Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third consecutive term in a closely contested general election, with 642 million people turning out to vote.
It may be the 73-year-old prime minister’s last term in office. Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, have maintained their popularity since Modi was first elected in 2014 on a Hindu-first platform.
Modi has also developed his platform on transforming India’s economy from rural to industrial, eliminating poverty and transitioning into a fully developed country by 2047, India’s 100-year anniversary of independence from British rule.
The prime minister has also set a target for India’s GDP to reach $29 trillion and per-capita income to increase by roughly $18,000.
Modi’s upbringing has helped him gain a following. As a young boy, he sold tea at a railway station, and his mother washed dishes to support their family.
“I know the pain of living under a weak roof,” Modi told a rally in Bastar in April. “I know what a mother goes through when there is no food. I know how helpless one feels when there is no money to buy medicine. Therefore, I decided I will not rest until I remove every worry of the poor.”
Modi keeps his family distant and away from politics. He has not visited his family since his mother died in 2022.
“I have left my family,” he said at a rally in March. “Not for myself, not for fun, but for my country. This is my country. This is my family.”
Modi and his party have courted India’s majority-Hindu community, including by facilitating the construction of a Hindu temple on the site of a demolished mosque, sparking religious fervor.
The United States and other Western powers have raised concerns over the treatment of religious minorities, including Muslims, Christians and underprivileged Hindus under Modi’s rule. But the prime minister says his government does not discriminate and works for the welfare of all Indian citizens.
Modi’s approval rating hit 74% in early May, making it the highest among the 25 world leaders monitored by U.S. data intelligence company Morning Consult.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
