India election: Modi claims victory but his BJP may need coalition to stay in power, as opposition makes gains

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed victory in the general election, even as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks to be falling short of securing a majority of its own and therefore requiring the support of smaller regional allies to return to power.

With vote-counting still not completed, Modi late on Tuesday night hailed “a historical feat in India’s history”, thanking voters who had “placed their faith” in him for an unprecedented third term.

“This is a win for India. This is for everybody’s development, this is a victory for 1.4 billion people,” Modi told BJP workers late on Tuesday evening in New Delhi. “Since 1962, no government has returned for a third term after completing two terms.”

“Our government took major decisions and withstood the Covid crisis. And today India is the fastest growing major economy. We will end poverty in this country,” Modi said.

Voting trends earlier showed a surprising setback in the BJP’s traditional stronghold in the northern parts of the country.

The BJP is trailing in its Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh – which contributes the most number of seats to parliament – as well as in Haryana, as opposition parties put up a far better show than predicted in exit polls. It also suffered unexpected losses in Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

The BJP is leading the vote count, but needs to reach the majority 272 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament to form a government on its own without needing support from allies.

“It looks like democracy has won and majoritarianism has come down. The voters are very intelligent. This is good for India,” said Harsh Ramaswamy, an independent political commentator.

“What they [the BJP] did not consider is they were only looking at emotional