Modi loses majority in India election, but will still form govt

Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has lost its parliamentary majority in India's general election, leaving the prime minister to negotiate with regional coalition partners in order to form a government.

As vote counting was completed on Wednesday the landslide majority the hard-right Hindu nationalist Modi's prediction of a landslide failed to materialise.

The party lost 62 seats, bringing its total down to 240, below the 272 required for a parliamentary majority as voters pushed back against Modi for the first time since he was elected in 2014.

However, it will form a coalition with regional allies - called the national democratic alliance (NDA), giving Modi a third term in office.

The opposition alliance, known as INDIA, far outperformed expectations, with the 28-party group winning more than 230 seats in its first campaign as it attempted to unseat the controversial Modi.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com