data.

The elections were held in a polarized environment, with debates centering on inflation and unemployment, respect for the rule of law and the intimidation of minorities, especially Muslims. In the campaign, the opposition alternative has accused Modi's Hindu nationalist party of undermining India's democracy during its decade in power and seeking a majority sufficient to force a constitutional change and push Indian secularism out of its delete items.

Rural India has been an important piece of the puzzle, as evidenced by the election responses in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan: “History is being made in rural India,” one commentator noted. India today during the live broadcast. “People don't have jobs, they want just over five kilos of rice rations,” another commentator added, referring to the food aid programs launched by the Modi Executive.

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