Indian general election, 2014

For general elections in India, see Elections in India.
Indian general election, 2014
India
7 April to 12 May 2014

543 seats in the Lok Sabha
272 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout 66.38%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Narendra Modi Rahul Gandhi[1] J. Jayalalithaa
Party BJP INC AIADMK
Alliance NDA UPA
Leader since 10 June 2013 May 2004 1989
Leader's seat Vadodara (vacated)
Varanasi
Amethi Did not contest
Last election 116 206 9
Seats won 282[2][3] 44[2][3] 37[2]
Seat change Increase166 Decrease162 Increase 28
Popular vote 171,660,230 106,935,942 18,111,579[4]
Percentage 31.34%[5] 19.52%[5] 3.3%
Swing Increase12.5% Decrease9.03% Increase1.63%

Results of the national and regional parties by alliances

Prime Minister before election

Manmohan Singh
INC

Prime Minister

Narendra Modi
BJP

The Indian general election of 2014 was held to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha, electing members of parliament for all 543 parliamentary constituencies of India. Running in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014, it was the longest election in the country's history.[6][7] According to the Election Commission of India, 814.5 million people were eligible to vote, with an increase of 100 million voters since the last general election in 2009,[8] making it the largest-ever election in the world.[9] Around 23.1 million or 2.7% of the total eligible voters were aged 18–19 years.[10] A total of 8,251 candidates contested for the 543 Lok Sabha seats.[11] The average election turnout over all nine phases was around 66.38%, the highest ever in the history of Indian general elections.[11]

The results were declared on 16 May 2014, fifteen days before the 15th Lok Sabha completed its constitutional mandate on 31 May 2014.[12] The counting exercise was held at 989 counting centres.[11] The National Democratic Alliance won a sweeping victory, taking 336 seats. The BJP itself won 31.0% of all votes and 282 (51.9%) of all seats,[13] while NDA's combined vote share was 38.5% .[14] It is the first time since the 1984 Indian general elections that a party has won enough seats to govern without the support of other parties.[15] The United Progressive Alliance, led by the Indian National Congress, won 58 seats,[3] 44 (8.1%) of which were won by the Congress, that won 19.3% of all votes.[2][16] It was the Congress party's worst defeat in a general election.[17][18] BJP and its allies won the right to form the largest majority government since the 1984 general election.[19]

Background

By requirement, elections to the Lok Sabha must be held at an interval of five years or whenever parliament is dissolved by the president. The previous election, to the 15th Lok Sabha, was conducted in April–May 2009, and its term would have naturally expired on 31 May 2014. The election to the 16th Lok Sabha was organised and conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and was held in multiple phases, to better handle the large electoral base and security concerns.

Since the last general election in 2009, the anti-corruption movement by Anna Hazare, and other similar moves by Baba Ramdev and Arvind Kejriwal (founder of Aam Aadmi Party), gathered momentum and political interest.[20] Kejriwal went on to form a separate political party, Aam Aadmi Party, in November 2012. The 2012 presidential election resulted in Pranab Mukherjee of Indian National Congress becoming the president. Andhra politics was further shaken following the death of its chief minister, Y. S. R. Reddy. His son, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, then broke from the INC and founded the YSR Congress, taking several politicians with him.

The final session of parliament started on 6 February and ended on 21 February. Amongst the agenda in the final session was passing the The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2013 in tackling corruption and the creation of Telangana.[21]

Organisation

Election dates of Indian general election, 2014

Spending limit

The Cabinet of India revised the limit of election expenditure by a candidate for parliamentary constituencies to 7 million (US$100,000) in bigger states and to 5.4 million (US$80,000) in smaller states and all union territories except Delhi.[22] This revision of the ceiling on election expenditure was attributed to the increase in the number of electors and polling stations as well as the increase in the cost inflation index.

Accessibility

Satyendra Singh, a doctor with a disability,[23] showed the lack of preparedness by the Election Commission of India (ECI) towards electors with disabilities through the Right to Information Act.[24] The Chief Electoral Officer in Delhi, Vijay Dev then started a campaign on providing accessibility for the disabled, along with him. Singh conducted sensitisation workshops for election officers and helped in setting up a registration link for voters with disabilities to register to vote and provide their requirements.[25]

Election dates

The Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC), V. S. Sampath, announced the polling schedule on 5 March. Voting was scheduled to be held in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May, and the results of the election were announced on 16 May.[26][27] Simultaneous elections were held for the Vidhan Sabhas of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim.[28]

Campaign

BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Meerut, during the campaign.

Issues

Important issues during the campaign included high inflation, lack of jobs, economic slow down, corruption, security and terrorism, religious division and communalism, and infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water.[29][30][31] In another survey by Zee News for about 14% of people, corruption is the main issue in the election.[32]

Economy

Bloomberg highlighted India's slowing economy amidst a record high current account deficit and a falling rupee in summer 2013. It pointed out a lack of infrastructure investment and a government increasingly likely to give subsidies that the national finances cannot afford just before the election. Other points it mentioned were stagnant policymaking and an inefficient bureaucracy.[33] The economy was the main issue in the campaign.[34] The lack of a clear mandate as a result of the election could lead to an increase in the price of gold in the country.[35][36] Modi also brought up the issue of farmer suicides that resulted from high debt and poor yield on their crops.[37] Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha criticised the incumbent Chidambaram in saying that he had a "habit that he will get a strong economy, and he will ruin it before he leaves... Shri Chidambaram will be remembered in history as a spoiler, as someone who specialises in sub-five per cent growth rate, for his hubris, arrogance".[38]

Corruption

During the UPA 2, a number of scams came to public attention, deteriorating the image of the government among the common man. These scams included coal scam, 2G scam and CWG scam.

Price rise

The price of onions, a staple in Indian cuisine, faced a dramatic increase.[39] In the lead up to the election, consumer price inflation increased more than expected while, paradoxically, industrial production fell by more than expected causing a dilemma amid slowing growth.[40] The price of salt was also indicative of general food inflation.[41]

Celebrity candidates

Celebrity candidates from non-political spheres were nominated in the election. These included: Raj Babbar (INC), Bhaichung Bhutia (TMC), Biswajit Chatterjee (TMC), Smriti Irani (BJP), Jaaved Jaaferi (AAP), Prakash Jha (JD(U)), Mohammad Kaif (INC), Kamaal Rashid Khan (SP), Vinod Khanna (BJP), Ravi Kishan (INC), Kirron Kher (BJP), Bappi Lahiri (BJP), Hema Malini (BJP), Mahesh Manjrekar (MNS), Bhagwant Mann (AAP), Nandan Nilekani (INC), Gul Panag (AAP), Jaya Prada (RLD), Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (BJP), Paresh Rawal (BJP), Rakhi Sawant (RAP), Indranil Sen (TMC), Moon Moon Sen (TMC), Vijay Kumar Singh (BJP), Shatrughan Sinha (BJP), P. C. Sorcar, Jr. (BJP), Babul Supriyo (BJP), Manoj Tiwari (BJP), Innocent Vincent (LDF-IND), Nagma (actress) (INC), and Dev (TMC).[42][43][44][45]

Parties and alliances

National Democratic Alliance

The constituents of the National Democratic Alliance and the seats they contested and won are shown at the right in the table: The NDA garnered an overwhelming number of 343 seats in this election. This has propelled it to form the government in the country. [46][47][48][49][50]

Party Seats contested Seats won
Bharatiya Janata Party 427 282
Shiv Sena 20 18
Telugu Desam Party 30 16
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam 14 0
Shiromani Akali Dal 10 4
Pattali Makkal Katchi 8 1
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 7 0
Lok Janshakti Party 7 6
Rashtriya Lok Samata Party 3 3
Apna Dal 2 2
Haryana Janhit Congress 2 0
Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party 5 3
Swabhimani Paksha 2 1
Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi 1 0
Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi 1 0
All India N.R. Congress 1 1
Republican Party of India (Athvale) 1 0
Rashtriya Samaj Paksha 1 0
Revolutionary Socialist Party (Bolshevik) 1 0
Kerala Congress (Nationalist) 1 0
National People's Party (India) 1 1
Naga People's Front 1 1
Mizo National Front 1 0
National Democratic Alliance 542 336

Bharatiya Janata Party

Organisation

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was chosen to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign after a party conclave in Goa.[51][52] This came amid controversy as Lal Krishna Advani opposed the decision and resigned from his party posts, only to later rescind his resignation.[53] Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj were part of the team for the campaign. Rajnath Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani were the mentors for the BJP's campaign.[54] A 12-member committee, led by Modi, was appointed at the Goa conclave which included M. Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.[54]

Key Leader's Constituencies

Modi contested the election from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh[55] and Vadodara in Gujarat.[56] In Varanasi, the sizeable Muslim minority population was viewed by the media as an important voter target and the BJP's minority cell leader Salim Mohommad took part in campaigning.[57] Advani wanted to contest from Bhopal but later agreed to contest again from his incumbent seat Gandhinagar.[58] He also rejected a proposal to be appointed to the Rajya Sabha in favour of running in the election.[59] Advani was given the Gandhinagar seat because Modi wanted him to contest from Gujarat, according to Rajnath Singh.[60] Arun Jaitley contested for the Lok Sabha for the first time (having previously been a Rajya Sabha member)[61] from Amritsar against former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.[62] The move was controversial as incumbent MP from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu was unhappy in not being allocated the constituency. Yet he said that as Jaitley was his "guru" he would accept the decision, but would not run from any other constituency. The reason for not allocating the ticket to Sidhu was said to be because of his spat with the Shiromani Akali Dal Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and party President Sukhbir Singh Badal, as well as other BJP personnel.[63] Jaswant Singh was denied nomination from Barmer constituency so he decided instead to contest the seat as an independent.[64]

Campaign and Issues
Modi (fifth from the left) and other BJP leaders after the party's National Executive Meet. Modi was named the chairman of Central Election Campaign Committee during this meet.

