In this article
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party achieved a historic election win in West Bengal on Monday, strengthening its grip on power as the country grapples with economic challenges and a pressing need for reforms.
Modi’s popularity was seen to be waning when, in June 2024, his party failed to secure an outright majority in the national polls and had to form a coalition government for his third term as prime minister.
Since then, the Indian government has been spending money on populist welfare schemes and, more recently, on fuel subsidies, but reinforcement of Modi’s political popularity could provide room to rationalize some of that spending, experts said.
The latest results of state polls have dispelled worries of Modi losing political momentum as the BJP won 206 seats out of 294 in West Bengal, forming its first-ever government at the state level.
