Who will govern India? The world's largest country starts a massive day of tallying votes following weeks-long polls.
The right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims to achieve a majority in India's lower house of parliament, or Lok Sabha. This goal, if accomplished, would vest the party with an impregnable mandate to further instill its Hindu-nationalist agenda, pushing India further away from its secular roots. With strategic importance in Asia and a burgeoning economy, the outcome of the election will grab the notice of the United States, China, and Russia, among others.
Approximately 642 million individuals voted in this global election, where India experienced sizzling temperatures, resulting in sicknesses and casualties.
To unsurface Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an alliance of more than two dozen parties, with the Indian National Congress as its primary opposition, is bidding for power on a platform of reducing social inequality and preserving democratic institutions.
Since assumed office in 2014, Modi has garnered immense popularity through his developmental and welfare projects, intertwined with a strong form of Hindu nationalism in a country where 80% of its population adhere to Hindus.
India, a nation of 1.4 billion people, has transformed into a leading world economy at a fast pace under Modi's guidance, making giant leaps in technology and space. Nevertheless, challenges persist, such as persistent poverty, youth unemployment, and a widening wealth gap – greatest in rural areas.
Contuning criticism, opponents point out that a decade of Modi's incumbency has led to rising religious strife, as Islamophobia has scapegoated over 200 million Indians following the Islamic faith. Additionally, religious violence has reared its head in a region with a lengthy history of interreligious rifts.
The polling began on April 19 and ceased on June 1. A billion Indians were eligible to cast their ballots to fill 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. The party with a majority will appoint the prime minister and form the government.
Determined to garner a 400-seat supermajority – an increase from the 303 BJP held in 2019 – Modi has staked his claims on his party and allies.
The BJP's election agenda revolves around job creation and anti-poverty programs, prioritizing women, the lower class, and farmers. Modi pledges that India will ascend to developed status by 2047 and establish the country as a hub of global manufacturing. Still, he has been slammed for using divisive language, perceived as Islamophobic, portraying himself as a proxy for God.
Recently, Modi blurred lines with inflammatory rhetoric, linking Muslims to infiltration and sowing a false narrative about these individuals conquering the country by delivering numerous offspring. His BJP uploaded polarizing political ads, one of which provoked a police probe.
The Congress party has governed India for most of its post-occupation history, having revolved in instrumental roles in abolishing British colonialism. Lately, though, they have grappled with lacking coherence, besieged by corruption cases and internal squabbles. Determined to triumph yet again, this time challenging Modi in Kerala, a southern state, and Uttar Pradesh in the north – a densely populated region – Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the acclaimed Gandhi family, shows his cards.
The opposition has been embroiled in a gamut of regulatory and financial predicaments in the weeks preceding the poll, prompting claims from certain factions that the BJP has used its positions of authority to disrupt rivals.
After March detention of the popular Aam Aadmi Party's chief minister of Delhi and strident Modi foe Arvind Kejriwal, widespread protests erupted in the Indian capital, thrusting the issue to the forefront. Following his temporary release in May, the opposition has garnered fresh zeal to face the BJP with unified force.
The Congress' manifesto stands apart as one of India's most progressive, promising an end to fear and safeguarding constitutional protections of free speech, expression, and religious belief.
Despite a minor downturn in turnout across all seven election phases compared to previous records, India's extensive general election continues to dignify the gigantic undertaking of electing the person in control of the world's most heavily inhabited nation.
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Given its diverse population and complex political landscape, India's election results will likely impact relations with neighboring countries and global powers alike.
