Elections come with their surprises. The 2024 general election will be remembered for how the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was given a smaller mandate by voters just when it seemed omnipotent and poised for a big victory.
Right from the time the election process began, the BJP had declared itself the winner. The opposition had been derided and made almost invisible. A vast promotional effort positioned Narendra Modi as the supreme leader who could take India to great heights globally. Fawning anchors and editors and swarms of faceless bots reinforced this image.
Yet when the results came in, the BJP. . .
