Modi rebuff, will continue as PM

Despite his failure to get the landslide win he expected – and polls predicted – in India’s mammoth seven-week election in which almost 700 million people voted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to continue in office. That is good news given the role India plays as a partner in democratic alliances such as the Quad, aimed at countering Chinese subversion, especially in the India-Pacific region.

But with voters turning against his National Democratic Alliance coalition, led by his militant Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, and unexpectedly shifting to the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance headed by the Congress Party led by Rahul Gandhi, 54, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, Mr Modi must heed the election outcome.

His success in his first two five-year terms in raising India’s profile as a rapidly developing economic power and global player has been remarkable. So is winning, albeit not with the landslide he expected, a third consecutive election. No other leader has achieved that since founding father Jawaharlal Nehru. Voters admire Mr Modi’s strength and determination to build a modern society. Before the results were announced on Tuesday, Mr Modi was confident his coalition would emerge with at least 400 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. That now looks unlikely. Nor was it certain Mr Modi’s party would have the numbers to govern without coalition partners.

That amounts to a major rebuff reflecting voter anger over inflation, especially food prices; high unemployment, especially among the young; and resentment towards Mr Modi’s authoritarian behaviour towards the country’s 200 million Muslim minority community. Even moderate Hindus took exception to his reference to Muslims as “infiltrators” and his suggestion that their high birthrate posed a threat to Hindu dominance. While he has raised India’s image as a key democracy, Mr Modi has fallen short in failing to condemn Vladimir Putin’s lawless invasion of Ukraine. India’s opportunistic purchase of Russian oil at bargain prices in defiance of sanctions is wrong. The election has shown the strength of the world’s most populous democracy.