Modi celebrates bittersweet victory as BJP loses absolute majority

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters to celebrate the party’s win in country's general election, in New Delhi on June 4, 2024. (AFP)
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters to celebrate the party’s win in country's general election, in New Delhi on June 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 05 June 2024
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Modi celebrates bittersweet victory as BJP loses absolute majority

Modi celebrates bittersweet victory as BJP loses absolute majority
  • PM secures third term but will be reliant on coalition partners to stay in power
  • Lack of majority means ‘this government more accountable,’ analyst says

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated on Wednesday his election win and historic third term, but the victory was bittersweet as his Bharatiya Janata Party lost its absolute majority in parliament for the first time in 10 years.

India’s seven-phase election began on April 19 and ended on Saturday, with 642 million people casting their ballots to choose 543 members of Lok Sabha, the lower house.

Modi was targeting 400 seats for the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP, but on Tuesday evening election officials counted the votes and the result was nowhere close. While the alliance crossed the halfway mark of 272 to form the government, it did so only by 11 seats.

The Hindu nationalist BJP emerged as the alliance’s single largest party but with 240 seats it did not win a majority on its own. While Modi is only the second Indian prime minister — after Jawaharlal Nehru — to succeed in three consecutive polls, he will be reliant on coalition partners to keep him in government.

Two other members of the alliance, the Telugu Desam Party — a player in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh — and the Janata Dal (United) party from the eastern state of Bihar, pledged their support on Wednesday.

According to observers, Modi’s dependence on coalition members is likely to bring change to Indian politics after 10 years of one-party rule.

“Political parties will be more demanding, making this government more accountable,” analyst and political editor Sanjay Kapoor told Arab News.

“In the past 10 years we had one party with absolute majority running the affairs of the state … with this election, with the BJP falling short of majority, many things will change.”

Umakant Lakhera, a political commentator, doubts the coalition will last, given that the leaders of TDP and JD are not BJP’s natural allies.

“They are not ideological friends. They are known to change sides,” he said. “Keeping this in mind, Modi’s third term looks shaky and it would be an unstable government.”

Some voters are also expecting turbulence.

“I’m a bit unsure that there will be any stability in the coming few years. I think from the power struggles, governments could change, collapse and that is obviously not good for us,” said Yash Charan, a law student in Delhi.

But he said it was interesting to watch the changing dynamics and the opposition’s return to the political scene after a decade-long lull.

“I think it’s quite significant in our political history. I think it’s good to have a strong opposition, having more representation, having more voices in parliament.”

Modi was challenged by an alliance of two dozen opposition parties — the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance — led by the Congress Party, which ruled the country for close to 45 years following its independence in 1947.

Congress plunged to a historic low when it was swept out of power by the BJP in 2014 and won its second-lowest number of seats, 52, in 2019. In 2024, the party won 99 of the 223 seats secured by the India alliance.

For Vamika Kapoor, 21, who was among the 18 million first-time voters, Congress’ significant presence in the new parliament was a landmark development.

“It reflected that the opposition can actually unite and put up a bold front and the people are not powerless, so it’s a democracy. I think it kept the spirit of democracy,” she said.

“I think everyone knew what the result would be, it was pretty obvious, but nobody expected such a massive landslide for the opposition this time. And it is in contrast to the last two elections.”

Modi is expected to be sworn in on Saturday.

His followers expect his third term to be defined by policies of development and making India more visible on the international scene.

“Consistency, actions against corruption and betterment of institutions to push India’s developmental march (are a) priority of Modi in the third term,” BJP spokesperson Sudesh Verma told Arab News.

Modi has been credited with using India’s presidency of the Group of 20 largest economies in 2023 as a platform to promote the country’s foreign policy goals, culture and investment opportunities.

It was also during his last term that India’s space exploration program reached several milestones making it an emerging superpower in the industry.

Hitesh Shankar, editor of the Hindu magazine Panchjanya, said: “His reelection means that India’s significance in the international arena will increase further. He has helped India get a new identity on the international front and his third term furthers India’s image.

“Be it a coalition government or not, Modi’s imprint will always be there in the government. He is a mature politician … I don’t think Modi will face any problems in running the government as many are fearing. Modi can handle all the situations quite well.”


India seizes 5,500 kg of methamphetamine in biggest drug bust

India seizes 5,500 kg of methamphetamine in biggest drug bust
Updated 9 sec ago
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India seizes 5,500 kg of methamphetamine in biggest drug bust

India seizes 5,500 kg of methamphetamine in biggest drug bust
  • Myanmar-flagged boat was seized when it entered Indian waters in the Andaman Sea
  • 70 percent of illegal drugs are nowadays smuggled into India via sea routes, expert says

NEW DELHI: India’s coast guard has seized a Myanmar vessel carrying 5,500 kg of methamphetamine in the Andaman Sea, marking its biggest haul of illegal drugs.

