General Election and Return of the NDA

April-May 2019 saw the Indian electorate casting votes to elect the 17th Lok Sabha. The elections were held in seven phases, and the votes began to be counted on May 23.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) got an overwhelming majority, winning 353 seats; the BJP on its own garnered 303 seats, a majority on its own. This was better than their performance in the 2014 elections, a feat none could have predicted. The BJP, for the first time made, striking inroads in West Bengal. Also, it did well in states which had just recently ousted the BJP in favour of the Congress in assembly elections. This reflected in the main the voters’ perspicacity: they were clear about who would be better at the state level and who they wanted at the national level. The Congress did better than in 2014 by winning 52 seats, while its other UPA allies won 33, but the picture was

clear: the NDA had returned to power at the Centre.

A landmark was achieved in 2019: not only the largest number of female candidates stood for election, the number of women who actually won was also the highest ever.

This was the first time a non-Congress government that had completed a full term returned to power for a second consecutive term with a majority in the Lok Sabha. Modi was the first BJP leader to have been elected for the second time after completion of a five-year tenure, a feat achieved before him only by two Congress leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Manmohan Singh also was prime minister for two terms but his party had not won a majority on its own.

Narendra Modi was administered the oath of office as prime minister by President Ram Nath Kovind on May 30, 2019 in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Guests from abroad included leaders of the BIMSTEC, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Mauritius.

Even though the BJP had the required numbers to form the government on its own, it decided to accommodate its allies in the council of ministers. One surprise was the induction of S. Jaishankar, former foreign secretary, as foreign minister, but then he was well known for his diplomatic skills and had played a crucial role in foreign policy even under the Manmohan Singh government. Amit Shah, BJP president and Narendra Modi’s close associate, who must be credited with leading the BJP to impressive victories in election after election, was also included in the cabinet as home minister.

Narendra Modi, in his speech to the new MPs, asked the members to work in the government without discriminating against anyone and win the trust of minorities. He said that the minorities had been cheated by the other parties for generations. Pointing out that the minorities had been made to live in an ‘imaginary fear’ for long, he said that this should be changed; he affirmed the need to win the ‘vishwas’ (trust) of Muslims. Sabka Vishwas would be added on to Sabka Satth, Sabka Vikas. Apparently, Modi had become far more self-confident of steering his party and his government in the direction he wanted without the constraints of the ideological rigidities of the Sangh Parivar in this respect. In this context, it may be recalled that, as Gujarat’s chief minister for three terms, he had subdued the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other such organisations in the state. He had already made a crucial statement–that everyone should be taken along, even those who had not voted for the ruling alliance and had been its vociferous critics.