The BJP released its manifesto on 7 April 2014. The party promised to set up a Price Stabilization Fund and to evolve a single 'National Agriculture Market' to check price rise and go for e-Governance, policy-driven governance and simplification of the tax regime to prevent corruption. It wanted to encourage labour-intensive manufacturing, focus on traditional employment bases of agriculture, the upgrade of infrastructure and housing and self-employment opportunities for job creation. Harnessing satellite technology; setting up National Optical-Fibre Network up to the village level; Diamond Quadrilateral project – of High Speed Train network were among several other things that the party promised.[65] The Himachal Pradesh BJP attacked the UPA's "one rank, one pension" scheme as an "election stunt," according to the convenor of the BJP's ex-servicemen cell, Brigadier (Retired) Lal Chand Jaswal. The move followed the BJP raising the issue in the previous years and Modi's announcement at an ex-servicemen's rally at Rewari on 15 September 2013 and at Sujanpur on 17 February.[66] Modi also criticised the INC and Rahul Gandhi for giving a ticket to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan despite his indictment in the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai.[67] He further criticised Gandhi's comments about his governance of Gujarat at rally in Bijapur.[68] At a rally in Gurgaon, Haryana, part of the wider National Capital Region, Modi said: "People gave ruling Congress 60 years, I just need 60 months to prove that the BJP is the best option for India" and alleged that the INC was protecting Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, after he was said to have "sold farmers land" and made money. "Robert Vadra's empty bank account was credited with $8.30m (Rs 500 million) in just three months. BJP want answers".[69] He also criticised the INC's Nandan Nilekani as he had "squandered crores of rupees in giving a unique identity (Aadhaar) to millions of people, which even the Supreme Court questioned, as it did not address the security concerns".[70]

Amongst the social media, individuals came up with satirical takes on sports, movies (in Hindi and English) and songs, amongst other things, in support of the BJP campaign slogan that were premised on "Aab ki baar, Modi sarkar" ([This time, [we will have a] Modi government]).[71] Modi was noted for focusing, in his rallies across the country, on the 23 million first-time come-of-age voters.[72] By the last day of campaigning on 10 May, Narendra Modi had undertaken the largest mass outreach in India's electoral history by travelling about 300,000 km for 437 public meetings in 25 states and 1350 innovative 3D rallies according to the BJP.[73]

In regards to foreign relations of India, Modi in a rally in Arunachal Pradesh, a state which borders China with a history of border disputes, swore to protect the country[74] and criticised "Chinese expansionism".[75] He also highlighted the importance of diplomats discussing issues like trade facilitation and promoting Indian business abroad.[76]

Others

Lok Janshakti Party

Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan announced on 30 January that the LJP, RJD and INC will jointly contest the election from Bihar's constituencies.[77] He later announced on 27 February that he will instead join the NDA. LJP contested polls with the BJP and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) on 40 seats with 30 seats for BJP, three seats for RLSP and seven seats for LJP. LJP and RLSp won all the seats allotted to them with BJP winning 22 seats. The election was seen by many BJP leaders as a show of strength after fallout with JD (U). After the election results, Nitish Kumar was forced to resign from the post of Chief Minister after being marginalized to just 2 seats.[78]

Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam

Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), led by Tamil film actor Vijayakanth joined the NDA on 26 February.[79]

Lok Satta Party

On 10 April, while campaigning in Telangana, Jayaprakash Narayan of the Lok Satta Party stated that while his party had a few differences of opinion with the BJP manifesto, they had decided to support the NDA in the "national interest".[80] On the other hand, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan contested from the Malkajgiri. Malkajgiri had 2,953,915 eligible voters in the election making it the largest parliamentary constituency of the country in terms of number of voters.[81]

Shiv Sena, Swabhimani Paksha and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha

The Swabhimani Paksha (SWP) a political party of Swabhimani Shetkari Saghtana (SSS) joined the Shiv Sena-BJP-Republican Party of India (Athvale) alliance in February. The SSS, which represents the interests of farmers in western Maharashtra was offered two seats – Madha in Solapur, where NCP leader Sharad Pawar sits, and Hathkanangale, the seat of SSS leader Raju Shetti. Shetti also sought Baramati but this was rejected by the Shiv Sena and BJP, who decided to leave a seat each from their quotas of 22 and 26 to accommodate SSS.[82] Rashtriya Samaj Paksha also joined the alliance in January.[83] In addition to the aforementioned four parties that were contesting from Maharashtra, RSP was also in the alliance.[84]

Shiromani Akali Dal

Shiromani Akali Dal contested 10 out of 13 seats in Punjab, India.

United Progressive Alliance

The constituents of the United Progressive Alliance and the seats they contested and won are shown at the right in the table: This election turned out to be an unprecedented disaster for the UPA as they garnered the lowest number of seats in their history.

Party Seats Contested Seats Won
Indian National Congress[85] 462 44
Rashtriya Janata Dal[86][87] 27 3
Nationalist Congress Party[88][89] 27 6
Rashtriya Lok Dal[90] 8 0
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha[91][92] 4 2
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference[93] 3 0
Mahan Dal[90] 3 0
Indian Union Muslim League[94] 2 2
Socialist Janata[94] 1 0
Kerala Congress[94] 1 1
Revolutionary Socialist Party[94] 1 1
Bodoland People's Front[95] 1 0
United Progressive Alliance 537 60

In March, the INC, RJD and NCP announced that they would jointly contest in Bihar.[96] The INC contested 12 seats, NCP fought on 1 seat and the RJD, being a regional party, would seek the rest of 27 seats.

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress had announced, on the fourth anniversary of the second United Progressive Alliance government, that its campaign for the election would be led by incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, INC chairperson Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi.[97] Rahul Gandhi was appointed to head a six-member committee to formulate and implement alliances, the party manifesto and general publicity for the election.[98]

In response to sagging opinion poll numbers for the general election, the INC sought to fast-track a decision on separating Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, create a coalition government with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Jharkhand, sought to take credit for the Food Security Bill and passing Land Acquisition Bill.[99]

Prime Minister Candidate

Incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he would not return to his role should the INC get a majority or plurality.[100] Rahul Gandhi told Dainik Bhaskar that he was "ready to take charge" of any responsibility the party gave him and he added that: "My focus for India is a long term vision, where all Indians are treated with equality, respect and are given equal opportunities."[101] At the party meeting it was decided not to name a prime ministerial candidate amid fears it would turn the election into a presidential one. This was criticised by the BJP. Gandhi would instead lead the party's campaign.[102] He also called the election a turning point.[103] Sonia Gandhi then said that the party will face upcoming challenges and the election with a "lot of determination;" she added that the election would be a battle for India. "Divisive forces are stretching social fabric to breaking point. Opposition's way is to spread disharmony. There's a face hidden behind the mask of compassion."[104]

Rahul Gandhi

In January, in an interview, Gandhi admitted that some Congress members may have been involved in the 1984 riots and further stated that Modi's government was responsible for pushing the 2002 riots while the Congress government in 1984 tried to stop the anti Sikh riots.[105] Fellow UPA member, Praful Patel said that the 2002 matter should be put to rest.[106] As Gandhi was reported to have sought an early declaration of the party's candidates, the INC was scheduled to hold its first meeting of the central election committee on 13 February to finalise all their candidates by the end of the month. Similarly, the screening committees for several unnamed part of the country had already occurred so as to shortlist the candidates.[107] On 8 March, its list of 194 candidates was announced, including 35% of candidates that were below the age of 50 years.[108] The INC was reported to be concerned by the possibility of a reduced mandate in Gandhi's seat of Amethi (Lok Sabha constituency) amidst an unusual challenge by his high-profile competitor, the BJP's Smriti Irani. It even led to his mother, Sonia, campaigning there for the first time in 10 years.[109]

