India, Feb. 9 -- The Delhi mandate sends a clear message to the Indian domestic political system as well as India's external partners and adversaries: Don't be misled by the 2024 Lok Sabha setback, Narendra Modi remains in-charge.

The results couldn't have come at a better time for Modi. Both Maharashtra and Haryana had helped in re-establishing his dominance. But the fact that the BJP has won Delhi for the first time under his prime ministership, that it has finally been able to dislodge the Aam Aadmi Party, possibly the BJP's only potential competitor for the urban middle class vote, and that it now has complete control over the national capital makes the verdict far more significant for Modi than the size of Delhi would suggest.

But ...