Indian voters gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a mixed result. His alliance, the NDA, won enough seats to govern, but his party, the BJP, lost its majority.
Modi now depends on allies from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh who do not support his Hindu nationalist agenda.
The BJP won only one seat in Kerala due to a candidate’s good relations with minorities. Overall, the BJP got 238 seats, down from 303 in 2019. Mamata Banerjee from West Bengal called for Modi’s resignation, but Modi still celebrated at the BJP headquarters.
The opposition group, INDIA, won 238 seats and plans to challenge Modi by working with BJP’s allies. They also want to elect a non-BJP speaker for the Lok Sabha. Rahul Gandhi won big in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala and might give up one seat for his sister Priyanka to contest.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP’s seats fell from 62 to 33. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi’s campaigning helped reduce Modi’s lead. Inside the BJP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is blamed for the losses.
Rahul Gandhi said the poor defended India’s constitution. The INDIA group did well in Maharashtra and West Bengal, taking many seats from the BJP. Former cricketer Yusuf Pathan and other celebrities won for the opposition, while Kangana Ranaut and Hema Malini won for the BJP.
If Modi stays in power, he might attend a Ukraine peace conference. If the INDIA group wins, relations with neighboring countries might improve.