Opinion Polls

The INC dismissed the opinion polls pointing to a NDA plurality as misleading and partisan.[110] In its manifesto the party promised "inclusive growth" and that it would initiate a raft of welfare schemes, including a right to healthcare for all and pensions for the aged and disabled.[111] Manmohan Singh, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's INC campaigning included scheduled stops in Odisha[112] and, on 20 April, in Maharashtra prior to the third phase.[113] Rahul Gandhi told a rally in Chhattisgarh that Modi would "divide the nation into pieces, and make people fight against each other."[114]

Media

During the election, former prime ministerial aide Sanjaya Baru published "The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh" in which he criticised Singh as not being fully in charge of his government in having to compete with the dynastic INC leader, Sonia Gandhi, for influence within his own cabinet. Singh's office retorted in saying it is "smacks of fiction and coloured views of a former adviser."[115] After Baru said "it is no secret that Sonia Gandhi was the super prime minister," Priyanka Vadra replied "I think Manmohan Singh ji is the super PM."[116]

Others

National Conference

Minister for New and Renewable Energy and National Conference chairman Farooq Abdullah, controversially, told a rally in Srinagar that in regards to Modi becoming prime minister "if it happens then Kashmir will not remain a part of India. I say it publicly. Kashmiris will not accept a communal person". He added before going to a scheduled rally in Magam that "those who vote for Modi should drown themselves in sea".[117]

Nationalist Congress Party

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was in alliance with the INC in the states of Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.[87][118][119]

Rashtriya Janata Dal

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav said of the BJP's ruling chances that "Modi and Advani can never become the prime minister in their lifetime. Secular forces in this country would never allow the saffron outfit to come to power". In relation to the INC's Rahul Gandhi he said that Gandhi wants to bring change to the country; he added in relation to Digvijay Singh that he was a "good man".[120]

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) contested polls in alliance with INC and RJD in Jharkhand.[121] JMM and INC contested in four and ten seats each, respectively. JMM leader Shibu Soren will run from Dumka, while the other three party's seats could come from Rajmahal, Giridih and the purpose-built city of Jamshedpur.[122]

Left Front

Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) declared their campaign slogan as "Reject Congress, Defeat BJP."[123] On 3 April, the party published its fourth list of candidates for a total of 94 candidates.[124]

In West Bengal, CPI (M) contested as part of the Left Front. 32 out of the 42 Left Front candidates in West Bengal came from the CPI (M), while 20 of its candidates were running for the first time.[125] In Kerala, the CPI (M) contested as a constituent of the Left Democratic Front. In the list of the 15 CPI (M) candidates in Kerala released in mid-March, four were incumbent Lok Sabha members and five others were independents.[126][127] The Kollam seat was allocated to M.A. Baby after the RSP left the LDF and joined the United Democratic Front.[128]

In Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, the CPI (M) made an electoral pact with the CPI and other left parties.[129][130][131][132][133][134][135] In Andhra Pradesh, however, no agreement could be reached between the CPI (M) and the CPI due to differences on the Telangana issue; CPI (M) opposed bifurcation, while the CPI supported creating Telangana.[136] In Telangana region, CPI contested one seat (in alliance with Indian National Congress[137]), while CPI (M) contested two seats.

Other parties

Aam Aadmi Party

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), formed in 2012, contested 432 seats and won 4 seats.[138] The party's manifesto focused on anti-corruption measures.[139] Earlier in 2013, the party had made an impressive electoral debut by winning the second highest number of seats in the Delhi Legisltive Assembly elections. After forming a short-lived minority government in Delhi, AAP was seen as a major challenger to the other political parties.[140] However, the party lost deposits on 413 seats,[138] surpassing the record of Doordarshi Party, which had lost deposit on 321 seats in 1991.[141] AAP's leader Arvind Kejriwal unsuccessfully contested against the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi.[142] Its spokesperson Prashant Bhushan argued that AAP's national debut performance was better than that of the winning party BJP in its first national elections in 1984.[143]

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) opted not to join any alliance and contested all seats in Tamil Nadu on its own.[144] Party leader Jayalalithaa told a rally in March that she would modernise the armed forces by enhancing their capabilities so that they were on par with the superpowers. In saying so she criticised the UPA's governance including its economic, diplomatic and defence policies, adding that modernisation of the armed forces was hindered by steady curtailing of its funding.[145] AIADMK managed to win 37 out of a total of 39 parliamentary constituencies in the state of Tamil Nadu.

All India Forward Bloc

On 21 March, the All India Forward Bloc released its first list of candidates that covered 38 seats in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Delhi. According to the party's Secretary Debabrata Biswas the main objective of the party was "to strengthen and unite the Left, democratic and secular forces to achieve an alternative policy for reconstruction of the country."[146][147] In West Bengal the party will contest the election as part of the Left Front.[125] To defend the two West Bengal seats that it won in 2009, the party decided to field incumbent MP Narahari Mahato in the Purulia seat and a new candidate in the Cooch Behar seat.[146]

Bahujan Samaj Party

On 19 March, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati declared that the party would contest the election on its own and fielded candidates in all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati was confident that the BSP would seek a mandate to form a government with support of secular parties.[148] The party secured the third highest vote share in Uttar Pradesh state but did not win any seat in that state. It did not win any seat in the whole country also.

Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation

At a press conference held on 10 March, General Secretary of the party Dipankar Bhattacharya said his party would field 85 candidates in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jharkhand and Puducherry.[149]

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) opted not to join an UPA pre-poll alliance and contested all seats in Tamil Nadu with its own regional alliance. Party leader Karunanidhi announced Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) with local parties like VCK, MMK, IUML and Puthiya Tamizhagam. DMK was not able to secure even a single seat throughout the country.

Janata Dal (United)

The media speculated that Modi still had a chance of gaining in Bihar at the expense of Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal. Whilst the BJP were in coalition with JD(U), Modi was not allowed to speak at rallies in the party by mutual understanding and was only allowed for special events such as a funeral or party conclave, even Modi's flood relief aid to Bihar was termed communal. Bihar was seen as test case for Modi's popularity if the BJP could increase its tally at the expense of the JD(U). There was also speculation that Lalu Prasad Yadav could make a relative comeback after the 2010 provincial election if he is not convicted over the fodder scam. It also suggested that this would be an eager race as it could determine if Kumar's decision to leave the NDA in June 2013 was prudent and if he has any national political scope left; while for Modi it would give crucial seats to the BJP and be able to attract potential allies as Bihar is largely based on caste politics.[150][151] In January 2014, Kumar referred to Gandhi's stand against corruption as a "farce" after hearing of a meeting between Gandhi and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav despite Yadav being out on bail, after being convicted in the fodder scam. He termed their alliance as "natural" and stated that them coming together was no surprise.[152]

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena

The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) announced its first list of seven candidates. Six of them contested against candidates of Shiv Sena. The party, however, also supported Modi's prime ministerial candidature. The move read as an implicit acceptance of the BJP's Nitin Gadkari's call not to contest against the NDA and to support its own candidates.[153]

Nav Bharat Democratic Party

Nav Bharat Democratic stepped into the political arena with 9 candidates spread across Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The party was established by RK Misra.[154]

Samajwadi Party

Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav claimed that the Third Front government will be formed in the center with the help of his party.[155] To counter the "Modi-effect" on other constituencies near Varanasi, Yadav decided to contest from Azamgarh and Mainpuri.[156] The party decided not to field any candidates against the INC's Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi from Rai Bariely and Amethi, respectively, in response to the INC's decision not to field any candidates against Mulayam Singh Yadav and Dimple Yadav from Mainpuri and Kannauj, respectively.[157]

Sikkim Democratic Front

On 10 March, the Sikkim Democratic Front declared that its incumbent MP, Prem Das Rai, would run for re-election. The party also released a list of 32 candidates for the Sikkim Legislative Assembly election, 2014 that will be held simultaneously with the election.[158]

Trinamool Congress

All-India Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee declared that the party would contest all 42 seats in West Bengal by itself, making this the first occurrence of the party contesting a general election in West Bengal without an alliance with either of the two largest parties, BJP and INC.[159] Banerjee told a rally in Cooch Behar district, near the international border with Bangladesh, that she would take up the issue of the border enclaves upon ascertaining the views of the local people living in the adversely possessed areas. She further noted that she had opposed the central government's agreement in 2011 over the Teesta treaty of water-sharing between the two countries on the grounds of receding waters affecting drinking water availability.[160]

YSR Congress Party

Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress Party fielded candidates across Andhra Pradesh(Rayalaseema & Coastal Andhra) and some districts of Telangana.[161] The party fielded several bureaucrats, businessmen and relatives of politicians for Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh(Rayalaseema & Coastal Andhra), including D. Kishore Rao, the former secretary of the Gujarat Human Rights Commission.[162] In a statement in March, Reddy stated that he would ally himself with whoever would win the election.[161]

Third Front

Fourteen political parties including the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward Bloc,[163] AIADMK, Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, Biju Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Janata Dal, Naga People's Front, Sikkim Democratic Front, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh participated in a convention of the parties not in alliance with the NDA nor UPA, which was held on 30 October 2013.[164] On 5 February 11 parties announced that they would work as one bloc on a "common agenda" in parliament. These included the CPI(M), CPI, RSP, AIFB, Samajwadi Party, JD(U), AIADMK, AGP, JVM, JD(S) and BJD.[165] However, there was speculation that the AGP and BJD were still in preparatory talks to re-join the NDA.[166] A consensus on a prime ministerial candidate, however, was not achieved.[167]

Though CPI (M) has sought to build what it terms a "secular and democratic alternative" to the INC and BJP, general secretary Prakash Karat discarded the notion that these moves would result in a Third Front electoral alliance.[168] He also suggested a possible Third Front would only emerge after the election.[169]

Opinion polls

Opinion polls generally showed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to be the front runner in the election with the emergence of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) as the single largest party.

