The Narendra Modi-led BJP, at the time of writing, is struggling to cross the majority mark in Lok Sabha on its own. Without TDP and JDU, the NDA would have been in a terrible situation. Even with the two alliance partners, the NDA has less than 300 seats.
The INDI Alliance, led by the Congress Party, has trumped the estimations of most Exit Polls. What is helping the Congress' Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party and Shiv Sena (UBT)?
Obviously, the promise of exemplary freebies seems to have made the difference. Also Rahul Gandhi's promise to undertake a caste-based economic and social survey seems to have worked with a section of Dalits. The Muslim voter consolidation was always expected to be heavy behind the INDI Alliance.
Even if the leads come down and the INDI Alliance struggles to go past the 200-seat mark by the end of the counting today, Modi's BJP has most certainly received the scare of its life. Voters can't be taken for granted. Caste continues to be a major factor in Indian elections. And freebies are attractive to a large segment of the lower-middle-class and the poor.
