Politics
Narendra Modi wants 400 seats in Indian elections. But to get there, he'll have to venture into the skeptical south
Earlier this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an ambitious prediction in Parliament: his Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies would win 400 of 543 parliamentary seats.
That's a bold statement, even for the world's most popular leader.
This has happened only once in India's 77 years of independence, in 1984, when the Indian National Congress party won 404 seats.
In the last elections in 2019, the BJP had a strong parliamentary majority winning 303 seats, largely thanks to support from central and northern Indian states.
But one obvious weakness has emerged for Modi: South India.
The five southern states hold 131 parliamentary seats and remain sheltered from the BJP's Hindu nationalist policies.
The south is home to 20 percent of the country's population and contributes more than 30 percent of India's GDP.
With the north under BJP control, Modi and his allies will have to find a way south if they are to achieve their ambitious goal.
Incumbent candidate Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, a member of Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), believes the move will not work.
“India is such a diverse country, with so many languages, so many cultures, so many religions, that we would like to retain that uniqueness,” he said.
“The problem is that there has always been an attempt by those at the center to ensure that [India] it seems like one nation and one group of people. »
Venturing into the skeptical south
Critics see Modi as an increasingly authoritarian figure, whose Hindu nationalist policies have moved secular India toward majority rule.
“In Tamil Nadu, we have such a rich cultural heritage dating back around 3,000 years that we want to retain our identity, thought process and everything else,” Mr Veeraswamy said.
“Whether it is the Congress, the BJP or whoever is trying to make this kind of statement [about] We are opposed to it, nationalism and Hindutva. »
Arun Ramm, editor-in-chief of the Times of India daily, agrees.
“The DMK seems to be in a very strong position,” he said.
“Strong leadership and a great slogan, the slogan being resistance.”
This time around, Modi is paying special attention to the southern state of Tamil Nadu, which goes to the polls today in the first of seven phases of voting in this election.
The Prime Minister has made 10 trips to the state since January and extended his support to some leading candidates.
He even uses artificial intelligence to translate his Hindi speech into Tamil for his local audience.
“This is the last sentinel of the anti-BJP forces, so the BJP probably wants to break that,” Ram said.
The largest democratic exercise in the world
Today marks the start of the world's largest democratic exercise, with nearly a billion people registered to vote for India's general elections.
More than 2,600 political parties are registered in this election, and frontrunner Modi is seeking a third term, which is rare.
Things are in his favor, according to Ram.
“When it comes to infrastructure, the perception is that this government has done very well on roads, particularly on infrastructure, transportation, science and technology and space missions,” he said .
The BJP focused its campaign on the development of women, youth, farmers and those living below the poverty line, and pledged to make India the third largest economy.
They also want to build better infrastructure on the Indochina border and modernize their army.
The party has a well-organized network of grassroots workers and a skillful marketing and propaganda machine.
Around 26 parties have created an alliance to topple the BJP.
But these efforts have been weakened by the absence of a united, cohesive opposition and by conflicts over leadership.
They also accused the party of using investigative agencies to suppress them.
One of the top coalition leaders and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested last May in a corruption case.
The government denies any role in this arrest.
The Indian National Congress party, the BJP's main opposition, claimed the government had ordered the tax office to freeze the party's bank accounts, preventing them from campaigning.
The party has tried to campaign on the issues of unemployment, inflation and corruption under the Modi government.
They also pledged to combat hate speech, provide social guarantees for farmers and recognize civil unions for LGBTQIA+ couples.
Voting will close on June 1 and results will be announced on June 4.
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