The coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has passed the 272-seat threshold needed for a majority, official results show. But the opposition has made major gains.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was set to meet Wednesday to discuss forming the government, after the Hindu nationalist party won a muted victory in a surprise election verdict.
The BJP won 240 seats on its own in the general election, losing its outright majority.
The results mean that Modi will now have to depend on regional leaders like N. Chandrababu Naidu in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and Nitish Kumar in Bihar in the east, for support, unlike in the past.
The INDIA bloc is also expected to meet in New Delhi later in the day to discuss a future course of action.
While Modi will be the first Indian leader since Jawaharlal Nehru to win a third consecutive term, he will face by far the strongest opposition of his premiership in that third term.
Source DW News
