For Modi whose approval ratings have been the highest among world leaders and who ran a presidential-style campaign, such a result is the first sign of the ground shifting. His giant cutouts were everywhere, his face on television screens every day as he courted India's 968 million voters with a personal "Modi guarantee" to change their lives. "What we have done in the last 10 years is only a preview, a trailer," Modi told a recent rally. The BJP has dismissed opposition speculation that Modi, 73, might hang up his boots once he reaches 75, like some other party leaders have done in recent years. A reduced mandate for Modi's ruling alliance forecloses the possibility of changes to India's secular constitution that opposition groups had warned against.
