Narendra Modi’s party wins key Delhi elections days ahead of Trump meeting

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party decidedly won Delhi’s state elections, regaining power in the capital after 27 years.

The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party used “hope and handouts” to successfully oust the incumbent anti-corruption party, which faced graft allegations, political commentator Neerja Chowdhury argued.

The win marks a rebound for Modi after the BJP failed to secure an outright majority in national elections last year, and signals that voters have become “much more transactional and pragmatic, aspirational and demanding,” Chowdhury wrote.

It also comes ahead of Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump next week, and indicates to the international community “that they will have to deal with a stronger rather than a weaker PM” in India.