How weak has Modi come out of India’s elections? | DW News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition won a majority of seats in India’s general election, as the counting of votes neared completion on Tuesday. But the tally for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was well short of an expected landslide, dealing a surprise setback for Modi. Unlike the last two elections, the BJP needs its alliance partners to cross the 272 majority mark in the 543-seat lower house of parliament. Modi had set a target of more than 400 seats for the NDA. But the alliance was leading in only about 290, according to Election Commission data about three-quarters of the way through the count. The BJP itself was leading in around 240 seats, compared with 303 at the last election in 2019. Final results were expected to come later on Tuesday or early Wednesday. A smaller-than-expected mandate means Modi will have to lean more on his allies — like regional leaders N. Chandrababu Naidu in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and Nitish Kum