Narendra Modi claims victory for his coalition in India election – but party likely short of majority
Narendra Modi has claimed victory along with his coalition partners in the India election, but his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks as if it will fall short of an overall majority.
A total of 272 seats are needed for a majority in the country’s lower house of parliament – but Mr Modi’s party is ahead in only 242 seats during counting so far.
The BJP is now expected to form a coalition government – likely securing him a third consecutive term as prime minister.
Mr Modi described the coalition success as a “historical feat”.
Exit polls had suggested the popular but controversial Mr Modi would win an overwhelming majority.
In previous elections, in 2014 and 2019, his party achieved landslide victories.
The BJP is part of a broader National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of parties – who, in total, are ahead in nearly 300 constituencies.
If Mr Modi does end up leading a coalition government, the 73-year-old would become only the second prime minister – after India‘s independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru – to win three consecutive terms.
The counting of 642 million votes in the world’s largest election began early this morning with around half tallied so far.
Despite the initial results on Tuesday, Mr Modi declared victory in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
He wrote: “People have placed their faith in NDA, for a third consecutive time! This is a historical feat in India’s history.”
Mr Modi also thanked supporters and campaign staff, adding: “Words will never do justice to their exceptional efforts.”
‘Back to the days of bargaining’
The Hindu nationalist BJP and its allies have faced a broad opposition alliance led by the Congress party and its main campaign leader, Rahul Gandhi.
The anti-Modi alliance is ahead in 232 constituencies so far, according to the early counting.
Senior opposition figure Rahul Gandhi waves to supporters in New Delhi on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters
Indian political commentator Arati R Jerath said: “We’ll have to see who is going to lead this government because we are now going back to the days of bargaining which we haven’t seen in the last 10 years, because Modi was so dominant.
“Now, Modi is not known as a consensual figure. So, it’ll be very interesting to see how he manages the pulls and pressures of a coalition government.”
BJP supporters in Bengaluru, south India, on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters
Milan Vaishnav, from thinktank the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said a BJP failure to secure an outright majority would be “uncharted territory, both for Indians as well as for the prime minister”.
He added the party could be left being “heavily dependent on the goodwill of its allies, which makes them critical players who we can expect will extract their pound of flesh, both in terms of policymaking as well as government formation.”
Read more: Narendra Modi: A history-making leader with god-like status – and fierce critics
Around 970 million people – more than 10% of the world’s population – were eligible to vote after polls opened in mid-April, with an average turnout of around 66% across the seven phases, according to official figures.
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Just how many people voted in India’s election?
During his 10 years in power, Mr Modi has transformed India’s political landscape, his popularity outstripping that of his party.
However, a decade of his leadership has also left the country deeply divided – religiously and economically.
‘Hybrid regime’
Mr Modi’s opponents and critics say his Hindu-first politics have bred intolerance, hate speech and brazen attacks against the country’s minorities – raising concerns over the treatment of Muslims, Christians and other religious groups.
India’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the world and has helped the country emerge as a global power and a counterweight to China.
But it has become unequal, with only a small portion of Indians benefitting from the economic boom and youth unemployment soaring.
Read more:
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The country’s democratic values under Mr Modi’s leadership have also come under scrutiny.
Under Mr Modi, the media – once viewed as vibrant and largely independent – has become more pliant and critical voices muzzled.
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Many watchdogs have now categorised India as a “hybrid regime” that is neither a full democracy nor a full autocracy.
Mr Modi’s government has repeatedly denied and dismissed accusations of discrimination, saying its policies aim for the welfare of all communities without bias and that it enforces the law equally.
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Trump doubles down on Putin criticism – as Russia offers Ukraine a date and location for peace talks
Donald Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Vladimir Putin – adding he will know soon if the Russian leader is just “tapping” him along.
The US president told reporters at the White House that he believed his counterpart in Moscow may be intentionally delaying ceasefire talks, while he also expressed disappointment at heavy Russian bombing over the weekend.
While Mr Trump has so far stopped short of imposing sanctions – to avoid, he says, “screwing up” negotiations – he warned his stance could change.
Ukraine Q&A: Are we any closer to war ending?
The president said: “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little differently,” adding that he “can’t tell you” if Mr Putin wanted peace.
Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters
His comments in the Oval Office came minutes after Russia’s foreign minister announced that the Kremlin had offered Ukraine a second round of talks on 2 June in Istanbul.
Kyiv did not immediately respond to the proposal, which Sergei Lavrov said would see Moscow hand their proposals for a potential peace deal directly to Ukraine.
“We hope that all those who are sincerely, and not just in words, interested in the success of the peace process will support holding a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul,” Mr Lavrov added.
Later on Wednesday, Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov said his government was “not against” further meetings, but called for Russia to deliver its memorandum to Kyiv beforehand.
