India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed victory in national elections to win a third term but his party appears to have lost seats, making it unlikely to secure a majority on its own.
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party appeared unlikely to win more than 240 seats. It needs 272 to form a majority government on its own, the Associated Press reported. That means he will need to keep his ruling coalition together.
The party won a record 303 seats in 2019. Modi had hoped to win 400 in this year's vote.
That means Modi, 73, will need to rely on his coalition partners to form a government, CNN reported.
The opposition coalition, INDIA, performed far better than expected, securing at least 193 seats. It had a strong showing in the south, the BBC reported.
Around 970 million Indians voted during its six-week election period.
The final count is still ongoing and the results are not supposed to be fully tabulated until Wednesday.
Modi is just the second prime minister to win a third straight term in India. HH was first elected prime minister in 2014.
In a victory speech, Modi said he would increase India's defense production, create more jobs for youth, raise exports and give aid to farmers, according to the Associated Press.
"This country will see a new chapter of big decisions. This is Modi's guarantee," he reportedly said, speaking in the third person.