Conducted in Month(s) Source Polling Organisation
NDA UPA Other
Jan 2014 [170] CNN-IBN-Lokniti-CSDS 211 – 231 107–127 205
Feb 2014 [171] ABP News-Nielsen 236 92 215
March 2014 [172] NDTV- Hansa Research 230 128 185
April 2014 [173] NDTV- Hansa Research 275 111 157

Exit polls

The Election Commission of India banned the publication of all exit polls starting 48 hours before Phase 1 of the election until the end of Phase 9. This was intended to prevent exit polls from earlier phases affecting voter decisions in later phases. The ban ended after the close of Phase 9 voting at 6:30pm IST on 12 May 2014.[174]

Publish Date Source Polling Organisation
NDA UPA Other
12 May 2014 [175] CNN-IBN – CSDS – Lokniti 276 (±6) 97 (±5) 148 (±23)
[175][176] India Today – Cicero 272 (±11) 115 (±5) 156 (±6)
[175][177] News 24Chanakya 340 (±14) 70 (±9) 133 (±11)
[175] Times Now – ORG 249 148 146
[175][178] ABP NewsNielsen 274 97 165
[175] India TVCVoter 289 101 148
14 May 2014 [179][180] NDTV – Hansa Research 279 103 161
12 May 2014 [175] Poll of Polls 283 105 149
16 May 2014 Actual Results[3] 336 58 149

Controversies

During the course of the campaign, several controversies arose with parties being accused by one another and the Election Commission of India of violating Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct that is in force during the election.

In the run-up to the election the media in India was criticised for its establishment ties between family owners and political parties. It caused self-censorship and editorial dismissals at certain media outlets.[181]

India Today temporarily suspended its CVoter opinion poll in late February after a News Express sting operation suggesting Polling Agencies like Ipsos and CVoter fudged the numbers to show BJP candidate Narendra Modi in the lead. However, with the final results matching the Modi landslide projected by the polls; the unsubstantiated charges were proved to be politically motivated. The 2014 elections confirmed the accuracy of the Election Polling in India.[182]

Voting

According to the Election Commission of India, 814.5 million people were eligible to vote, with an increase of 100 million voters since the last general election in 2009,[8] making this the largest-ever election in the world.[9] Around 23.1 million or 2.7% of the total eligible voters were aged 18–19 years.[10]

In total there were 1.4 million electronic voting machines in 930,000 voting centres. The Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) system which enables EVM to record each vote cast by generating the EVM slip, was introduced in 8 constituencies of Lucknow, Gandhinagar, Bangalore South, Chennai Central, Jadavpur, Raipur, Patna Sahib and Mizoram as a pilot project.[183][184][185][186][187][188][189][190] Also, Braille ballot sheets for the blind were arranged at polling stations. The scale of the election required 1.1 million of civil servants and 5.5 million civilian employees to handle the election. It was the first election that had the "none of the above" option and allowed Non-Resident Indians to vote; though only in India.[114] Security was increased during the election, particularly as the Communist Party of India (Maoist) (CPI (Maoist)) called for a boycott of the election.[191] On 12 April, even though there was no voting this day, a vehicle in Chhattisgarh hit a CPI (Maoist) landmine resulting in the deaths of two bus drivers and five election officials, with four more injured, while travelling from Kutru to Bijapur in preparation for the fifth phase of voting. On the same day, within an hour, they also ambushed a vehicle resulting in the deaths of five paramilitary soldiers in the Darbha forest.[192] The election was the longest and the most expensive general election in the history of the country, with the Election Commission of India estimating that the election did cost the exchequer 3500 crore (US$577 million), excluding the expenses incurred for security and by the individual political parties.[193] Parties were expected to spend 30,500 crore (US$5 billion) in the election, according to the Centre for Media Studies. This was three times the amount spent in the previous election in 2009, and was then the world's second highest after the US$7 billion spent on the 2012 US presidential election.[194]

The election reportedly boosted the hospitality sector as, according to ASSOCHAM, tourist arrivals from the countries such as the US, UK, France, Singapore and the U.A.E. have gone up by 10–15 percent, while the movement of domestic tourists jumped by 62%.[195]

State/UT wise Voter Turnout Details

Based on data from Election Commission India[196]

State/UT Male Electors Male Voters Male Turnout Female Electors Female Voters Female Turnout Total Electors Total Voters Total Turnout Total Seats
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (UT) 142,782 101,178 70.86% 126,578 89,150 70.43% 269,360 190,328 70.66% 1
Andhra Pradesh 32,670,930 24,352,913 74.54% 32,267,820 24,005,632 74.39% 64,938,750 48,358,545 74.47% 42
Arunachal Pradesh 379,627 289,291 76.2% 379,760 307,665 81.02% 759,387 596,956 78.61% 2
Assam 9,787,209 7,876,763 80.48% 9,098,065 7,209,120 79.24% 18,885,274 15,085,883 79.88% 14
Bihar 34,092,938 18,779,230 55.08% 29,668,858 17,106,136 57.66% 63,761,796 35,885,366 56.28% 40
Chandigarh (UT) 333,621 244,956 73.42% 281,593 208,499 74.04% 615,214 453,455 73.71% 1
Chhattisgarh 8,915,783 6,320,693 70.89% 8,707,266 5,934,886 68.16% 17,623,049 12,255,579 69.54% 11
Dadra & Nagar Haveli (UT) 106,215 87,800 82.66% 90,402 77,486 85.71% 196,617 165,286 84.06% 1
Daman & Diu (UT) 57,011 42,378 74.33% 54,816 44,855 81.83% 111,827 87,233 78.01% 1
Goa 528,308 395,766 74.91% 532,469 421,234 79.11% 1,060,777 817,000 77.02% 2
Gujarat 21,229,092 14,259,115 67.17% 19,374,012 11,564,888 59.69% 40,603,104 25,824,003 63.6% 26
Haryana 8,716,612 6,351,584 72.87% 7,381,137 5,143,566 69.69% 16,097,749 11,495,150 71.41% 10
Himachal Pradesh 2,474,430 1,569,632 63.43% 2,335,641 1,528,869 65.46% 4,810,071 3,098,501 64.42% 4
Jammu & Kashmir 3,802,021 1,927,584 50.7% 3,400,142 1,639,279 48.21% 7,202,163 3,566,863 49.52% 6
Jharkhand 10,685,149 6,860,476 64.21% 9,641,594 6,122,464 63.5% 20,326,743 12,982,940 63.87% 14
Karnataka 23,586,223 16,165,832 68.54% 22,625,886 14,873,056 65.73% 46,212,109 31,038,888 67.17% 28
Kerala 11,734,258 8,678,185 73.96% 12,592,391 9,297,708 73.84% 24,326,649 17,975,893 73.89% 20
Lakshadweep (UT) 25,433 21,585 84.87% 24,489 21,654 88.42% 49,922 43,239 86.61% 1
Madhya Pradesh 25,309,830 16,734,556 66.12% 22,808,210 12,905,240 56.58% 48,118,040 29,639,796 61.6% 29
Maharashtra 42,743,156 26,714,578 62.5% 37,974,127 22,004,266 57.95% 80,717,283 48,718,844 60.36% 48
Manipur 871,431 685,427 78.66% 902,894 727,210 80.54% 1,774,325 1,412,637 79.62% 2
Meghalaya 777,639 524,774 67.48% 789,602 553,284 70.07% 1,567,241 1,078,058 68.79% 2
Mizoram 346,219 216,167 62.44% 355,951 217,034 60.97% 702,170 433,201 61.69% 1
Nagaland 600,490 529,325 88.15% 582,458 509,585 87.49% 1,182,948 1,038,910 87.82% 1
NCT OF Delhi 7,051,098 4,653,522 66.00% 5,660,138 3,618,244 63.93% 12,711,236 8,271,766 65.07% 7
Orissa 15,194,309 11,032,523 72.61% 14,001,732 10,499,752 74.99% 29,196,041 21,532,275 73.75% 21
Puducherry (UT) 432,048 351,360 81.32% 469,309 388,657 82.81% 901,357 740,017 82.1% 1
Punjab 10,327,116 7,262,625 70.33% 9,280,892 6,582,507 70.93% 19,608,008 13,845,132 70.61% 13
Rajasthan 22,638,323 14,627,976 64.62% 20,331,124 12,482,068 61.39% 42,969,447 27,110,044 63.09% 25
Sikkim 190,886 158,222 82.89% 179,725 150,745 83.88% 370,611 308,967 83.37% 1
Tamil Nadu 27,571,785 20,249,949 73.44% 27,542,720 20,370,491 73.96% 55,114,505 40,620,440 73.70% 39
Tripura 1,217,575 1,035,722 85.06% 1,171,244 988,137 84.37% 2,388,819 2,023,859 84.72% 2
Uttar Pradesh 76,071,444 44,979,619 59.13% 62,894,376 36,112,683 57.42% 138,965,820 81,092,302 58.35% 80
Uttarakhand 3,751,098 2,268,767 60.48% 3,378,841 2,123,123 62.84% 7,129,939 4,391,890 61.6% 5
West Bengal 32,689,449 26,886,706 82.25% 30,143,679 24,735,849 82.06% 62,833,128 51,622,555 82.16% 42
India 437,051,538 293,236,779 67.09% 397,049,941 260,565,022 65.63% 834,101,479 553,801,801 66.40% 543

