India election: Modi congratulated by Germany, US, Israel

EU chief Charles Michel congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his coalition's election win, saying Brussels was "looking forward to continuing to deepen our strategic partnership with India."

"Our continents must cooperate on the most pressing global challenges: climate change, peace and security, and the fight against poverty," Michel said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also sent his congratulations.

"We will successfully continue our cooperation to deepen Indo-German relations as well as our cooperation on international and global issues," Scholz said in a post on social media.

US President Joe Biden has sent his congratulations to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for their election victory.

The NDA won 293 seats in the 543-member parliament, enough to form a government.

"The friendship between our nations is only growing as we unlock a shared future of unlimited potential," Biden said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US hoped to keep advancing "our partnership with the Indian government to promote prosperity and innovation, address the climate crisis and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region."

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak congratulated Modi during a telephone call on Wednesday, according to a statement from Downing Street.

Sunak "began by congratulating Prime Minister Modi on his election victory and wished him every success for his third term," a statement read.

"The UK and India share the closest of friendships, and together that friendship will continue to thrive," Sunak, Britain's first Hindu prime minister, said on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron offered congratulations in both French and English online following Tuesday's election results. 

"India has concluded the world's largest elections! Congratulations Narendra Modi, my dear friend. Together we will continue strengthening the strategic partnership that unites India and France," he wrote. 

Like several European countries, France is trying to intensify bilateral trade, security and other ties with India. 

The volume of bilateral trade, and particularly the volume of Indian exports to France, has risen in recent years — as is the case with Germany and others.

However, the volumes probably still fail to adequately represent India's size, primarily because of the large distance separating the countries. To take a European example, France's bilateral trade levels with India are roughly similar to those with Sweden, with a population of 10.5 million not 1.4 billion.

Key allies in Narendra Modi's New Democratic Alliance (NDA) bloc have pledged their continued support — with Modi and the BJP actually needing that backing to command a parliamentary majority for the first time in the prime minister's third term. 

The BJP also said the parties confirmed that Modi should remain the head of a new government. 

"We all unanimously choose respected NDA leader Narendra Modi as our leader," a statement issued by the BJP read. "The NDA government under the leadership of Modi is committed to service the poor, women, youth, farmers and exploited, deprived and oppressed citizens of India." 

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a key regional player in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, and the Janata Dal (United), which rules the northern state of Bihar, both said they would enter a coalition. 

"We are with the NDA, I will be attending the meeting in Delhi today," Chandrababu Naidu, the leader of the TDP, told reporters in Delhi before the talks with the BJP.

Modi also tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu after his Cabinet met and recommended the dissolution of parliament. This is one of several constitutional formalities before Modi can form a new government. 

According to local media, Modi and his new Cabinet could be sworn in as soon as Saturday. 

The opposition INDIA alliance was also expected to meet on Wednesday in New Delhi and discuss its future course of action. It's yet to formally concede defeat.

Now that the election results are in and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has failed to secure an outright majority, Narendra Modi looks weaker than at any time in his 10 years as prime minister, says Shalu Yadav, DW's correspondent in New Delhi.

The sweeping majorities his BJP won in the previous elections allowed Modi to pursue an "authoritative" style of governance, making almost unilateral decisions, according to Yadav.

"But that will have to change now," Yadav added. "That certainly makes him look weaker."

Coalition governments are not new in India, and the country has seen coalition governments in the past, the DW correspondent said.

"But experts say the biggest casualty of coalition governments is governance," she added.

Yadav explained that the reason for this is that it becomes more difficult to get coalition partners on board to make tough policy decisions.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be sworn in for a third term on June 8 after key allies pledged their continued support, according to Indian news media.

Modi tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu after the federal cabinet met and recommended the dissolution of parliament.

The formal meetings of the coalition partners are expected to take place later on Wednesday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain in office, but with a significantly reduced mandate, as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to secure an outright majority for the first time in 10 years.

The BJP secured 240 of the 543 seats up for grabs, according to data released by the Election Commission on Wednesday after all votes were counted.

But it remains the strongest force in parliament. Along with coalition partners, the Hindu nationalists have 292 seats, which would allow them to form a government.

In the previous election in 2019, the BJP won 303 seats alone, well above the majority of 272 seats needed to govern. Together with its allies, it had 353 seats five years ago. 

World leaders have congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the victory of his political alliance in the country's parliamentary elections. 

China congratulated Modi on his win, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning saying a "healthy and stable China-India relationship is in the common interest of both sides and is also conducive to peace and development in the region and the world."

The two large neighbors have frequently clashed over border disputes.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni pledged to continue to strengthen the friendship that unites Italy and India and "to consolidate cooperation in the various fields that unite us, for the good of our nations and peoples."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also congratulated Modi and expressed hope for continued cooperation between Ukraine and India.

"Everyone in the world recognizes the importance and weight of India's role in global affairs. It is critical that we all work together to ensure a just peace for all nations," Zelenskyy said in a statement on X.

Under Modi, India has refused to impose sanctions against Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, instead increasing its consumption of Russian fossil fuels.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his "warmest congratulations" to Modi. "May the friendship between India and Israel continue to surge towards new heights. Badhaai Ho!" he wrote on X.

dh/ab (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)