After Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won a historic landslide victory in the opposition stronghold of West Bengal, India’s prime minister donned a traditional Bengali dhoti trouser cloth for his victory speech at the BJP’s New Delhi headquarters.
Modi’s choice of clothing for his address on Monday evening, analysts said, reflected his skill at modulating his Hindu nationalist message for India’s widely differing regions as he positions himself for a possible run at a fourth term in 2029.
Just two years after the shock loss of the BJP’s majority in India’s national parliament, Modi and his party are as dominant as ever. As well as winning West Bengal, the biggest prize in this year’s state elections, the BJP increased its majority in the north-eastern state of Assam and won joint control with allies of the territory of Puducherry.