Turnout was 75% in Assam and 84% in Tripura.[197] Assam's INC Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that "there is no Narendra Modi magic in Assam. The Congress has been winning every form of elections since 2001 in Assam, and we are going to repeat the performance this time." Additionally, the borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan were closed for security reasons.[198]

The turnouts were recorded at 82.5% in Nagaland, 71% in Arunachal Pradesh, 66% in Meghalaya and 70% in Manipur.[199][200] Mizoram's voting was deferred to 11 April,[201] where the turnout was 60%.[202]

About 110 million of people were eligible to vote for 91 seats. The turnout was 76% in Kerala, 64% in Delhi, 55.98% in Madhya Pradesh, 54.13% in Maharashtra, 65% in Uttar Pradesh and 66.29% in Jammu.[191] Kerala and Chandigarh set new voter turnout records. A higher proportion of eligible electors voted in 2014 than in 2009.[203]

Voter turnout set new records or were near record levels with 75% in Goa, 75% in Assam, 81.8% in Tripura and 80.97%[204] in Sikkim (including the Sikkim Legislative Assembly election, 2014).[205] West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee nearly cancelled the polls in her region after initially refusing to changes to the appointments of civil service departments, but was forced to constitutionally do so.[206]

The largest voting day involved nearly 200 million eligible voters,[207] 1,769 candidates for 121 seat. The voting turnout in Uttar Pradesh was 62%, West Bengal was 80%, over 70% in Odisha, 69% in Jammu and Kashmir, 54% in Madhya Pradesh and 62% in Jharkhand.[208] Manipur had 74%[207] and Maharashtra had a 61.7% turnout.[209] In Karnataka, the average voting was up on 65% against 58% in the previous election, though urban voters were lower.[210][211] In Chhattisgarh, the voter turnout was 63.44% compared to 57.6% in 2009, while Rajasthan recorded a 63.25% voter turnout, compared to 48.09% in 2009.[212] In Bihar's seven constituencies, the turnout was 56%, compared to 39% in 2009.[213] In one of six constituencies from Jammu and Kashmir, Udhampur, the turnout of 70% was significantly higher than the 2009 figure of 45%.[214] Overall across India, the turnout on the day was over 65%[207] and nearly all constituencies had a higher voter turnout than 2009.[214]

The second largest voting day entailed 180 million eligible voters across 201,735 voting centres to elect 117 members of parliament from 2,098 candidates.[215] Tamil Nadu set a new voter turnout record for Lok Sabha elections with 73%, while West Bengal experienced the highest voter turnout for the day at 82%.[216] As compared to that, urban centres such as Mumbai and Chennai saw lower voter turnouts, but bettered their figures from previous years. Mumbai witnessed a 53% turnout, compared to 41% in 2009.[217] The rural areas of Maharashtra saw over 60% turnout, Madhya Pradesh had 64%, Uttar Pradesh had over 60%, Chhattisgarh had about 66%, Assam had over 70%,[218] Bihar has about 60%, Jharkhand had 63.4%, Rajasthan had about 60% and Pudhucherry had about 82%.[215][219] One of six constituencies from Jammu and Kashmir, Anantnag, had the lowest turnout of 28%, after a boycott call by separatists,[220] an attack on 22 April that killed three people,[221] and with thousands of Kashmiri Pandits protesting in the afternoon that their names were missing from the electoral roll.[222] As with previous phases, the overall voter turnout for the day was higher than 2009.[223] In both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the turnout was about 9% higher, while Uttar Pradesh saw a 13% increase.[215][218]

The 7th phase of voting entailed about 140 million eligible voters to elect 89 members of parliament from 1,295 candidates in 7 states and 2 Union Territories.[224] Punjab set a new record in its voter turnout for general elections with 73%.[225] Gujarat saw the highest jump in voter turnout for the day with 62% turnout compared to 48% turnout in 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The nine constituencies in West Bengal reported over 81% turnout.[226] Uttar Pradesh witnessed 57% turnout compared to 48% in 2009, while Bihar saw 60% compared to 52% in 2009.[224] One of six constituencies from Jammu and Kashmir, eligible to vote in this phase, had the lowest turnout for the day at 26% compared to 25.55% in 2009, after a boycott call by separatists.[227] Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, which will become India's new state on 2 June 2014, saw nearly 72% turnout to elect Lok Sabha members as well as its first state government.[226] The aggregate turnout so far in the first 7 phases for 438 parliamentary seats has been 66.20%, significantly more than 57.41% figure in 2009 general elections.[225]

The 8th phase saw voting for 64 Lok Sabha seats in 7 states with 897 candidates competing.[228] Along with the general elections, polls were also held for the first Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh excluding Telangana region.[229] The voter turnout was high, with West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh each setting their respective general election voter turnout records. West Bengal recorded 81% polling compared to 78% for 2009.[228] Andhra Pradesh recorded nearly 76% voter turnout.[230] Himachal Pradesh saw about 66% turnout compared to 58% for 2009.[231] Uttarakhand also set a new voter turnout record with 62% compared to 53% in 2009.[232] The 2 constituencies of Jammu & Kashmir that voted witnessed a 49.9% turnout,[228] while constituencies of Bihar saw 58% compared to 45% in 2009.[232] Uttar Pradesh experienced a 55.5% turnout compared to 43.4% in 2009.[233]

The 9th and last phase of voting entailed over 90 million eligible voters to elect 41 members of parliament from 606 candidates in 3 states.[234] The 6 seats in Bihar saw a voter turnout of 58%, compared to 46% in 2009.[234] Uttar Pradesh's 18 constituencies witnessed a 55.3% turnout, compared to 46.6% in 2009.[235] In West Bengal, the 17 constituencies that voted, saw a turnout of about 80% compared to 82% in 2009.[235]

The 2014 general elections, according to the Election Commission of India, recorded a cumulative total of 66.38% voter turnout, or 551.3 million out of 814 million eligible people casting their vote, according to provisional figures.[236] The 2014 turnout surpassed India's previous highest voter turnout record of 64% in 1984 general elections.[234][237] The voter turnout in 2009 general elections was 58.19%, while 2004 general elections saw a voter turnout of 56.98%.[237] The 2014 general elections entailed 8,202 candidates competing for 543 seats.[238]

Re-polls

Many locations required re-polling for various reasons. There was re-polling on 9 polling stations in Orissa on 25 April.[239][240] The Election Commission ordered re-polls in 52 polling booths (30 in Andhra Pradesh(A.P & Telangana), 11 in Uttar Pradesh and 11 in West Bengal) because of complaints of booth capturing, rigging, violence or as demanded by the locals. The re-poll was held on 13 May. In Uttar Pradesh, re-polls were held in 3 polling booths in Muzaffarnagar, 7 in Ferozabad and 1 in Badaun.[241][242] Re-polling also occurred on 14 May in Arunachal Pradesh and on 15 May in the states of Nagaland and Haryana.[243][244][245][246] The Left parties and BJP alleged mass rigging and booth capturing by Trinamool Congress at thousands of polling stations in West Bengal.[247][248][249][250] AAP demanded re-polling in 108 booths.[244][251]

