The process of counting the results of the general elections in India, which includes about a billion voters and has continued over a period of 44 days, continues since the beginning of voting on April 19.
According to data from the Election Commission, the turnout rate exceeded 66%, half of whom were women. Therefore, more than 640 million people participated in these elections, out of about 970 million who are entitled to vote.
India's elections are considered the largest in the world in terms of the number of participants, as the number of Indians of legal age to participate in the vote reaches about one billion people. At every election date, India breaks its previous record in the number of voters, as 900 million voters were registered on electoral lists during the past elections, 615 million of whom actually participated in the vote.
While preliminary results revealed the progress of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and its victory for a third consecutive term as head of the country. However, this victory was incomplete, as Modi lost his parliamentary majority due to the breakthrough achieved by the opposition led by the National Congress Party.
Modi's incomplete victory
On Tuesday, Modi announced his victory for a third term as head of the Indian government, and he said in a speech he delivered to a group of supporters gathered in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi: “Today is a glorious day; the National Democratic Alliance will form the government for the third time, and we are grateful to the people.”
Modi added, "This is a victory for the largest democracy in the world, this is a victory for the country's loyalty to the Constitution, and a victory for India's 1.4 billion people."
The preliminary results of the elections showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party came first, winning 240 seats in Parliament. Despite the victory, these results are a setback for the ruling party, as it lost 63 seats compared to the results it achieved in 2019.
The British BBC website commented that the election results show a decline in the luster of “Modi’s brand,” noting that his popularity was previously linked to his ability to market and turn routine events into exciting scenes .
This setback is due to the sudden breakthrough achieved by the opposition led by the National Congress Party, as it won 90 parliamentary seats, meaning it increased its tally by 47 seats compared to the 2019 elections, most of which were at the expense of the ruling party’s candidates.
This incomplete victory may force Modi, in order to form the government, to resort to his coalition partners, including the National Democratic Alliance parties, the group that his party leads and through which it has led power since he was elected for the first time in 2014.
Has Modi's Islamophobia backfired?
Since coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party has built its popularity on the persecution of Muslims and incitement against them, in their racist vision of a Hindu national state, or what is called “Hindutva.”
During these elections too, Modi led his propaganda based on anti-Muslim rhetoric. In his speech before a rally in the state of Rajasthan, last April, Modi repeated his racist rhetoric against Muslims, considering them “infiltrators” and “intruders” into the country.
Modi said, inciting that the opposition party seeks to “give Muslims the right to the nation’s wealth,” and if it wins the elections, the wealth “will be distributed to those who have the largest number of children. It will be distributed to the infiltrators.” So, “Do you think that your hard-earned money should be given to them?” For infiltrators? Do you accept that?
Before this, last January, Modi launched his election campaign by inaugurating the Rama Temple on the ruins of the historic Babri Mosque, in the most provocative step to the feelings of the Muslim minority in the country.
In a previous interview with TRT Arabic, Pakistani journalist and political analyst Huzaifa Farid considered that the inauguration of the Rama Temple is closely linked to the general elections, which are considered decisive elections in Indian history. Farid said: "It is a message to the Hindu voter and an attempt to win him over by shedding Muslim blood and violating their mosques and sanctities."
These moves increased the popularity of Modi's party, and opinion polls conducted at the beginning of April revealed that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies enjoyed the greatest popularity, achieving 46% of voting intentions, compared to the opposition parties, whose percentage stood at 34%.
However, this campaign backfired this time, as voters refused to submit to the sectarian rhetoric adopted by Modi, which was confirmed by Bloomberg, saying that the “Bharatiya Janta” campaign focused heavily on fulfilling Hindu nationalist promises, but it did not gain sufficient traction among people. Voters concerned about an economy that does not distribute benefits equally.
On the ground, the results of the Faizabad electoral district, where Modi inaugurated the Rama Temple, revealed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lost its seat to the opposition Samajwadi Party candidate, MP Awadesh Prasad, in a huge shock to Modi and his party.
Hacking the National Congress
The National Congress Party achieved a major breakthrough during these elections, winning 47 additional seats over its tally in 2019, meaning a total of 90 seats so far, which qualified it to come second in the ranking. The party is considered the oldest component in the Indian political arena, as its founding dates back to independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.
The "National Congress" entered these elections leading an opposition alliance called the "Inclusive Indian National Development Alliance", which included 28 political parties with the primary goal of overthrowing the Modi government, despite the divisions that marred this alliance, over presenting candidates and dividing voting districts, and expectations that this would It will weaken their chances of success in their plans.
Analysts attribute these results to the strong entry of the National Conference into the elections, achieving an electoral surprise last year and overwhelmingly winning the government of the state of Karnataka in the south of the country. Party leader Rahul Gandhi attributed these results to the fact that "the people of Karnataka hate the policy of hatred and malice pursued by the Bharatiya Janata Party."
That's the largest democracy.
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