Transcript for India election: Modi fails to win outright majority

Hello, this is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service with reports and analysis from across the world, the latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising.

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Richardson, and in the early hours of Wednesday the 5th of June, these are our main stories.

Another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but not the majority he was expecting. In the U.S. President Biden announced a new policy on immigration at the border with Mexico. The British Prime Minister Rishis Sunak and opposition leader Kyrs Starmer have made their pitch to voters in the first head to head to TV debate of the general election. Also in this podcast, Switzerland's Air Force pilots prepare to practice take-offs and landings on the country's motorway network. We begin with the Indian election. Official results show an alliance led by the incumbent Prime Minister who formed the next government. But Narendra Modi was unable to win a majority for his party, the BJP, with far fewer seats won than the last election five years ago. An alliance led by Mr. Modi did win enough seats to allow him to serve as Prime Minister for a third term. And for this, he was given a heroes welcome as our South Asia correspondent Samira Hussein reports from Delhi.

Samirah Hasein. Our South Asia regional editor and Barasan Etterarshan says that Mr Modi so powerful for the last 10 years in India will now be forced to make compromises.

For the first time, he needs the support of junior partners in the alliance to get the majority in the government, to the have already crossed a 272. That means whether he can push through some of the Hindu nationalist or extreme right wing agenda as some of the politicians and oppositions would describe that. So what happened in the building of the temple for a Hindu god, Ram that happened in the previous term, or taking away the special status of the Kashmir region that triggered widespread protests now, people are talking about how far he can go to implementing a common civil law for all the religious communities because India has got personal laws, different for Muslims and Christians and different communities. So it needs to get a consensus among the coalition partners. We're also, you know, they are not religion-based or right-wing political party. So they may have to have a compromise on talking with other political parties. So you might find it difficult and adjusting with them on various other issues could be a challenge for them because all along here, In a projected himself as a strong leader, a strong man was going to take the India to the next level. And the two terms he had, that's what he was projecting himself as that image. Now he needs to understand the new coalition politics.

So which part is he likely to go into coalition with?

There are many parties in the coalition. The two major parties, one is the Telugu-Daisam party from the state of Andhra Pradesh, and also from the state of Bihar, Janatathal, United, and both were critics of Modi at some point in the past 20 years. So it is a very strange combination of political parties coming together. But what is interesting to see is how this election, even though the Congress party has failed to get the majority did not win even the BJP on its own did not get a majority but everyone thinks that it is a good for democracy because this is the time when you have you have a strong opposition and parliament because the previously some of the think tanks in western countries called India partly free and electoral autocracy so this is a good day for democracy because all the major political parties had something to gloat about

and Barassan et erosion. Joe Biden has announced measures aimed at curbing migrant arrivals at the U.S. Mexican border. It will stop undocumented migrants from receiving asylum but only takes effect when officials decide the southern border has been overwhelmed. Speaking in Washington, he said the executive action was necessary to regain control of the border and he blamed Republicans for the collapse of a bipartisan deal.

I got more on the President's announcement from our Washington correspondent, Nomea Iqbal.

How have you essentially been forced into doing this by the Republicans?

To the U.S. state of Delaware, where the first prosecution witness has taken the stand in the criminal trial of President Biden's son Hunter on charges that he lied about his drug use, when he bought a cult revolver in 2018, and North America correspondent Tom Bateman sent this report from outside the court.

Tom Bateman. From today, Wednesday, the Swiss Air Force is practicing take-offs and landings on a motorway. As Alison Davis reports with the war in Ukraine and increased tension with Russia, it's something Swiss motorists are likely to see more of in the future.

Alison Davis.

The boys from North Dakota who've made a prehistoric discovery.

For the first time since the election was called, the leaders of Britain's two main parties have gone head-to-head in front of a live TV studio audience. Kirstimer, who heads the main opposition Labour Party, faced up to the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, from the Conservative Party. This was Kirstimer's big pitch.

