India’s Narendra Modi declares victory despite weaker mandate

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared victory in the country’s election late on Tuesday, despite a disappointing election that saw his party lose its outright majority, leaving him reliant on smaller regional parties to form a government.

Completed vote counts showed that Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won just 240 seats — down from 303 in 2019 — and would have to seek power-sharing agreements to clinch a historic third term in power.

The wider BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) looks set to win a combined 292 parliamentary seats, according to local media. At least 272 seats are needed to form a government.  

“People have placed their faith in NDA, for a third consecutive time! This is a historical feat in India’s history,” Modi said on X as counting was nearing a conclusion.

He followed up those words with a speech at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, saying that “today’s victory is the victory of the world’s largest democracy,” according to a translation by the Associated Press.

Modi reportedly said in March that he was confident the NDA would secure more than 400 seats.

Modi reportedly told the crowd that he would advance India’s defense production, jobs for young adults and ramp up exports. “This country will see a new chapter of big decisions. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said, according to AP.

India’s benchmark indexes, the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex, on Tuesday plunged as much as 8% when it became clear the BJP could fall short of a majority.

— CNBC’s Charmaine Jacob contributed to this article.