India election results 2019: Modi dedicates victory to Indians - BBC News

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has scored a resounding victory again, securing a second five-year term.

The 2014 win was partly a vote in anger against the corruption-tainted Congress party.

But this time, it is an affirmation for Mr Modi. He has become the first leader since 1971 to secure a single party majority twice in a row.

"This is a victory for Modi and his vision of a new India," says political scientist Mahesh Rangarajan.

In a bitter and polarising campaign, Mr Modi effortlessly fused nationalism and development. And he escaped anti-incumbency.

Analysts expected record joblessness, plummeting farm incomes and sluggish industrial production to, at the very least, hurt his chances. But it seems Indian voters are not yet blaming Mr Modi for these woes.

Now, one of the biggest questions is if Hindu nationalism will become the default mode of Indian politics and society?

It will not happen easily because India thrives on diversity. Hinduism is a diverse faith. Social and linguistic differences hold India together. Democracy is an additional glue.

Read my full analysis here.

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