New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance coalition has won a majority in parliament, according to official results from India’s Election Commission.

The commission said the NDA won 285 seats and was leading in one race yet to be called early Wednesday morning, more than enough than the 272 seats needed to secure a majority but far fewer than had been expected.

That was largely due to Modi’s own Bharatiya Janata Party winning more than 60 seats fewer than the record 303 it won in the 2019 election.

More than 640 million votes were cast in the marathon election held over a span of six weeks in the world’s largest democratic exercise.

Modi declared victory Tuesday for his alliance in India’s general election, claiming a mandate to push forward with his agenda, even though his party lost seats to a stronger-than-expected opposition, which pushed back against his mixed economic record and polarizing politics.

“Today’s victory is the victory of the world’s largest democracy," Modi told the crowd at his party’s headquarters, saying Indian voters had “shown immense faith” both in his party and his National Democratic Alliance coalition.

Modi's win was only the second time an Indian leader has retained power for a third term after Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister. But also, for the first time since his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own, meaning he will need the support of other parties in his coalition -- a stunning blow for the 73-year-old, who had hoped for a landslide victory.

The party may now be "heavily dependent on the goodwill of its allies, which makes them critical players who we can expect will extract their pound of flesh, both in terms of policymaking as well as government formation,” said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In the face of the surprising drop in the BJP's support, challengers claimed they had also won a victory of sorts, with the main opposition Congress party saying the election had been a “moral and political loss” for Modi.

“This is public’s victory and a win for democracy,” Congress party President Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters.

Despite the setback, Modi pledged to make good on his election promise to turn India’s economy into the world’s third biggest, from its current fifth place, and not shirk with pushing forward with his agenda.

He said he would advance India’s defense production, boost jobs for youth, raise exports and help farmers, among other things.

“This country will see a new chapter of big decisions. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said, speaking in the third person.

Many of the Hindu nationalist policies he’s instituted over the last 10 years will also remain locked in place.

Before Modi came to power, India had coalition governments for 30 years.

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