Narendra Modi elected to be India's next prime minister

Narenda Modi was elected to be the next prime minister of the world's largest democracy. Modi and India's opposition party beat Gandhi and the Congress party. It seems that Modi's messages of hope, revitalization, and change resonated with the Indian people. For the past 128 years, Indian politics has been mostly dominated by the Congress party, and the rule hasn't proven to be that great or effective. Even Gandhi noted that the "Congress party has done pretty badly". Modi, a Hindu nationalist and economic reformer, has made promises for a "shining India". A big part of Modi's success came from his ability to win the votes of the young voters, who make up a large part of India's population. The United States was also quick to congratulate Modi for his win, even though there has not been the best relationship with Modi and the U.S in the past, partly due to his actions as chief minister of Gujarat (in 2005 he was denied a visa). Even with this history, Obama called and offered Modi a visit to Washington at some point in the future. The relationship that the United States and India will have is very important and is something to be followed. The task of being prime minister of the world's largest democracy will not be easy, but it seems like Modi is excited for this challenge. It will be interesting to see how this will change/affect India in the near future and in the long run. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/hindu-nationalist-narendra-modis-party-heads-to-victory-in-indian-polls/2014/05/16/c6eccaea-4b20-46db-8ca9-af4ddb286ce7_story.html

Ann Nenoff