Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday turned the severe blow inflicted by the people’s mandate to his “abki baar 400 paar” war cry to claim a historic victory, seeking to rebuff the Opposition’s demand that he step down after the BJP fell way short of the halfway mark.

“People have placed their faith in the NDA, for a third consecutive time! This is a historical feat in India’s history,” Modi posted on X, breaking his silence in the evening, even as the counting of votes in progress showed the BJP struggling to touch the
250 mark, at least 50 seats below the 2019 tally, in the 543 member Lok Sabha.

“I bow to the Janata Janardan for this affection and assure that we will continue the good work done in the last decade to keep fulfilling the aspirations of the people,” he added.

After the post, Modi even turned up at the BJP headquarters for a “vijay utsav” (victory celebration). Though he looked sullen, his words reflected no signs of any setback even as a big question hung at the BJP headquarters on whether Modi would be able to run a coalition government like Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“Modiji is a leader who needs full authority to rule. Now he will have to depend on two crutches — Naidu and Nitish,” one party leader remarked, unsure whether Modi 3.0 would be able to complete its full term.

BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta too appeared on a TV channel to express the possibility of another election in the next couple of years while acknowledging that Modi was not Vajpayee, who was adept at running coalition governments.

After Modi, the second most powerful leader of the dispensation, Amit Shah, shed his silence and joined the drive to portray the mandate as a “trust” in Modi’s leadership. “The third consecutive victory has made it clear that the public’s trust is only with Modi ji,” Shah said in a post on X.

Both the leaders latched on to the BJP’s victory in Odisha and the NDA’s in Andhra Pradesh to shed the gloom in party ranks over the BJP and its allies struggling to touch even the 300 mark.

“This victory of the NDA is a reflection of the people’s unwavering faith in the leader Shri @narendramodi ji who has devoted his life for the country,” Shah said, posting a series of posts.

Addressing the BJP workers at the victory celebrations, Modi termed the NDA’s victory a “victory of the world’s largest democracy” and “a victory of the country’s faith in the Constitution”. He sought to recall how after 1962, it was only the second time in the country’s history that a “coalition government” had returned to power for a third straight term. He refrained from referring to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who had achieved the feat.

“After six decades the country has scripted a new history. After six decades, the people have given the opportunity to a coalition government to serve them for a third straight term,” Modi said.

Modi even repeated the cry for “scripting a new chapter of big decisions” in his third term and also pursuing the war against corruption but the conviction and aggression in his voice was missing. He spoke for nearly half an hour, using the victory of the BJP in Odisha, terming it “Lord Jagannath’s land”, and also the opening of the party’s account in Kerala, seeking to boost the morale of the party workers.

BJP chief J.P. Nadda lauded Modi for turning “tragedy into opportunity” and claiming that the people’s mandate was “ek tarfa” (one-sided) in favour of the NDA led by Modi while Shah sat quietly on the stage, clapping intermittently.