Congress demanded re-polling at 1,344 polling stations in Nagaland.[252] Re-polling was done in two polling stations in Tamil Nadu on 10 May and in 3 polling stations in Andhra Pradesh(Rayalaseema & Coastal Andhra) on 13 May.[253][254][255][256] In Bihar, there was re-polling on 2 polling stations of Sitamarhi on 11 May and 3 polling stations in Muzaffarnagar went to re-polling on 13 May.[256][257][258][259] On 15 May, there was re-polling in one booth in Tamil Nadu, and at 5 booths in West Bengal, Bihar, Nagaland.[243][260][261][262][263][264][265][266] It was reported that not a single voter turned up for a re-poll at 5 polling stations in Nagaland on 15 May.[267][268] On 12 May, the Bombay High court declined to order supplementary polling for voters in Maharashtra whose names were missing from the electoral rolls. There were speculated to be as many as 100,000 voters missing from the electoral roll in Pune and as many as 200,000 missing from electoral roll in Mumbai.[269][270][271][272][273]

Voting pattern

The BJP secured 39% support from first time voters, while Congress received 19% of the first time votes.[10] The NDA won 39 of 74 seats where Muslim voters make up between 21 to 95% of the total electorate. The BJP won all 16 seats in Uttar Pradesh. It also secured 5 out of 9 such seats in Bihar. Analyst Saeed Naqvi believes that Amit Shah managed to convince Dalits and OBC voters to elect the BJP as "Muslim appeasers in an atmosphere of perpetual communal tension".[274]

The BJP won all 26 seats in Gujarat, marking the first time a single party won all seats in the state. The previous record was held by the Congress which won 25 of the 26 seats in the 1984 general election.[275] The assembly segment-wise result of Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh shows that the BJP was number one in 328 seats, while the ruling SP led in just 42. Congress was ahead in 15, BSP 9 and Apna Dal 9. In 2012, SP had formed government by winning 224 assembly seats. BSP had won 80, BJP 47, Congress 28 and Apna Dal one.[276]

Similarly, in Maharashtra BJP-Shiva Sena alliance has got a lead in 246 assembly segments out of the total 288.[277] By securing seven of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, BJP remained ahead on 52 assembly segments in the state. Its ally HJC could not win any of the Lok Sabha seats it contested, but its candidates remained ahead in seven assembly segments. BJP contested 8 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, leaving two constituencies for its alliance partner HJC. BJP candidates remained ahead in all 27 assembly segments of Ambala, Karnal and Faridabad parliamentary constituencies. BJP won all seats except Rohtak where its candidate Om Prakash Dhankar lost to Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's son and sitting MP Deepender Hooda.[278]

Results

336 58[3] 149
BJP+NDA INC+UPA Others
Party BJP INC AIADMK AITMC BJD SS TDP TRS
Leader Narendra Modi Sonia Gandhi Jayalalithaa Mamata Banerjee Naveen Patnaik Uddhav Thackeray N. Chandrababu Naidu K. Chandrasekhar Rao
Votes 31.3%, 171,660,230 19.5%, 106,935,942 3.3%, 18,111,579 3.8%, 20,378,052 1.7%, 9,489,946 1.9%, 10,050,652 2.5% 14,099,230 1.2% 6,736,270
Seats 282 (51.9%) 44 (8.1%) 37 (6.8%) 34 (6.2%) 20 (3.6%) 18 (3.3%) 16 (2.9%) 11 (2.1%)
282 / 543
44 / 543
37 / 543
34 / 543
20 / 543
18 / 543
16 / 543
11 / 543

Vote Share of different parties in the election[5][4]

  BJP (31.3%)
  INC (19.5%)
  BSP (4.2%)
  AITC (3.8%)
  AIADMK (3.3%)
  SP (3.2%)
  CPM (3.2%)
  TDP (2.5%)
  Shiv Sena (1.9%)
  DMK (1.8%)
  BJD (1.7%)
  Other (23.6%)

Seat Share of different parties in the election.

  BJP (51.9%)
  INC (8.1%)
  BSP (0%)
  AITC (6.2%)
  SP (0.9%)
  AIADMK (6.8%)
  CPM (1.7%)
  BJD (3.6%)
  Shiv Sena (3.3%)
  TDP (2.9%)
  TRS (1.9%)
  Other (12.7%)

Criminal background of winners

About one-third of all winners had at least one pending criminal case against them, with some having serious criminal cases.[279]

A candidate with criminal case(s) had 13% chance of winning the election, whereas a candidate with a clean record had only 5% chance of winning. (Here, chance of winning = No. of winners in the category/ Total no. of candidates in that category.)[280]

Financial background of winners

Out of the 542 members analysed, 443 (82%) have total assets of 1 crore (US$150,000) or more. In the 15th Lok Sabha, out of 521 members analysed, 300 (58%) members had assets of 1 crore (US$150,000) or more.[153]

The average assets per member are 14.7 crore (US$2.2 million) (in 2009, this figure was 5.35 crore (US$800,000)).

Outgoing Cabinet Ministers who lost their seats


Statewise Results

Andaman & Nicobar Islands (1)

1
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 47.8 +3.59 1 0
Indian National Congress 40.8 -1.23 0 0

Assam (14)

7 3 3 1
BJP INC AIUDF IND
Name of Party Seats won
Bharatiya Janata Party 7
Indian National Congress 3
AIUDF 3
IND 1

Chandigarh (1)

1
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 42.20 +19.46 1 +1
Indian National Congress 26.80 -20.07 0 -1
Aam Aadmi Party 24.00 New 0 0

Chhattisgarh (11)

10 1
BJP INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 48.70 -1.09 10 0
Indian National Congress 38.40 +13.67 1 0

Dadra & Nagar Haveli (1)

1
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 48.90 +2.47 1 0
Indian National Congress 45.10 -0.75 0 0

Daman & Diu (1)

1
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 53.80% -11.46 1 0
Indian National Congress 43.30% +14.29 0 0

NCT of Delhi (7)

7
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 46.40% 7 +7
Indian National Congress 15.10% -42.01% 0 -7
Aam Aadmi Party 32.90% +32.90% 0 0

Goa (2)

2
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 53.40% +8.62 2 +1
Indian National Congress 36.60% -14.00 0 -1

Gujarat (26)

26
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 59.10% +12.59 26 +11
Indian National Congress 32.90% -10.48 0 -11

Haryana (10)

7 2 1
BJP INLD INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 34.70% 7 +7
Indian National Congress 22.90% -18.87 1 -8
Indian National Lok Dal 24.40% 2 +2

Himachal Pradesh (4)

4
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 53.31% +3.72 4 +1
Indian National Congress 40.70% -4.91 0 -1

Jammu and Kashmir (6)

3 3
BJP PDP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 34.40% 3 +3
Indian National Congress 22.90% -1.77 0 -2
Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party 20.50% 3 +3
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 11.10% -8.00% 0 -3
Independent --- --- 0 -1

Jharkhand (14)

12 2
BJP JMM
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 40.10% +12.57% 12 +4
Indian National Congress (UPA) 13.30% -1.72% 0 -1
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha 12.10% 0 -1
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (UPA) 9.30% -2.4% 2 0
Independent --- --- 0 -2

Karnataka (28)

17 2 9
BJP JD(S) INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 43.00% -1.37 17 -2
Indian National Congress 40.80% +3.15 9 +3
Janata Dal (Secular) 11.00% -2.57% 2 -1

Kerala (20)

8 2 1 1 5 1 2
INC IUML KC(M) RSP CPI(M) CPI IND
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 10.30% 0 0
Indian National Congress 31.10% 8 -5
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 21.60% 5 +1
Communist Party of India 7.60% 1 +1
Indian Union Muslim League 4.50% 2 0
Kerala Congress (Mani) 2.40% 1 0
Revolutionary Socialist Party 1 +1
Independents (backed by Left Democratic Front) 2 +2

Lakshadweep (1)

1
NCP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Nationalist Congress Party 50.10% +3.79 1 +1
Indian National Congress 46.60% -5.32 0 -1

Madhya Pradesh (29)

26 3
BJP INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 55.00% +10.55 27 +10
Indian National Congress 34.90% -5.24% 2 -9
Bahujan Samaj Party 3.8% -2.05% 0 -1

Maharashtra (48)

23 18 1 4 2
BJP Shiv Sena SWP NCP INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party (NDA) 27.30% +9.13% 23 +14
Shiv Sena (NDA) 20.60% +3.60% 18 +7
Indian National Congress (UPA) 18.10% -1.51 2 -15
Nationalist Congress Party (UPA) 16.00% -3.28 4 -4
Swabhimani Paksha (NDA) 2.30% 1 0
Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi --- --- 0 -1
Independent --- --- 0 -1

Manipur (2)

2
INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 11.90% 0 0
Indian National Congress 41.70% -1.26% 2 0
Naga People's Front 19.90% 0 0
Communist Party of India 14.00% 0 0

Meghalaya (2)

1 1
NPP INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party (NDA) 8.90% 0 0
Indian National Congress (UPA) 37.90% -6.94% 1 0
National People's Party (NDA) 22.20% +22.20 1 +1
Nationalist Congress Party (UPA) --- -18.78% 0 -1

Mizoram (1)

1
INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Indian National Congress 48.60% +16.98 1 0

Nagaland (1)

1
NPF
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Naga People's Front (NDA) 68.70% -1.26 1 0
Indian National Congress 30.10% 0

Odisha (21)

20 1
BJD BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Biju Janata Dal 44.10% +6.87 20 +6
Bharatiya Janata Party 21.50% 1 +1
Indian National Congress 26.00% -6.75 0 -6
Communist Party of India 0.3% -2.27% 0 -1

Puducherry (1)

1
All India N R Congress
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
All India N.R. Congress (NDA) 34.60% +34.60 1 +1
Indian National Congress 26.3% -23.16% 0 -1
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 17.93% +17.93% 0 0

Punjab (13)

2 4 4 3
BJP SAD AAP INC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Indian National Congress 33.10% -12.13 3 -5
Shiromani Akali Dal 20.30% -13.55% 4 0
Bharatiya Janata Party 8.70% -1.36 2 +1
Aam Aadmi Party 30.40% +30.40% 4 +4

Rajasthan (25)

25
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 50.90% +7.71 25 +21
Indian National Congress 30.40% -16.79 0 -20

Sikkim (1)

1
SDF
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Sikkim Democratic Front 53.00% -13.30 1 0
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha 39.50% +39.50% 0 0
Bharatiya Janata Party 2.40% +0.59 0 0
Indian National Congress 2.30% -27.26% 0 0

Tamil Nadu (39)

37 1 1
AIADMK PMK BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 44.30% +21.42% 37 +28
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 23.60% -1.49 0 -18
Bharatiya Janata Party 5.50% 1 +1
Pattali Makkal Katchi 4.40% 1 +1

Tripura (2)

2
CPI(M)
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 64.00% +2.31 2 0
Indian National Congress 15.20% 0 0
Bharatiya Janata Party 5.70% 0 0

Uttar Pradesh (80)

71 5 2 2
BJP SP INC AD
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 42.30% +24.80 71 +61
Samajwadi Party 22.20% -1.06 5 -18
Bahujan Samaj Party 19.60% -7.82 0 -20
Indian National Congress 7.50% -10.75 2 -19
Apna Dal 1.00% 2 +2

Uttarakhand (5)

5
BJP
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
Bharatiya Janata Party 55.30% 5 +5
Indian National Congress 34.00% -9.13 0 -5

West Bengal (42)

2 4 2 34
BJP INC CPI(M) TMC
Name of Party Vote Share % Change Seats won Changes
All India Trinamool Congress 39.80% +8.60 34 +15
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 23% -10.1 2 -13
Bharatiya Janata Party 18% +10.90 2 +1
Indian National Congress 9.70% -3.80 4 -2

Results by Alliance

NDA - 336 (BJP 282, SS 18, TDP 16, SAD 4, LJP 6)
UPA - 48 (INC 44, IUML 2, KCM 1, RSP 1)
AIADMK: 37, Trinamool Congress: 34

Assembly Segment-Wise Lead Analysis

Based on the assembly segment wise data available from Election Commission India.[281]

State/UT Parliament Seats NDA UPA Others Assembly Segments NDA UPA Others
Andhra Pradesh 25 BJP 2 TDP 15 0 YSRCP 8 175 BJP 4 TDP 102 0 YSRCP 67 IND 2
Arunachal Pradesh 2 BJP 1 INC 1 --- 60 BJP 37 INC 23
Assam 14 BJP 7 INC 3 AIUDF 3, IND 1 126 BJP 69 INC 23 AIUDF 24, IND 9, BOPF 1
Bihar 40 BJP 22 LJP 6 RLSP 3 INC 2, RJD 4, NCP 1 JDU 2 243 BJP 121, LJP 34, RLSP 17 INC 14, RJD 32, NCP 5 JDU 18, CPI 1, BSP 1
Chhattisgarh 11 BJP 10 INC 1 --- 90 BJP 72 INC 18 ---
Goa 2 BJP 2 --- --- 40 BJP 32 INC 8 ---
Gujarat 26 BJP 26 --- --- 182 BJP 165 INC 17 ---
Haryana 10 BJP 7 INC 1 INLD 2 90 BJP 52, HJC 7 INC 15 INLD 16
Himachal Pradesh 4 BJP 4 --- --- 68 BJP 59 INC 9 ---
Jammu & Kashmir 6 BJP 3 --- JKPDP 3 87 BJP 25 INC 12, JKNC 5 JKPDP 41, JPC 1 IND 3
Jharkhand 14 BJP 12 JMM 2 --- 81 BJP 56 INC 3 JMM 9 JVM 4, CPI(ML)(L) 3, JBSP 3, JP 2, AJSUP 1
Karnataka 28 BJP 17 INC 9 JD(S) 2 224 BJP 132 INC 77 JDS 15
Kerala 20 --- INC 8, IUML 2, KC(M) 1, RSP 1 CPI(M) 5, CPM(IND) 2, CPI 1 140 BJP 4 INC 57, KC(M) 7, IUML 11, RSP 4, SJ(D) 1 CPI(M) 36, CPI 9, IND(CPM backed) 11
Madhya Pradesh 29 BJP 27 INC 2 --- 230 BJP 192 INC 36 BSP 2
Maharashtra 48 BJP 23, SS 18, SWP 1 INC 2, NCP 4 --- 288 BJP 132, SS 100, SWP 9, RSPS 3 INC 16, NCP 26 PWPI 2
Manipur 2 --- INC 2 --- 60 BJP 3, NPF 9 INC 38 CPI 9, AITC 1
Meghalaya 2 NPP 1 INC 1 --- 60 BJP 5 NPP 18 INC 23 IND 9, UDP 5
Mizoram 1 --- INC 1 --- 40 --- INC 21 IND 19
Nagaland 1 NPF 1 --- --- 60 NPF 52 INC 8 ---
Odisha 21 BJP 1 --- BJD 20 147 BJP 20 INC 11 BJD 116
Punjab 13 BJP 2, SAD 4 INC 3 AAP 4 117 BJP 16, SAD 29 INC 37 AAP 33, IND 2
Rajasthan 25 BJP 25 --- --- 200 BJP 180 INC 11 NPEP 4, IND 5
Sikkim 1 --- --- SDF 1 32 -- INC 1 SDF 22, SKM 9
Tamil Nadu 39 BJP 1, PMK 1 --- ADMK 37 234 BJP 7, PMK 4 INC 1 ADMK 217, DMK 4, VCK 1
Telangana 17 BJP 1, TDP 1 INC 2 TRS 11, YSRCP 1, AIMIM 1 119 BJP 5, TDP 12 INC 23 TRS 63, YSRCP 3, AIMIM 7, CPI 1, CPI(M) 1 , BSP 2, IND 2
Tripura 2 --- --- CPI(M) 2 60 --- --- CPI(M) 60
Uttar Pradesh 80 BJP 71, AD 2 INC 2 SP 5 403 BJP 328, AD 9 INC 15 SP 42, BSP 9
Uttarakhand 5 BJP 5 --- --- 70 BJP 63 INC 7 ---
West Bengal 42 BJP 2 INC 4 AITC 34, CPI(M) 2 294 BJP 24 INC 28 AITC 214, CPI(M) 22, CPI 2, RSP 3, AIFB 1
NCT of Delhi (UT) 7 BJP 7 --- --- 70 BJP 60 --- AAP 10
Puducherry (UT) 1 AINRC 1 --- --- 30 AINRC 19 INC 5 ADMK 5, DMK 1
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (UT) 1 BJP 1 --- --- 1 BJP 1 --- ---
Chandigarh (UT) 1 BJP 1 --- --- 1 BJP 1 --- ---
Dadra Nagar & Haveli (UT) 1 BJP 1 --- --- 1 BJP 1 --- ---
Daman & Diu (UT) 1 BJP 1 --- --- 1 BJP 1 --- ---
Lakshadeep (UT) 1 --- NCP 1 --- 1 --- NCP 1 ---

Reactions

Domestic

Economic

The country's economic indicators were performing well in advance of the result in expectation of a BJP win, on the perception that Modi is business-friendly. The benchmark BSE Sensex and CNX Nifty indices hit record highs and the Indian rupee strengthened following months of poor performance.[282] On the result day, as early vote counts gave the BJP a majority lead, the Sensex reached a record high of 25,375.63 points.[283] It ended the day at a new closing high of 24,121.74. The Nifty reached a record high of 7,563.50, before ending the day at a new closing high of 7,203.[284] The Indian rupee rose to an 11-month high of 58.62 against the US dollar and closed at 58.79.[285] Deutsche Bank revised its December 2014 target for the Sensex to 28,000, and Macquarie revised its 12-month target for the Nifty to 8,400 from 7,200. Edelweiss set its December 2014 targets for the Sensex and Nifty at 29,000 and 9,000 respectively.[286]