Here's Part of the Prime Minister, as you soon have had this message for voters.

So, what did we learn from the debate? Are you a political correspondent Rob Watson was watching and spoke to me a short time again?

We learned that the two men, the two parties, are going to stick doggedly to their messages. And that is from from Rishi Soonak, the governing conservatives who are trailing miles behind kilometers behind, in the opinion polls us to try and do something to sow doubt about the opposition to say, they're going to raise your taxes. You can never really trust the party of the left. Whereas a care star was sticking dogively to his message was just to keep reminding British voters about the conservatives, 14 years in power as he would say the chaos, all the prime ministers, Brexit and all the other sort of drama. Does it help to clarify voters' views? I mean, researchers are sort of contrasting on that. I've seen some research that suggests it does help people make up their minds and others. It doesn't have very much effect. I can tell you that there's been some interesting instant polling on it from a company called Yuga, which thought that most is pretty much a draw, although the word that most of the votes have seemed to agree on to describe the debate was frustrating, 62% thought that.

And no knockout punch, and it is in a way knockout punch is that that maybe could change the wider dial.

Well, the one person who needs a knockout punch is Rishi Sunak because the Conservatives are trailing something like 20 percentage points, but more in the polls, which is truly dangerous territory for the Conservatives. Did he do that? No. Will he be happy that he kept repeating endlessly, you know, time after time. Labour means more taxes. Sure, but yeah, knockout punch didn't, I didn't see one. Maybe I ducked. Maybe I ducked.

And no reference to what I heard you described being yesterday as perhaps the most important development in the campaign. And that is the re-entry of the man who was basically the figurehead of Brexit.

Absolutely, that's the return of Nigel Farage, probably one of the most consequential politicians since Mr. Stature. I mean, without him, I don't think Britain would have left the European Union. No. And there was only one brief reference, the one that we heard at the end there from Mr. Soonak, the man who has the most to worry about, the vote on the right being fragmented between him and reform where he said, look, a vote for anything other than me, means a vote for Mr. Star, in other words, hang if you vote for a form, you're going to get Labour, but that was the only way in which it came up, but Mr. Farage has a challenge to both main parties to mainstream politics, but particularly the Conservatives.

Rob Watson. To Russia now, President Putin's spokesman has dismissed accusations from the technology firm Microsoft that Russia has been stepping up a disinformation campaign to spread the fear of violence ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris to meet Sri Peskov called the allegations slander. You're at original editor Danny Abahart reports.

Danny Abahat. Poland will vote in EU elections this weekend with Europe's role in supporting Ukraine high on the agenda. Poland has a long border with Ukraine, but Russia and Belarus are its neighbours too. As some EU countries have wavered in their commitment to assisting Ukraine militarily, Poland has been a firm voice insisting that the threat from Russia is real and close, but there are signs of strains in relations with Kiev, at your correspondent Sarah Rainsford reports.

I think we are in danger.

Sarah Reinsford. Gunman have killed the female mayor of Italian Mexico. It comes just hours after the country celebrated the election of Claudia Scheinbaum as the nation's first woman president. The BBC's Latin America editor Vanessa Bushluter has been following the story and spoke to Luke Jones.

Vanessa Bushluter. A new documentary is out telling the remarkable story of brothers Liam and Jess in Fisher aged 7 and 10 and their cousin, Kaden Madsen aged 9 from the US state of North Dakota and how they discovered the fossilized skeleton of a teenage tyronosaurus Rex that died some 67 million years ago. Here's a clip from the documentary.

Well, Tyler, as you just heard mentioned, is Dr. Tyler Licen, a paleontologist at Denver Museum of Natural Science. He's a friend of the boys, family, and spoke to Rebecca Kezby.

Dr. Tyler, licensed speaking to Rebecca Kezby. And that's all from us. For now, but there'll be a new edition of the global news podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on x. at global news pod. This edition was produced by Harry Bly and mixed by Caroline Driscoll. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritz and until next time, goodbye.