By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his congratulations to Narendra Modi on his re-election as the Prime Minister of India after the Lok Sabha polls.
Modi, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is set to take oath as India’s prime minister for a record-equalling third term on Sunday.
He is a leader of India which is part of the BRICS countries, which over the years have operated as an organization that seeks to further economic cooperation amongst member nations and increase their economic and political standing in the world.
The results were unexpected as the BJP did not win an outright majority as several exit polls had predicted.
This led to a couple of days of uncertainty over whether alliance partners would back Modi and the BJP or negotiate with an opposition bloc to try and form the government.
The BJP won 240 seats in the election, several seats short of the 272 required to get a majority in India’s 543 member parliament.
However, two key BJP allies, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), won 16 and 12 seats each in their respective states, pushing the NDA comfortably over the half-way mark.
In a statement from presidency, “Ramaphosa has offered his congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi…commending him for his dedication and commitment to the people of India.
“Ramaphosa has also congratulated the people of India on exercising their democratic right and participating in the electoral process, which took place in seven phases from 19 April to 1 June 2024.”
The Presidency highlighted that South Africa and India share a strategic partnership.
Ramaphosa affirms that South Africa looks forward to continue working with India on matters of importance to the people of both countries, read the statement.
He has emphasised the importance of the two countries’ continued cooperation to promote the agenda of the Global South, notably the reform of the global system of governance, and to align positions in global fora in the interest of strengthening multilateral organisations.
“South Africa continues to work well with India in the G20 and BRICS,” the Presidency added.
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also congratulated Modi on being re-elected as the prime minister after the Lok Sabha polls.
“Congratulations Prime Minister @narendramodi on your reelection. I look forward to continuing @WHO-#India close collaboration for #HealthForAll,” the WHO chief said in a post on X.