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Narendra Modi and his party the BJP won the huge general elections that took place over no less than six weeks. The chanter of Hindu nationalism should even retain the absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.
The phone of the head of the Indian government rang all afternoon: many presidents and heads of government called him to congratulate him - Vladimir Putin for Russia, Xi Jinping for China, Benyamin Netanyahu in Israel ... But also Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who stressed that he was looking forward to working with him for "peace, progress and prosperity and in South Asia". And this despite the air battles of last February between the two neighbors. The Indian prime minister had launched his planes on the Pakistani side of the border to attack a terrorist camp after a bomb attack in Indian Kashmir . Narendra Modi was able to use a safe speech during the campaign that was certainly helpful to him.
The Prime Minister thanked the Indians for their trust and the militants of his party the BJP for their perseverance in these elections. And at the local level, as expected, he won very largely, as in 2014, in his constituency of Benares (Uttar Pradesh).
A severe defeat for the party of Congress
Certainly, at the local level, Congress Party President Rahul Gandhi has largely won the constituency of Wayanad (Kerala). But he lost in Amethi (Uttar Pradesh), a bastion of the Congress since 1966, where he also presented himself. And it is this failure that best symbolizes the situation of the Congress at the national level: it is better than in 2014, but it was not difficult. Five years ago his coalition won only 60 seats out of 543. It must be said that despite his promises, the opposition arrived this year in divided order at these general elections, and the Congress party did not form the grand coalition that could have allowed it to counterbalance the BJP in a non-forgiving poll.
Rahul Gandhi therefore acknowledged his defeat and that of his party. He assured that the Congress would continue the ideological battle it is waging against the BJP, asking the militants not to lose hope. A hope that had come back at the end of last year, when his party had dethroned the BJP in local elections in three states. A hope showered today facing the steamroller of the party of Narendra Modi, who would have won an absolute majority even more important than five years ago.
That was the big question: after five years of a government that divided Indian society , would the Prime Minister keep this absolute majority or would he be forced to form a coalition that would force him to make concessions? The Indians finally voted overwhelmingly for him - participation is even more important than it was five years ago.
What policy for this new mandate ?
With this score, Narendra Modi has a free hand to carry out his policy. Especially since those who elected him did so knowingly: they saw him at work for five years. And they do not hold him to one of his key measures, the demonetization - the removal of some banknotes to fight corruption, which caused a wave of panic over the country two years ago. And his speech based on a supremacy of Hindus does not bother them, or better, they call it their wishes. The next five years will be difficult for the Muslim minority , stigmatized and abused during the first term of Narendra Modi or for the Prime Minister's NGOs and critical associations, whose numbers have dropped considerably in the past five years - it is now forbidden for them to receive foreign funds.
As for what the Prime Minister has planned to do for the next five years, this remains a bit of a mystery, explains Christophe Jaffrelot of CERI-Sciences Po: the BJP was not re-elected on a program, but on the person Narendra Modi. What one can think of is that this large majority may lead him to try to pass laws, even constitutional reforms that until then he could not vote. For example, on Indian Kashmir whose autonomy could be questioned. There is also the idea of creating a directory of citizenship, which would make migrants from Bangladesh stateless. But Narendra Modi will have to cope with the economic slowdown, which he did not mention during his campaign: " the inequalities have increased considerably ," says Christophe Jaffrelot, " and in particular the campaigns are in a dramatic situation for many of them ".