Shiv Sena says nobody can challenge Modi for the next 25 years

The Shiv Sena on Thursday heaped praise on Narendra Modi as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appeared set to retain power comfortably, saying no one would be able to challenge him for the next 25 years.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party had often criticised the BJP over the past five years, but it eventually renewed its alliance with the BJP before the Lok Sabha election.

What Sanjay Raut said

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who edits the party mouthpiece Saamana, said voters had given a fitting reply to opposition parties that had tried to build a false narrative against Modi on issues such as the Rafale fighter jet deal. He described the whole country as “Modi-may”, or under Modi’s spell.

Raut said the truth had to be accepted that no one could counter Modi, and that the mandate was such that this would hold for the next 25 years. The country had placed its trust in Modi’s leadership for another five years, he said, and Modi would take it much further in that time.

The Rajya Sabha member also noted that the NDA was performing strongly in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, three states the Congress had won in Assembly polls the previous year.

The trends

According to trends released by the Election Commission, the BJP was leading in 300 seats across the country. In Maharashtra, which elects 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the BJP was ahead in 23 seats and the Shiv Sena in 18.

What happened next

Votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election were counted on 23 May 2019. The BJP won 303 of the 543 seats and the Congress 52, and Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term as Prime Minister on 30 May 2019.

See also: more election news

Originally published on 24 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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