The election in India

Analysis: First time Modi has to adapt

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP party loses its majority in the country - for the first time since 2014. Wednesday's official results show that the BJP's alliance NDA will only get 294 constituencies, which means a narrow majority.

After years of getting his way, Modi must now learn to co-govern with coalition partners, writes Sky News' Neville Lazarus. And if Modi is to succeed in keeping the government stable, he will have to demonstrate "political skill".

Even The Guardian's Hannah Ellis-Peterson is aware that Modi will have to compromise. She believes that the election result means, among other things, that Modi will find it more difficult to implement "radical Hindu nationalist reforms".

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Modi after the race: "Victory for the world's largest democracy"

Despite the fact that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP party made a much weaker election than expected, Modi calls the result a "historic victory", writes TT.

"Today's victory is a victory for the world's largest democracy," he told supporters in Delhi, despite the BJP losing its own majority for the first time since 2014.

Instead, Modi now has to lean against the NDA alliance, which won 285 of the 543 seats in the lower house, well short of the 350 they aimed for.

At the same time, the largest opposition party, the Congress Party, advanced strongly in the election.

"The election shows unequivocally that the people have sent a message that they do not stand behind Modi and (Home Minister) Amit Shah," party leader Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference.