Decoding Election Mandate 2024 and Party System Change in India

The poll prediction of General Elections 2024 was unanimous that incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance will return to power in India. The verdict was a psephological surprise, as it failed to win a majority in lower house of parliament, while it arch rival, the Indian National Congress (Congress) did a turnaround by winning 40 seats more since 2019 national elections. The highlights include scaling down of ‘Modi wave’ (political phenomenon), resurgence of left-liberal party alliance, dip in women’s representation in lower house of parliament and wrong forecasting by opinion polls. The mandate signals a political system change from BJP’s one-party supremacy with full freedom to promote Hindutva agenda (right-wing ideology) to neo multi-partism with restricted dominance. It debunks the global north discourse of downslide of Indian democracy and reveals the political maturity of citizens in delivering an electoral message for reduction of imperfections in democratic politics.