Indian voters have delivered an unexpected repudiation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership as electoral tallies Tuesday showed his Hindu nationalist party falling short of a majority in Parliament, piercing the aura of invincibility around the most dominant Indian politician in decades.

While Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party finished first and is still well positioned to form a government with its allies in the coming days, the BJP’s performance paled in comparison to its showing in 2014, when Modi swept to power on a wave of national anger over corruption, or 2019, when he was buoyed by nationalist sentiment over a border clash with Pakistan.

The shock result sparked feverish celebrations among India’s opposition parties and marked a rare setback for an Indian politician who had never failed to secure a majority in state or national elections over a 23-year political career. As prime minister for the past decade, Modi has cultivated an image as a popular strongman and a serial winner, and most political analysts had expected him to easily brush aside India’s enervated and poorly funded opposition parties once more.