The first thing Syed Ashraf did when he awoke at 5:45 a.m. last Tuesday in his Ashburn, Va. home was look up the Indian election results.
Washington
Modi’s election setback surprises Indian Americans in the DMV
“People have really spoken up, and it’s a good thing,” Ashraf, a Muslim Indian who was raised in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and moved to Virginia in 2000, told The Washington Post. “I was worried about the future of my community there, and other communities as well. I was losing my confidence in the democracy of India.”
Modi was sworn in for a rare third term Sunday, but the new parliamentary makeup could put more checks on his power. “And that’s what I feel good about,” Ashraf, 51, said.
Indian Americans across the D.C., Maryland and Virginia region tuned in to the Indian elections last week, checking WhatsApp group chats and waiting for the latest news reports. The stakes are high: widening wealth inequality; India’s position in the global economy; and threatened multiculturalism and secularism, as the BJP has attempted to push the country’s minorities to the margins.
As Modi and the BJP’s setback became clear, reaction from Indian Americans in the DMV ran the gamut: shock, delight, hope, worry, resignation. For some, the shift in Indian politics suggests a positive step to support the country’s diversity. Others said it could put India’s economic growth at risk — or won’t change much at all.
Raj Prasannappa, 60, is among those concerned the results will slow India’s economic growth.
A BJP supporter, Prasannappa followed the election on NDTV, an Indian news outlet, anticipating that the party would secure more seats than it did.
He noted how Indian stocks plunged as election results rolled out. (The country’s stocks have since recovered.)
“India was going on the right path economically,” Prasannappa said from outside a Sterling, Va., Hindu temple as the sun dipped and a Hanuman pooja, or prayer, rang out. Now, he said, a parliament without a clear majority “leaves India in uncertainty.” (Under the BJP, India’s share of the global GDP has grown, though high unemployment and low rural wages persist.)
Kumar Tirumala, another member of Prasannappa’s temple, carried bananas as offering into the pooja. He was up late Monday night for results, which he expected to be another BJP landslide. To him, Modi and the BJP represent a preservation of Hindu culture. Nearly 80 percent of the country’s population is Hindu.
By Tuesday evening, he said, he was satisfied with the results: Modi secured a third term, and that is enough. In the years to come, Tirumala said he hopes the BJP rebounds.
Many who hail from the country’s minorities, such as Ashraf, disagree. The party built a temple on the site of a razed mosque, revoked the predominantly Muslim Kashmir region’s autonomous special status and excluded Muslims from a fast track to citizenship. Emboldened by the party’s lead, lynch mobs have targeted the country’s Muslims, and local officials have used bulldozers to demolish the properties of Muslims accused of crimes. On the campaign trail, Modi referred to the country’s Muslims as “infiltrators.”
Tensions have touched Western soil, too. Indian officials orchestrated an assassination attempt against a Sikh separatist leader, a vocal critic of Modi, in the United States this year, The Post reported, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country was investigating allegations that the Indian government was behind the killing of a Sikh Canadian separatist leader.
“Modi didn’t do anything for us,” Balwinder Singh said from the quiet foyer of a Northwest Washington gurdwara, or Sikh place of worship. “How he’s treated Muslims, it’s not good. The Sikh community has not been happy either.”
For Singh, 54, the election results represent a pushback against Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda. “It’s a good sign for India,” he said.
Laby George, who leads an Indian church in Silver Spring, said that breaking up the BJP’s political monopoly was crucial for the health of the nation’s democracy. He stayed up until about 3 a.m. tracking the election and went to sleep relieved.
“India is a democratic country. For any democracy to flourish there should be a good opposition party,” he said. “This will help the country go in the right direction. I’m not saying everything is going to be fixed, but there can be resistance.”
Last year, mobs fueled by Hindu nationalism attacked hundreds of Christian converts in dozens of villages in eastern India. Hopefully, now, aggressions against minorities will be less frequent, said Selvin Selvaraj, 49, of Gaithersburg.
He waited until 4:15 a.m., hoping the opposition would secure more seats, Selvaraj said.
Rupinder Singh, a Rockville resident, said the parliamentary shake-up is not enough. He said many Sikhs don’t have much faith in any political parties — that the parties have “been different sides to the same coin.”
This month is a stark reminder of that for many Sikhs. June marks 40 years since the Indian army raided Sikhism’s holy site, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, to kill a Sikh militant leader. Hundreds died during the attack. The bloody raid took place under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, of the Indian National Congress Party.
Now — regardless of who holds the prime minister title or who sits in parliament — India contends with issues that grow more urgent by the day, such as a worsening climate crisis, Rupinder Singh, 40, said. Last week, a heat wave killed 14 people in India, including 10 elections officials.
“When it’s 140 degrees and there’s no water, what’s going to happen?” he said. “It will be the haves versus the have nots, and that’s scary. No political party is seriously addressing this.”
Many Indian Americans across the DMV said they’ll continue watching their home country’s political situation closely — some hopeful, some dubious.
“It’s neither positive nor negative. I’m still skeptical of what’s going on, and what is coming next,” said Imran Kukdawala, 40. “The BJP did not get the type of majority they were hoping for. But they’re still in power.”
