Narendra Modi and the myth of the strongman

Indian commentators are running out of adjectives to describe the election results in the world’s largest democracy — surprising, shocking, stunning, among others. The results have diverged sharply from most predictions, including those of exit polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself confidently declared that his Bharatiya Janata Party would win 370 seats and his coalition would scale 400. In the end, the BJP got 240 and his coalition 292.

The Indian stock market crashed as the results trickled in. But markets can be wrong. This could well turn out to be good news for India politically and even economically.

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