Hindu nationalism had limited appeal as bread-and-butter concerns ruled

Going forward, Indian PM Narendra Modi is expected to tone down communal rhetoric

- Debarshi Dasgupta

It was a triumphant moment for India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in January when he personally led the inauguration of a temple at what was once a disputed site between Hindus and Muslims in Ayodhya.

The consecration of the Ram temple in the BJP's stronghold of northern Uttar Pradesh state - a key promise in the party's manifesto - was widely tipped to help the party ride a wave of Hindu triumphalism, and coast to certain victory in the 18th general election.

But the use of the temple as a campaign tool to mobilise Hindu votes did not yield the expected results, as pressing bread-and-butter issues such as unemployment and inflation turned out to be more important in the minds of voters.

While Mr Modi returned to power for a rare third term, he simultaneously suffered an electoral setback as the BJP failed to secure an outright majority for the first time since sweeping to power a decade ago.

According to polls results tallied on June 4, the BJP won only 240 seats in the Lok Sabha, or Lower House of Parliament, this time far lower than the 370 it had aimed for - and falling short of the 272 seats needed to form a government on its own. The party has to now rely on the support of its allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance to hold on to power. In all, the BJP-led alliance has 292 seats.

"People have rejected religious polarisation because there was an overdose of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) and hatred (directed) against Muslims," said Mr Sharat Pradhan, a senior journalist and political commentator based in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.