India election: Modi's alliance leading, but opposition makes surprise inroads
Narendra Modi’s alliance Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was set to come to power in India again, according to the Election Commission of India data, albeit with a much reduced majority.
Local media reports indicate that the NDA is leading in approximately 290 parliamentary seats, while the opposition coalition, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), led by the Indian National Congress, is ahead in 233 seats.
In the 2019 general elections, the NDA secured 353 seats, with the BJP alone winning 303. If the current trends hold, the BJP would experience a loss of about 60 seats compared to their previous tally.
India’s lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, consists of 543 seats, with a minimum of 272 required to form a government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously expressed confidence in March, predicting that the BJP-led NDA would win over 400 seats.
"Despite Prime Minister Modi's continued popularity, issues like unemployment, inflation, and governance challenges have become more prominent in voters' minds," said Yamini Aiyar, former president of the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.
A survey conducted in April by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies revealed that unemployment is the top concern for 27% of the 10,000 respondents. Additionally, 62% of those surveyed indicated that finding a job had become more difficult over the past five years during Modi's second term.
According to trends released by the Election Commission of India and reported by The Wire, the BJP is leading in 242 seats, Congress in 96, Samajwadi Party in 34, Trinamool Congress in 31, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in 21, and Telugu Desam Party in 16 as of 12:45 pm IST.
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