Modi to push India towards becoming a Hindu nation

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s third-term win on Tuesday was not the landslide victory he had wanted, but it still provides the mandate to power his Hindu nationalist agenda forward, analysts say.

Victory for Modi -- whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and allies were on track to win 291 out of 543 elected seats -- was forged in large part by the premier´s appeal to the Hindu faithful, worrying minorities including the country´s 200-million-plus Muslim community. Modi´s decade as premier has seen him cultivate an image as an aggressive champion of the country´s majority faith, holding well-publicised temple visits, fasts and meditations to burnish his religious credentials.

“God has chosen us to serve Bharat (India) and fulfil our role in our country´s journey towards excellence,” Modi wrote in an op-ed Monday in the Indian Express, using the country´s name in Sanskrit, a word dating back to ancient Hindu scriptures.

But a resurgent opposition proved stronger than many had predicted, and for the first time in a decade, the BJP is without an overall majority of its own and dependent on alliance partners.