India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, had hoped for a landslide victory in the country’s six-week general election – the largest display of democracy, by far, in a year of voting around the world. But the party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scored 240 parliamentary seats in the final tally. It will need the help of its coalition partner, the National Democratic Alliance, to meet the requirement of 272 seats to form the government.
The Conversation U.S. spoke with Sumit Ganguly, distinguished professor of political science and the Tagore chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University, to understand more about the election results and what they mean for Indian democracy.