Meanwhile, Mr Lavrov also hit out at Germany for agreeing to finance the production of long-range missiles in Ukraine, accusing Berlin of showing it is “already a participant in the war”.
However, German leader Friedrich Merz declined to say that his country would hand over the Taurus missiles that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who was in Berlin on Wednesday – has long wanted.
Ukraine’s need for ammunition has become all the more urgent after Russia launched some of the largest aerial assaults of the war so far over the weekend.
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Would ‘smart’ missiles allow Ukraine to hit key bridge?
Lavrov accuses West of secrecy over strikes
Russia said it had downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions overnight, while Ukraine said it had struck several weapon production sites.
Kyiv, in turn, said Moscow had launched 88 drones and five ballistic missiles since Tuesday.
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Hamas’s Gaza chief ‘eliminated’, says Netanyahu – but military sources say they cannot confirm death
Hamas’s Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been “eliminated”, according to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But Israeli military sources have said they are not yet able to confirm the death.
Hamas has also not yet confirmed the apparent killing of its leader.
Meanwhile, with Gaza on the brink of famine, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations broke down in tears as he spoke of the suffering of its people.
Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour broke down in tears as he spoke of the suffering of people in Gaza
Riyah Mansour told the Security Council: “Children are dying of starvation. The images of mothers embracing their motionless bodies. Caressing their hair, talking to them, apologising to them, is unbearable.”
He added: “I have grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families. And to see this situation over the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate. Flames and hunger are devouring Palestinian children. This is why we are so outraged as Palestinians everywhere.”
Sinwar was one of Israel‘s most wanted and the younger brother of the Palestinian militant group’s former leader Yahya Sinwar.
The older sibling was the mastermind of the October 7 2023 attack, which killed 1,200 people in Israel, with around 250 others taken hostage into Gaza.
The attack triggered Israel’s assault on Gaza which decimated the territory, with more than 53,000 people killed, mostly women and children, and over two million displaced, according to health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally of fatalities.
Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israel in October 2024. File pic: AP
Yahya Sinwar was killed in a gun battle with Israeli troops in Gaza last October. His younger sibling was believed to have then become the head of Hamas’s armed wing.
Speaking to the Knesset on Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu included Mohammed Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed in Israeli strikes. Later, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) sources said they were not yet able to confirm the death.
The prime minister said: “We have killed tens of thousands of terrorists. We killed (Mohammed) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar.” He did not elaborate.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s claimed could not be confirmed. Pic: AP
Mohammed Sinwar had reportedly been the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on 13 May and Mr Netanyahu said on 21 May that it was likely he had been killed.
The Israeli military had said it struck a Hamas command centre under the European Hospital in the Sinwars’ hometown of Khan Younis, and it declined to comment on whether Sinwar was targeted or killed.
At least six people were killed in the strike and 40 wounded, Gaza’s health ministry said at the time.
Sinwar rose through ranks
Like his older brother, Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas after it was founded in the late 1980s as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He became a member of the group’s military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades.
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Sinwar rose through the ranks to become a member of its so-called joint chiefs of staff, bringing him close to its longtime commander, Deif, who was killed in a strike last year.
Read more from Sky News:
Humanitarian chief talks of Gaza ‘catastrophe’
UN boss condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza
“In the last two days, we have been in a dramatic turn towards a complete defeat of Hamas,” the Israeli leader told the Knesset.
Mr Netanyahu also spoke about how Israel was “taking control of food distribution”, a reference to a new aid distribution system that has been criticised and boycotted by humanitarian groups and the UN.
One killed at site of aid hub
The development comes after one person was killed and 48 others injured when forces opened fire on a crowd that overwhelmed an aid hub in Gaza, according to local health officials.
Palestinians have become increasingly desperate for food after almost three months of Israeli border closures. A blockade has recently been eased.
People broke through fences around the distribution site on Wednesday, and a journalist with the Associated Press said they heard Israeli tank and gunfire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.
It was not yet known whether the death and injuries were caused by Israeli forces, private contractors or others.
The Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which set up the hub outside Rafah, said its military contractors had not fired on the crowd but “fell back” before resuming aid operations. Israel said its troops nearby had fired warning shots.
The UN and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new system, saying it will not meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food to control the population.
Israel has vowed to seize control of Gaza and fight until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and exiled, and until the militant group returns the last 58 hostages, including around a third thought to be still alive.
‘This is a man-made catastrophe’
Meanwhile, a US trauma surgeon who has been working in Gaza urged the UN Security Council to not “claim ignorance” about the humanitarian devastation.
Dr Feroze Sidhwa said: “Let’s not forget, this is a man-made catastrophe. It is entirely preventable. Participating in it or not allowing it to happen is a choice.
“This is a deliberate denial of conditions necessary for life: food, shelter, water and medicine. Preventing genocide means refusing to normalise these atrocities.”
The UN World Health Organization has documented around 700 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza during the war. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as command centres and to hide fighters.
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