US media terms PM Modi's win as landslide; says voters endorsed his vision

The US media on Thursday termed as landslide the victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in general elections and said that voters endorsed his vision of a "muscular, assertive and stridently Hindu India".

The Washington Post reported that Modi's win is a victory for a form of religious nationalism that views India as a fundamentally Hindu nation and seeks to jettison the secularism promoted by the country's founders.

"While India is roughly 80 per cent Hindu, it is also home to Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and other religious communities," the leading American daily said.

It described Modi's victory as landslide.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party won a landslide victory in the world's largest election as voters endorsed his vision of a muscular, assertive and stridently Hindu India," the daily said.

The New York Times reported that "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of the most powerful and divisive leaders India has produced in decades, appeared easily headed for another five-year term".

With a commanding lead, Prime Minister Modi and his party are set to expand their majority, it said.

His brand of brawny Hindu nationalism and pro-business policies seem to have played stunningly well, despite concerns that he had not delivered on promises to create jobs, the daily reported.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's popular nationalist leader, won a sweeping mandate for a second five-year term, setting the stage for further economic change in one of Asia's fastest-growing economies but also more divisive social policies for his Hindu nationalist supporters," The Wall Street Journal said.

Prime Minister Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears set to post an emphatic victory in the Lok Sabha elections, bringing Modi back into office for a second five-year term.