What BJP Winning Seats Unopposed Reveals About Elections Under Modi
June 1, 2024
Some foreign journalists and independent political analysts, covering the current national parliamentary elections in India, appear to have missed the new tactics pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
They point out that the polling, which concluded today, was largely free and fair and will reflect Modi’s popularity and a weak opposition. “Modi’s BJP is set to win its third straight five-year term thanks to his potent, populist mix of economic empowerment and Hindu nationalism” and an increasingly weak opposition, CNN reported.
Such analysis overlooks the BJP’s apparent adoption of methods used by authoritarian rulers to win re-elections.