Election results 2019: A mandate to go where no one has gone before

Voters bought fully into Narendra Modi's warrior narrative about himself despite the fact that he will be 69-years-old in September. 'Modi vs. Nobody' pithily reduced his opponents to non-entities

After the stunning results of the 2019 general election, political pundits are wont to say – the people have spoken. But what have they spoken and what is this mandate for?

In this general election, Prime Minister Modi successfully distracted the attention of the voter from his failure in domestic governance, especially his disastrous economic policies. The voter was never allowed to connect the threat to the nation from inimical forces to political and administrative failures. Prime Minister Modi was able to convince voters that India was under seige not only from Pakistan and the terrorists it housed, but also from