The Washington Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 11, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 11 drawing
24-30-37-56-64, Powerball: 07, Power Play: 3
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Winning Cash Pop numbers from May 11 drawing
09
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Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 11 drawing
7-6-9
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Winning Match 4 numbers from May 11 drawing
07-12-18-19
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Winning Hit 5 numbers from May 11 drawing
07-09-11-32-42
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Winning Keno numbers from May 11 drawing
05-07-15-27-30-32-35-36-40-43-45-47-49-58-59-62-64-65-72-76
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Winning Lotto numbers from May 11 drawing
01-18-28-34-37-48
Check Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 11 drawing
09-13-34-42-59, Powerball: 01
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Washington Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Washington Lottery’s regional offices.
To claim by mail, complete a winner claim form and the information on the back of the ticket, making sure you have signed it, and mail it to:
Washington Lottery Headquarters
PO Box 43050
Olympia, WA 98504-3050
For in-person claims, visit a Washington Lottery regional office and bring a winning ticket, photo ID, Social Security card and a voided check (optional).
Olympia Headquarters
Everett Regional Office
Federal Way Office
Spokane Department of Imagination
Vancouver Office
Tri-Cities Regional Office
For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Washington Lottery prize claim page.
When are the Washington Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 7:59 p.m. PT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 8 p.m. PT Tuesday and Friday.
- Cash Pop: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Pick 3: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Match 4: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Hit 5: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Daily Keno: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Lotto: 8 p.m. PT Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:30 p.m. PT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Washington editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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This story contains descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender person.
The Seattle Police Department are searching for a suspect after a 19-year-old University of Washington student was stabbed to death in an off-campus student apartment complex on May 10.
Seattle Police Department Detective Eric Muñoz told NBC News that the victim is “believed to be a 19-year-old transgender female” who was enrolled at the university. The victim has not yet been publicly identified by name. She was found in the housing complex laundry room shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday night.
The housing complex, Nordheim Court, is privately managed but affiliated with the university, located near an upscale shopping center in Seattle’s U-Village neighborhood. According to NBC News, residents received an official alert from UW to stay inside their homes and lock all windows and doors — an alert that was lifted around 1 a.m. with the acknowledgment that “a death investigation remains ongoing.”
According to SPD detective Eric Muñoz, police and the fire department attempted lifesaving measures but ultimately “pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.”
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect, believed to be a black male with a beard, 5’6-8” tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans,” Muñoz wrote in a blotter report.
Muñoz noted that the victim would be identified by the medical examiner’s office in “the coming days.” The SPD did not immediately respond to Them’s request for comment.
This is the seventh known trans person to be violently killed in 2026. In mid-April, 39-year-old transmasculine farmer Luca RedBeard was fatally shot in rural New Mexico. Last week, police in Marion County, Florida opened a homicide investigation into the shooting death of a 29-year-old who went by multiple names and referred to “transitioning” on social media. In Kentucky, an investigation into the disappearance of 22-year-old trans college student Murry Foust remains ongoing.
Police are asking anyone with information about the University of Washington case to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000, emphasizing that anonymous tips are accepted.
This is a developing story.
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On a quiet stretch of Des Moines Memorial Drive in South Seattle, the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture rises like a long‑overdue acknowledgment. Its brick exterior doesn’t shout; it invites. Inside, the rooms hum with the stories of families who crossed borders, harvested fields, organized classrooms, and built communities across Washington state—often without seeing their histories reflected anywhere on a museum wall.
For Rogelio Riojas, founder and CEO of Sea Mar Community Health Centers, the museum is a promise kept. “We wanted to make sure the contributions of Latinos in Washington state are recognized and preserved for future generations,” he told The Seattle Times when the museum opened in 2019. It was a simple statement, but one that captured decades of work—both visible and invisible—by the region’s Latino communities.
Walking through the galleries feels like stepping into a living archive. One of the most arresting sights is a pair of original farmworker cabins, transported from Eastern Washington. Their narrow wooden frames and sparse interiors speak volumes about the migrant families who once slept inside after long days in the fields. The cabins are not replicas or artistic interpretations; they are the real thing, weathered by sun, dust, and time. They anchor the museum’s narrative in the physical realities of labor that shaped the state’s agricultural economy.
Sea Mar describes the museum as “dedicated to sharing the history, struggles, and successes of the Latino community in Washington state,” a mission that plays out in photographs, letters, student newspapers, and oral histories contributed by community members themselves. These aren’t artifacts chosen from afar—they’re family treasures, personal archives, and memories entrusted to the museum so they can live beyond the kitchen tables and shoeboxes where they were once kept.
The story extends beyond the museum walls. Just steps away is the Sea Mar Community Center, a sweeping, light‑filled gathering space designed for celebrations, performances, workshops, and community events. With room for nearly 500 people, a full stage, a movie‑theater‑sized screen, and a catering kitchen, the center was built with one purpose: to give the community a place to see itself, gather, and grow. Sea Mar describes it as “a welcoming space for families, organizations, and community groups to gather, celebrate, and learn,” and on any given weekend, it lives up to that promise.
Together, the museum and community center form a cultural campus—part historical archive, part living room for the region’s Latino communities. Students come to learn about the Chicano activists who reshaped the University of Washington in the late 1960s. Families come to see their own histories reflected in the exhibits. Visitors come to understand a story that has long been present in Washington, even if it wasn’t always visible.
The Sea Mar Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., offering free admission to anyone who walks through its doors. For many, it’s more than a museum—it’s a recognition, a gathering place, and a testament to the people who helped shape the Pacific Northwest.
Preserving Latino History and Community Life in Washington was first published on Washington Latino News (WALN) and republished with permission.
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