Modi-led alliance says it will form next Indian government
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00:00 And let's get the very latest on that from New Delhi. Our correspondent Pavni Mittal is live
00:06 on the line. Pavni, look, it's been a turbulent 24 hours in Indian politics. Where are we today?
00:13 Good evening, Nadia. Yes, but a clearer picture is now emerging and that is that
00:22 Narendra Modi will return as Prime Minister for a record third term. But as you pointed out,
00:27 his BJP party does not have that outright majority. So it will need the help of allies.
00:34 Earlier today, Modi resigned from his position. He is now expected to lay
00:39 to claim fresh claims on forming that new government. This is part of the process.
00:47 But it is not a done deal because allies are playing hard ball. They want
00:55 plum positions. But the BJP says it is comfortable in a place where it will form the government.
01:02 On the other hand, opposition leaders are also meeting to try and figure out their next steps.
01:07 If this does happen, as we are now saying, then Modi is expected to take oath as early as
01:15 Saturday. But this will be a different government. Modi is expected to be a weaker prime minister
01:23 during his victory speech on Tuesday. He did say he will focus on big ticket reforms.
01:30 That may not happen because it is already harder to do that with coalition partners.
01:35 But it is also not going to be easy for someone like Modi, who has the reputation of
01:40 being a one man show and also someone who has a history of taking unilateral decisions sometimes
01:46 without even consulting his own cabinet ministers. This outcome for Narendra Modi is not what pollsters
01:57 were predicting. How have the stock markets, how have Indian society at large been reacting to this
02:05 news today? We have had some mixed reactions. The stock market, like you mentioned, has had
02:13 quite a turbulent week. It started strong on Monday at the back of those exit polls,
02:19 reaching record highs. On Tuesday, as results started trickling in, it crashed. It had its
02:25 worst day in about four years. Now, this today, it did manage to recover something.
02:31 But overall, investors have lost millions of euros. Of course, exit polls gotten it horribly
02:38 wrong. A lot of soul searching to do that, people questioning their methodology. Opposition
02:43 parties celebrating what they see as a big dent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
02:49 invincible image. This is a revival for many political parties. In fact, for the first time
02:55 in a decade, Indian Parliament will have an official leader of opposition. This position
03:01 is reserved for a party that has at least 10 percent off the seats, which until now no party
03:08 did. And then there are reactions coming in from civil society. The Modi government so far has also
03:16 been accused of growing authoritarianism and clamping down on democratic rights. Journalists
03:23 have been jailed. Many humanitarian groups and NGOs have had to shut shops. And so the feeling
03:30 among many people is that they may now be in a position to publicly express an opinion that is
03:36 not aligned with the government. And if that sentiment does turn out to be true, Nadia,
03:41 that could be the lasting legacy of this election.
03:44 Fascinating. Thanks very much. That's Pavni Mittal for us. She's live in New Delhi.