Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he will form the next government for the third term, but he would need the support of allies after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of the majority mark for the first time since 2014.
The BJP secured 240 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower House of the parliament, in a major electoral setback as the poll survey had projected the Hindu nationalist party to win by a bigger majority.