Media

India Times suggested that the election was watched in Pakistan with Modi being the less popular candidate than AAP's Kejriwal. Comparisons were made between the latter and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Imran Khan.[287] Analysts suggested a high turnout would favour the BJP as it indicates an increase in participation of urban voters who are the party's traditional vote bank. Others have suggested however, that this could indicate an increase in voting amongst the 150 million Muslims that generally support the INC. Varghese K George, the political editor of The Hindu said that both readings rely on too many assumptions but that the only reading so far was the BJP was "doing well [and] Modi is managing to make some connection with voters and the Congress is doing pretty badly."[288]

Politicians

When it became clear that the BJP would win the election, Narendra Modi tweeted, "India has won! Bharat ki Vijay. Ache din ane wale hai (good days are ahead)."[289] This tweet instantly became India's most retweeted Twitter post.[290] Manmohan Singh congratulated Modi by telephone.[291][292] Congress President Sonia Gandhi accepted the defeat and congratulated the new government saying, "I congratulate the next government. I take full responsibility for the loss of Congress." Rahul Gandhi also did the same saying, "The new government has been given a mandate by the people. As Congress Vice President I hold myself responsible. The Congress party has done badly."[293]

Former Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said, "I am surprised by the results, especially in Telangana and Jharkhand. There was clearly a Modi effect."[294] At the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on 19 May, general secretary Mohan Prakash claimed that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and the RSS had been working together since 2009 to defeat the UPA government. Prakash further claimed that this was because of Israel's unhappiness with the UPA government. According to him, this was because the UPA only had limited political relations with Israel, unlike the previous NDA government. Outgoing Finance Minister P. Chidambaram criticised the style of functioning and work culture at the Congress headquarters for the loss, and suggested adopting a more corporate approach. Some Congress members blamed Japanese communication agency Dentsu, which had been hired by the party, at a cost of nearly 6 billion, to handle their election advertising campaign and image makeover of Rahul Gandhi along with another agency Burson-Marsteller. Chairman of the party's communication department Ajay Maken harshly criticised Dentsu India executive chairman Rohit Ohri for a "spineless campaign". Priya Dutt, Secretary of the party's communication department, pointed out the gap between the people and the Congress leadership stating, "We need to bridge that gap. We need to bring that right up to the leadership. There is a lot of criticism. We have to look at where we have gone wrong in the past 10 years."[295] DNA described the accusations against Mossad, RSS and Dentsu as "bizarre theories", and noted that "everyone except vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been held responsible for their crushing defeat."[295]

Union minister in the outgoing government Milind Deora told The Indian Express on 21 May that although "many factors" led to the party's defeat and Rahul's leadership alone could not be blamed, "it was not about one person's image but the people surrounding that person also. Deora stated that many party members felt that the decision makers in the party had "no electoral experience...no stature, standing, respect and credibility in the party". He accused the people who "were in charge of important departments and held key positions" of not listening to party cadres and MPs, which he believed prevented a "diverse opinion" from being heard and "shut out a lot of people". Deora stated, "A lot of us felt our voices were never heard. We felt our voices don't matter. This has to change. The MPs and ministers should not feel we are being not heard. It is not the advisors alone. The people who take the advice also have to bear responsibility. Those who gave advice and those who received the advice as also those who feel they can give better advice – all have to bear responsibility." Deora felt the party had to "open up" and "promote avenues for dissent and debate internally". When asked who was to blame, Deora said, "there are many people from top to bottom ... there was lack of coordination and the response was slow ... there was a very unresponsive attitude. ... the buck stops with the party."[296][297] Although this statement received support from several Congress members, Deora clarified on Twitter, "My comments are out of emotions of deep loyalty to the party, pain of our performance & a sincere desire to see us bounce back. Nothing more." Senior party leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi expressed hope that an "honest and ruthless introspection" would be carried out fix the problems. He further stated that while Deora's statement may not have been fully correct, a "large portion of what he said is correct". Congress members such as Jairam Ramesh, Madan Gopal and Kanishka Singh criticised Rahul Gandhi's aides.[295]

Individuals

Rajnikanth congratulated Narendra Modi on Twitter for his "historic win". The actor also congratulated Jayalalithaa for her party's performance in the election.[298] Tamil actor Dhanush also tweeted congratulations to Modi. Several Bollywood celebrities including Subhash Ghai, Vishal Dadalani, Lata Mangeshkar, Ranvir Shorey, Vivek Oberoi, Baba Sehgal, Shekhar Kapur, Arshad Warsi, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Sangeeth Sivan, Kabir Bedi, Anupam Kher, Madhur Bhandarkar, Atul Kasbekar and Pritish Nandy tweeted congratulations to Modi and the BJP for their victory.[299][300]

President of Film Federation of India Ravi Kottarakara congratulated Modi "on behalf of the entire Indian film fraternity". CEO of the Film & TV Producers Guild of India Kulmmet Makkar described the "clear mandate" as being "great" for the Indian film industry. He also expressed "positive hopes" from the new government.[301]

International

Narendra Modi responded to each tweet from world leaders thanking them for their support. The media reported the order in which Modi responded to the tweets, and noted that Barack Obama was the last to receive a reply from him. The New York Times observed that "the order in which he thanked them and one notable omission, later rectified, was more interesting than the content of the tweets themselves." The paper further stated, "The silence underscored what will be uncomfortable diplomatic theater in the weeks and months to come. The United States refused to issue Mr. Modi a visa in 2005 as a response to his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. As Mr. Modi's star rose in the past year, American leaders reached out, but a thaw on Mr. Modi's side has been almost imperceptible."[341][342] State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said, "I think our relationship between the United States and India is so strong and enduring we won't worry about the Twitter rank order".[343] John Kerry reiterated the United States' willingness to work with the new government as well as the importance of India-US relations on 20 May. He also added that he was looking forward to returning to India soon and "echo President Obama's invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit the United States at the earliest opportunity." The Times of India noted that the first leader to receive a tweet from Modi was David Cameron. The United Kingdom was among the first countries to end a US-led diplomatic boycott of Modi.[344] Mint stated that Modi's "more expansive responses" were to the leaders of Japan and Russia. According to former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh, "It is natural that Modi feels affinity with some leaders who are strong leaders, proudly nationalistic, trying to fix the economy with firm measures."[345]

International media

Prior to the announcement of the result, the Washington Post highlighted "...2014 will be the biggest year in the history of democracy, with more people than ever before going to the polls to decide their own fate...this really looks to be one of the most fascinating political events this year, and not just because of its scale...It's a fascinating moment in democracy, and one that shouldn't be ignored".[114] The New York Times added that "the sheer size of the electorate makes this election the largest ever in the world and an inspiring celebration of universal adult suffrage," but also wrote "lurking behind the feel-good spectacle is the reality that India's elections are awash in illegal cash, serious violence and dirty tricks."[346] Bloomberg Businessweek wrote of the election that the "process is awesome in its complexity, and the campaigns have given rise to robust debate...But here's something else not to miss: It’s all pretty damn colorful." It highlighted five reasons that make the election interesting: Kejriwal's effect, Modi's wife; exit polls are barred but betting on the future prime minister was not and Modi was in the lead; "vote buying" through cash, alcohol or other means; and 3D campaigning.[347] It also predicted better relations with Japan at the expense of relations with China under Modi,[348] and asked whether a redefinition of India's nuclear weapons program would result from the elections.[349]

An editorial in the China Daily, the Chinese government's official English-language newspaper, compared Modi's "preoccupation with development" with China's "own experiences and development philosophy", and argued that this had "inspired unprecedented optimism here over our South Asian neighbour's growth potential". The paper also argued that "western rhetoric" which stated that both countries were "destined to stand against each other" had been proven wrong by the fact that India and China had "by and large, managed their differences well over the decades". It also welcomed Modi's invitation to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend his swearing-in ceremony.[350]

Individuals and organisations

The 14th Dalai Lama sent a letter congratulating Modi for the BJP's "decisive victory". The Dalai Lama expressed hope that just as Modi had brought development and prosperity to Gujarat, India would continue to "flourish and prosper" under his leadership.[351][352][353][354]

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) congratulated Narendra Modi, and expressed hope that his leadership would further strengthen India's relations with the US and Israel. Director of AJC's Asia Pacific Institute (API) Shira Loewenberg stated, "We look forward to working with Modi and the new government to further strengthen and deepen India's extensive relations with the United States and Israel. BJP has long been a friend to Israel and the Jewish people."[355][356]

Government formation

Manmohan Singh tendered his resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee on 17 May. He continued as caretaker Prime Minister, at the request of the President, until 26 May 2014, when Narendra Modi and his cabinet were sworn to office.[357]

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