Modi govt turns 11

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath for a third term June 9, 2024, it was Rahul Gandhi who sounded rather upbeat on the back of the BJP's unexpected loss of majority in the Lok Sabha polls amid its campaign claim of crossing 400 in the 543-member House.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

"We have finished Modi psychologically. His government will be removed soon," the Congress leader was to assert as critics cited the BJP's crucial dependence on TDP's N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar, both with a history of switching alliances, and its weak show in big states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to forecast political turbulence ahead. As the Modi government marks its first anniversary in the third term and 11th overall Monday, the Prime Minister looks as secure and sounds as confident at the helm as ever, while his two mercurial allies have not turned out to be unreliable crutches, as the Opposition hoped, but strong pillars of support outdoing each other in lauding his leadership.

While the BJP went back to the drawing board to recraft its political and governance outreach and regained momentum by notching up surprisingly big wins in a string of assembly polls, the burst of fresh optimism in the main Opposition Congress and other INDIA bloc parties fizzled out.