By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel
The world’s largest democracy, India, is currently holding its general election with two phases already being concluded. With a staggering seven phases, the 18th Lok Sabha election has drawn global attention as it has been the largest democracy in the world. Around 970 million people out of a population of 1.4 billion are deemed eligible voters. The result will be known on June 4, when the ballots will be counted to determine the 543 members of the Lok Sabha, India’s Lower House of the bicameral parliament. There are growing voices that the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliances (NDA) will win the election allowing the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet to serve a third term. Modi has been in office since 2014 much to the dismay of opposition parties particularly the Indian National Congress which ruled India for several decades.
Modi came to power in 2014 while India was reeling under corruption, unemployment, poverty and terrorist activities along the border. Poor governance giving rise to corruption was taking a high toll on the economic development of the country. There was chaos in every sector of the country. It was not able to kick start the much-needed economic development having all apparatus at its disposal. However, under Modi’s leadership, India transformed in several aspects– socially, economically, politically and militarily. His visionary decisions such as demonetization saved the Indian economy and broke the backbone of terror funding. Under his leadership, India landed on the South Pole of the moon–the first country to do so. However, the moot question is whether the Indian voters acknowledge his efforts and contribution and cast their votes in his favor allowing him to rule them for the next five years. Let’s examine this here.
Modi’s relationship with farmers across the country has not been so good because it has been reported that he breached his commitment to farmers in the past. This is evident in a recent protest in which more than 20,000 farmers began marching towards Delhi demanding legally guaranteed prices for all crops, loan waivers, pensions and the doubling of farmers’ incomes. They also want compensation for the kin of farmers who died during the 2020-2021 protest, which was spearheaded by an umbrella body of unions called the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, or SKM. This could be a serious threat to Modi and he cannot afford to undermine the strength of farmers thinking it is just a marginal section of the total population.
Along with farmers, there are some non-Hindu communities mainly in North Eastern and South Indian states will definitely want Modi to win this election allowing him to assume office for the third term. If media reports are any guide, the eastern state such as Assam is dominated by Bangladeshi-origin Muslims while other eastern states are Christian-dominated which sees Modi as a threat to secularism. All these factors will surely play a crucial role in securing an absolute majority.
Just a few months before the election of 2024, the Indian PM took an active role in the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and then held a Pran Prathista (life force infusion) ceremony in the idol of Lord Ram in a grand manner to impress on Hindu masses. This was welcomed by the Hindus who comprise the majority of the country’s population. However, this has been described by some non-Hindu communities as an agenda and political gimmick to woo the voters. The opposition party mainly Congress could take advantage of the situation by cutting the vote.
Similarly, the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal–the Chief Minister of Delhi–alleging him of giving liquor policies illegally has raised the eyebrows of his political opponents. The Delhi Chief Minister has been a vocal critic of PM Modi and he rose to prominence riding on the plank of the anti-Modi slogan. Prior to CM Kejriwal’s ‘illegal’ imprisonment, key ministers from his Aam Aadmi party were imprisoned on similar charges. Jharkhand’s Chief Minister Hemant Soren was also behind bars over corruption charges. Meanwhile, the ED has slapped tax worth billions of rupees on the Congress, a prominent opposition party, before freezing its bank account. Modi’s political detractors describe these actions as a tactic to weaken his opposition parties preventing them from performing better in the ongoing polls.
It is often reported that the opposition party mainly the Congress accuses Modi of being autocratic in running the government. It is also reported that Modi has been centralizing the power. This is evident in the fact that the BJP-majority parliament suspended the parliamentary membership of Rahul Gandhi, the face of the opposition fighting the ruling party. Gandhi was even dragged into a defamation case, and a state court slapped him with a two-year prison sentence. However, the High Court overturned the lower court judgement. The opposition parties and various independent observers rapped the BJP and the party-led government’s actions as undemocratic and, on occasion, illegal.
In politics, there are allegations and counter-allegations. This is common in every part of the world. And India is not immune to it. Now, it remains to be seen whether Indian voters will vote for Modi allowing him to assume the office for a third term or they will bring in new forces thinking it a better option.
Given their growing popularity, Modi seems to be the best choice for Indian voters. However, it has been a fact that voters tend to change their actions and perceptions during the polls.
As an immediate and friendly neighbor, we wish to see a prosperous and stable India–be it under Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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