Narendra Modi Has Lost His Aura of Political Invincibility
Narendra Modi boasted that his party would win a supermajority in India’s parliament, but he came up short and had to form a coalition to stay in power. Modi’s surprising setback creates an opportunity to push back against his authoritarian project.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi speaks to members of the media outside the President’s House in New Delhi, India, on June 7, 2024. (Prakash Singh / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
One rather amusing observation about the Indian election results was that for one side, victory seemed like defeat, while for the other, defeat seemed like victory.
A more accurate way of summing up the political impact of these elections would be as follows. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Narendra Modi’s Hindutva ideology have not been challenged, let alone rejected, there are nonetheless powerful limits as to how far the forces of Hindutva can sustain or expand their political hegemony through a form of politics based primarily on this ideology.
Before elaborating on these limits, let us consider the basic facts emerging from the results.
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