Landslide victory for Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured another five-year term after winning a landslide general election victory, BBC reported yesterday.   

Partial results showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was set to win about 300 seats out of the 543 seats in parliament.  

The vote had been widely viewed as a referendum on the prime minister’s Hindu nationalist politics.   

Over 600 million people voted in a marathon six-week process.  

Mr. Modi has not just exceeded exit poll predictions but has also won a larger share of the vote than the 2014 elections, partial results show.   

Partial and declared results show Mr Modi’s BJP is projected to win 300 seats, while the main opposition alliance head by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party is expected to win fewer than 100.  A party or coalition needs at least 272 seats to secure a majority in the 543-member lower house of parliament, or Lok Sabha.   

In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats - the biggest victory by any party in 30 years - and with its allies it secured 336 seats in that parliament.  

The Congress, which won just 44, suffered its worst defeat in 2014 and with its allies took up just 60 seats in the lower house.   

This year, there were 900 million voters eligible to take part in seven rounds of voting, making it the largest election the world had ever seen.  

It was reported that the Congress Party staff, who had been hoping for a much improved performance, looked lost for words.