The Myanmar-flagged fishing boat Soe Wai Yan Htoo was spotted by an Indian Coast Guard reconnaissance air patrol in the Andaman Sea on Monday, as it was “operating in a suspicious manner,” the Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Officers boarded the boat for investigation when it entered Indian territorial waters.

“The six crew onboard the boat were identified as Myanmarese nationals,” the ministry said. “During rummaging, the boarding party found approx. 5,500 kgs of prohibited drug methamphetamine.”

The vessel and its crew have been taken for further investigation to an Indian naval base in Sri Vijaya Puram, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

“The seizure is the largest-ever drug haul by the Indian Coast Guard in maritime history, highlighting the growing threat of transnational maritime narcotics,” the ICG said.

The trafficking of illicit drugs from Myanmar through the Andaman Sea has been on the rise as drug cartels try to evade land controls, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The UNODC identifies Myanmar’s Shan state as “the epicenter” of methamphetamine production in the region.

Shan state is part of the Golden Triangle — a mountainous area in the northern part of the Mekong River basin, where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. The region has long been associated with illegal drug production and was a major source of opium in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, it has seen a shift toward the production of synthetic drugs.

“Myanmar’s political instability adds to this challenge since many insurgent groups operate between the border regions,” said Dr. Sreeparna Banerjee, associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

She estimated that some 70 percent of illegal drugs smuggled into India currently enter the country through the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, with Monday’s haul raising concerns over the scale of criminal networks operating at sea.

“While this seizure highlights the success of coordinated operations by the ICG and other agencies, it also raises concerns about the gaps traffickers exploit. The use of unregistered vessels and vast stretches of unmonitored waters make the Andaman Sea a challenging zone for law enforcement,” Banerjee told Arab News.

“The size of the haul also indicates the potential involvement of transnational organized crime syndicates, further complicating efforts to dismantle these networks.”


Indonesia’s Supreme Court reverses acquittal of former official in slavery case

Indonesia’s Supreme Court reverses acquittal of former official in slavery case
Updated 26 November 2024
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Indonesia’s Supreme Court reverses acquittal of former official in slavery case

Indonesia’s Supreme Court reverses acquittal of former official in slavery case
  • A police investigation found 665 people had been held in cells on his property since 2010

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Supreme Court jailed a former government official accused of human trafficking for four years, reversing a lower court decision to acquit him after people were found in cages in his palm oil plantation.
Condemned internationally and at home, the senior official in the provincial government in North Sumatra, Terbit Rencana Perangin-angin, had been accused of human trafficking, torture, forced labor, and slavery.
Prosecutors launched an appeal after a lower court acquitted him of the charges in July.
Indonesia’s Supreme Court said he would serve four years in jail, without specifying reasons, in a ruling dated Nov. 15 and seen on the court’s website on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court and prosecutors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters has sought comment from Terbit’s lawyer.
The macabre case came to light in 2022, when a police corruption investigation into Terbit found people detained in cages on his property, drawing condemnation from rights groups.
A police investigation found 665 people had been held in cells on his property since 2010, court documents showed.
Terbit, who was jailed for nine years for corruption in 2022, had previously claimed the detained individuals were participating in a drug rehabilitation program.
Prosecutors said they had been tortured and forced to work on his plantation. Six had died in captivity, Indonesia’s rights body found.


Four Pakistan security forces killed as ex-PM Khan supporters flood capital

Four Pakistan security forces killed as ex-PM Khan supporters flood capital
Updated 26 November 2024
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Four Pakistan security forces killed as ex-PM Khan supporters flood capital

Four Pakistan security forces killed as ex-PM Khan supporters flood capital

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani protesters demanding the release of ex-prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday killed four members of the nation’s security forces, the government said, as the crowds defied police and closed in on the capital’s center.
More than ten thousand protesters armed with sticks and slingshots took on police in central Islamabad on Tuesday afternoon, AFP journalists saw, less than three kilometers (two miles) from the government enclave they aim to occupy.
Khan was barred from standing in February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of legal cases that he claims were confected to prevent his comeback.
But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied a government crackdown with regular rallies. Tuesday’s is the largest in the capital since Khan was jailed in August 2023.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said “miscreants” involved in the march had killed four members of the paramilitary Rangers force on a city highway leading toward the government sector.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the men had been “run over by a vehicle.”
“These disruptive elements do not seek revolution but bloodshed,” he said in a statement. “This is not a peaceful protest, it is extremism.”
The government said Monday that one police officer had also been killed and nine more were critically wounded by demonstrators who set out toward Islamabad on Sunday.


