India vote count shows Modi alliance heading to majority but no landslide

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alliance was winning a majority of seats about halfway through the count in the general election on Tuesday, but the numbers were well short of the landslide predicted in exit polls, TV channels said.

Modi's own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was falling short of a majority of its own in the 543-member parliament, the trends showed. Having to depend on allies to form the government could introduce some uncertainty in policy-making as Modi has ruled with an authoritative hold in the last decade.

The Hindu nationalist BJP won a majority of its own when it swept to power in 2014, ending India's era of unstable coalition governments, and repeated the feat in 2019.

"A narrower-than-expected victory for Modi's alliance may raise doubts about the new government's ability to push through politically difficult reforms seen as crucial to sustain India's economic growth, which is already the world's fastest," said Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC in Singapore.

"Despite this, the fact remains that the BJP-led alliance is still set to win a third term, which means continuity in the government's infrastructure and manufacturing-led drive to boost economic growth."


Reuters