Coming just days after the exit poll claims, the results of the general election may come as some sort of setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Narendra Modi is likely to begin his third term as the Prime Minister, albeit on a not-so-emphatic mandate.

Let's not forget that the BJP had claimed that it would win 370 seats and, along with its allies, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would cross the 400-mark. The exit polls also hinted that the NDA might be successful in breaching that tally. So, did the BJP misread the situation, or did it refuse to read the writing on the wall?

Read | Opinion: How Almost Everyone Missed The All-Too-Visible Signs In Uttar Pradesh

In December last year, when the BJP won in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, it was assumed that the party would have an easy victory in the Lok Sabha election. Their confidence was compounded manifold by the Ram Mandir consecration as well as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's somersault from the INDIA bloc to the NDA. The opposition alliance had been in total disarray back then. But a substantial turnout drop in the initial phase of voting was perhaps the first indication that things were not moving in the right direction for the party. The turnout didn't improve in the rest of the phases either. As the BJP fails to reach the majority mark on........

© NDTV