The capital has been locked down since late Saturday, with mobile Internet sporadically cut and more than 20,000 police flooding the streets, many armed with riot shields and batons.
The government has accused protesters of attempting to derail a state visit by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who arrived for a three-day visit on Monday.
Last week, the Islamabad city administration announced a two-month ban on public gatherings.
But PTI convoys traveled from their power base in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the most populous province of Punjab, hauling aside roadblocks of stacked shipping containers.
“We are deeply frustrated with the government, they do not know how to function,” 56-year-old protester Kalat Khan told AFP on Monday. “The treatment we are receiving is unjust and cruel.”
The government cited “security concerns” for the mobile Internet outages, while Islamabad’s schools and universities were also ordered shut on Monday and Tuesday.
“Those who will come here will be arrested,” Interior Minister Naqvi told reporters late Monday at D-Chowk, the public square outside Islamabad’s government buildings that PTI aims to occupy.
PTI’s chief demand is the release of Khan, the 72-year-old charismatic former cricket star who served as premier from 2018 to 2022 and is the lodestar of their party.
They are also protesting alleged tampering in the February polls and a recent government-backed constitutional amendment giving it more power over the courts, where Khan is tangled in dozens of cases.


Sharif’s government has come under increasing criticism for deploying heavy-handed measures to quash PTI’s protests.
“It speaks of a siege mentality on the part of the government and establishment — a state in which they see themselves in constant danger and fearful all the time of being overwhelmed by opponents,” read one opinion piece in the English-language Dawn newspaper published Monday.
“This urges them to take strong-arm measures, not occasionally but incessantly.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said “blocking access to the capital, with motorway and highway closures across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has effectively penalized ordinary citizens.”
The US State Department appealed for protesters to refrain from violence, while also urging authorities to “respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to ensure respect for Pakistan’s laws and constitution as they work to maintain law and order.”
Khan was ousted by a no-confidence vote after falling out with the kingmaking military establishment, which analysts say engineers the rise and fall of Pakistan’s politicians.
But as opposition leader, he led an unprecedented campaign of defiance, with PTI street protests boiling over into unrest that the government cited as the reason for its crackdown.
PTI won more seats than any other party in this year’s election but a coalition of parties considered more pliable to military influence shut them out of power.


Russia’s Medvedev warns West over discussing nuclear weapons for Ukraine

Russia’s Medvedev warns West over discussing nuclear weapons for Ukraine
Updated 26 November 2024
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Russia’s Medvedev warns West over discussing nuclear weapons for Ukraine

Russia’s Medvedev warns West over discussing nuclear weapons for Ukraine

MOSCOW: Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that if the West supplied nuclear weapons to Ukraine then Moscow could consider such a transfer to be tantamount to an attack on Russia, providing grounds for a nuclear response.
The New York Times reported last week that some unidentified Western officials had suggested that US President Joe Biden could give Ukraine nuclear weapons, though there were fears such a step would have serious implications.
“American politicians and journalists are seriously discussing the consequences of the transfer of nuclear weapons to Kyiv,” Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, said on Telegram.
Medvedev said that even the threat of such a transfer of nuclear weapons could be considered as preparation for a nuclear war against Russia.
“The actual transfer of such weapons can be equated to the fait accompli of an attack on our country,” under Russia’s newly updated nuclear doctrine, he said.


China sends naval, air forces to shadow US plane over Taiwan Strait

China sends naval, air forces to shadow US plane over Taiwan Strait
Updated 26 November 2024
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China sends naval, air forces to shadow US plane over Taiwan Strait

China sends naval, air forces to shadow US plane over Taiwan Strait
  • The US Navy’s 7th fleet said a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft had flown through the strait

BEIJING: China’s military said on Tuesday it deployed naval and air forces to monitor and warn a US Navy patrol aircraft that flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, denouncing the United States for trying to “mislead” the international community.
Around once a month, US military ships or aircraft pass through or above the waterway that separates democratically governed Taiwan from China — missions that always anger Beijing.
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the strait is an international waterway.
The US Navy’s 7th fleet said a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft had flown through the strait “in international airspace,” adding that the flight demonstrated the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” it said in a statement.
China’s military criticized the flight as “public hype,” adding that it monitored the US aircraft throughout its transit and “effectively” responded to the situation.
“The relevant remarks by the US distort legal principles, confuse public opinion and mislead international perceptions,” the military’s Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement.
“We urge the US side to stop distorting and hyping up and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.”
In April, China’s military said it sent fighter jets to monitor and warn a US Navy Poseidon in the Taiwan Strait, a mission that took place just hours after a call between the Chinese and US defense chiefs. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)