The first and biggest round of India’s protracted general election began with polls opening on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running for a rare third straight term in this election.In the most populous nation on earth, polling will take place in seven stages over the course of the next six weeks, with around 969 million people eligible to vote in the largest election in human history.The nationwide vote is considered among the most consequential in decades as Modi’s powerful right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims for an outright majority and a mandate to widen its development and Hindu-nationalist policies established during its 10-year rule.The 73-year-old’s tenure has been marked by infrastructure and welfare projects, fervent Hindu nationalism, rapid economic expansion and an increasing presence on the world stage for the country of 1.4 billion people.
But it has also been plagued by soaring youth unemployment and inequality, particularly in rural areas, and critics say Modi has driven religious polarization, which has included rising Islamophobia and persecution of the country’s 230 million Muslims.Still, Modi’s popularity is unparalleled for a two-term incumbent and his rallies have consistently drawn tens of thousands of supporters.As polls opened Friday, the leader had a message for voters.
“I urge all those voting in these seats to exercise their franchise in record numbers,” he wrote on X. “I particularly call upon the young and first time voters to vote in large numbers. After all, every vote counts and every voice matters!”he BJP’s campaign manifesto centers on job creation, anti-poverty programs such as expanding food handouts and housing schemes, and national development with particular focus on women, the poor, farmers and young people.
Modi wants to turn the country into a global manufacturing hub, continue its massive infrastructure transformation, and achieve energy independence by 2047.
On the world stage, Modi wants India to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, will push to bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics and aims to land an astronaut on the moon.The BJP has also pledged to implement a uniform civil code, which would replace a sprawl of religious and customary laws with a standard rule that everyone, regardless of faith, would be required to follow. The BJP says it will protect the rights of women, though some communities say it will interfere with their freedom of religion and customs. Challenging the BJP is the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, and its newly formed INDIA alliance of parties.
But the once-formidable force in Indian politics has been languishing since Modi rose to power a decade ago. And the INDIA alliance is already starting to show cracks, with defections and infighting.The opposition bloc is banking on a unified approach to counter BJP dominance.The Congress party’s campaign is promising “freedom from fear” and vowing to protect democratic values such as freedom of speech, expression and religious belief espoused in the constitution.Its manifesto also emphasizes justice, equity and welfare, promising recognition of civil unions between LGBTQ+ couples, protection of religious minorities, and safety and empowerment of women, among other pledges such as apprenticeships for young graduates.
It speaks directly to critiques from rights groups that the BJP is eroding democratic values, by promising to restore freedom of the media, to strengthen the autonomy of the Election Commission and other state agencies, and review laws passed by the BJP “without proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate.”India’s Election Commission has imposed restrictions on media, including CNN, that limits the publication of reporting and analysis in the run-up to and during polling days.
Source: Here
