After nearly six weeks of voting, the verdict is out. Indians have thrown out the Congress-led government of Manmohan Singh in favour of the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Narendra Modi, a controversial but charismatic politician from the state of Gujarat. By the time all the votes are counted, the BJP and its partners in the National Democratic Alliance are likely to end up winning more than 330 seats in a 545-member lower house. The BJP alone is tipped to win around 272 seats, giving it majority control of the house, something that no single party has been able to achieve since 1984. This is a very strong performance indeed and far exceeds the party’s own expectations.
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