In India’s final basic election, in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s get together received 303 of 543 parliamentary seats — practically six instances as many as the principle opposition get together, the Indian Nationwide Congress. It was a stinging electoral blow for the Congress, a once-dominant get together that has appeared drastically diminished lately, and exit polls on this 12 months’s election had not suggested it would fare much better.
However early election outcomes on Tuesday indicated a far stronger exhibiting than anticipated for the Congress. The get together and its allies have been main in practically 230 races, a pointy turnaround that prompted jubilation on the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, the place supporters erupted in cheers every time a tv channel introduced a brand new lead for certainly one of its candidates.
“Regardless of the last outcomes, one factor is obvious — it’s a ethical victory for Congress and our chief Rahul Gandhi, and defeat for B.J.P.,” mentioned Robin Michael, a political employee, referring to Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Get together.
Whereas there was no indication that Congress and the opposition coalition it leads would scrape collectively a majority to unseat Mr. Modi, get together employees mentioned that that they had dented Mr. Modi’s aura of invincibility. They praised Mr. Gandhi, the Congress party’s most prominent figure and a great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first post-independence prime minister.
Final 12 months, as Mr. Gandhi sought to burnish his standing by main lengthy marches throughout India, the B.J.P. ensnared him in a courtroom case that led to his expulsion from Parliament. He was later returned to his seat by India’s highest courtroom. On Tuesday, Mr. Gandhi was on observe to win his parliamentary seat within the southern state of Kerala.
The Congress, lengthy positioned at India’s political heart, has struggled to discover a course and supply an ideological various to the Hindu nationalist B.J.P. It has confronted rebellions, infighting and periodic matches of soul-searching over whether or not to rally behind a brand new face — solely to stay with its dynastic management.
This 12 months, regardless of expectations, Mr. Gandhi had set a goal of doubling the get together’s 2019 tally of 52 seats. By late Tuesday afternoon, it was main in practically 100 seats.
“We are going to cease Modi from making a mockery of this nation and turning folks towards one another,” mentioned Sandeep Mishra, a Congress employee at get together headquarters. He added: “Indians are fed up with Modi.”
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