The general election is over in India and Narendra Modi, leading the Hindu revivalist party, has won a near landslide victory. Modi's party, the BJP( Bhartiya Janta Party), has won 303 seats out of 542 seats in the Indian parliament. Along with its allies, the BJP which leads the NDA( National Democratic Alliance) has won 353 seats. World leaders have congratulated Modi on his facile win and among the first to congratulate the Indian PM was the US President, Donald Trump, and his daughter Ivanka Trump. Newsr reported that the US President congratulated PM Narendra Modi on his "big" election victory, saying "great things" are in store for bilateral ties between the two nations.

Congress defeat

The opposing, United Democratic Front, led by the Congress party, had mounted a concerted challenge to Modi's rule. Unfortunately, the people's perception of Modi trumped all the allegations leveled against him by Rahul Gandhi and his supporters. One of the big reasons was the perception that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party was a pro-Muslim Party. This led to the electorate forgiving Modi's mistakes in implementing demonetization and the GST. The Congress Party failed to make an impact and ended up with just about 52 seats, a marginal improvement over the 42 seats it won in 2014.

They will, however, once again be denied the post of the leader of the opposition, as they have less than 10 percent of the seats required.

Trump

Donald Trump has now invited Modi for a meeting on the sidelines of G-20 meeting in July this year. Earlier in 2017, Trump invited Modi to the White House and has now mentioned a deepening strategic relationship.

Newsfeed.co reported that Trump's daughter Ivanka also tweeted her congratulations to Modi on his victory. She had attended the entrepreneur's conference at Hyderabad, India about two years earlier.

The Indian general election involved over a billion people and was the biggest general election the world has ever seen. It lasted over a month and the final voting phase ended on 19 May.

The results were announced on May 23, giving the BJP and Modi a stupendous win.

Modi's victory will be a shot in the arm for Indo- American relations. Over the years there has been a deepening of the strategic relationship between the two countries. America is wary of China and India remains the best bet to counter the expansionist designs of China. India has a big border problem with China as well.

Last word

Modi can now bask in the sunlight after his victory. Many world leaders have congratulated Modi The landslide victory for the BJP in India is likely to be a game changer in the political scenario in SE Asia. The USA will benefit from the pro-USA stance of the BJP with Mod in charge.
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