Asia | India’s poll
Instead of strongman rule an uncertain era of coalition government beckons
|DELHI|5 min read
Editor’s note (June 5th): This article has been updated with the final election results.
AHEAD OF THE general election that concluded on June 1st Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, was expected to romp home. His charisma, combined with an emphasis on infrastructure development, welfare payments to the poorest and a polarising Hindu nationalism, looked unbeatable. Mr Modi exuded a confidence that matched those predictions. He claimed that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies would win upwards of 400 seats in the 543-seat parliament.
